Despite the recent proliferation of under-graduate courses with the word ‘sex’ in the title, universities continue to be rather unsexy places. While it may be common for students to discuss the phallus, academics do not generally pose naked in milk baths. This, however, is precisely what Sydney University scholar Fiona Giles did. And the eye-catching image of the petite author (which graced the 15 March cover of Good Weekend magazine) has surely done more to promote her latest book, Fresh Milk, than any interview or public reading. The same goes for the magazine’s story, which focused on the book’s consideration of ‘lactation porn’.

All this attention-grabbing has got academics muttering about the lengths to which people will go in order to improve sales, so it is a relief to discover that Fresh Milk, like the full breasts it celebrates, is both well-rounded and thought-provoking. Though the book does consider the sexuality of breastfeeding, it is considerably more multifaceted than the sensationalist media portrayal suggests.