In defense of breast feeding in public

[Danee]

From: http://www.qcitymetro.com/living/articles/in_defense_of_public_breast_feeding085457553.cfm



Are women wrong to breastfeed in public?
I recently read a news story about three Delaware women who staged a “nurse-in” while walking through their local mall in an attempt to “raise awareness of and normalize breastfeeding in public.” They were questioned and threatened by mall security and a Delaware state police officer.
Is it just me or does this incident sound like a story pulled from the news in some Middle Eastern country where women are expected to wear burkahs and follow strict laws (written by men) to protect feminine modesty? Is it not a double standard that women are expected to cover their breasts, even while breastfeeding, yet men are allowed to expose their entire chests in public, big hairy bellies included?
Many who oppose public breastfeeding see the female chest as sexual and are therefore offended by any public display. Other are repulsed and say women who breastfeed publicly should exercise discretion by covering themselves with a blanket or shawl.
I have to question why society and the law fail to require that men be discreet or more self-controlled as it relates to the subject of breasts.
Men are allowed to enjoy the beach, the backyard or a stroll around the neighborhood sans shirts and remain unmolested. A woman who did the same would, at best, be ogled and at worst, attacked or arrested for indecent exposure.
I have always found it rather arbitrary that laws allow men to freely expose the exact areas of the body that women would be arrested for showing.
Women are attracted to men’s chests just as men are attracted to women’s. The sight of a well-toned male physique is as sexually stimulating to many women as women’s physiques are to men. Yet women rarely use the sight of masculine pecs as an excuse to demean, harass or attack men. Rather, society has taught women to contain our attentions and suppress our aggressions.
So I say, “Get over it folks. The lactating mother is not the star of a porn movie or a flirty Hooters waitress. And those who are unable to walk by her without being turned on or being repulsed have issues of their own.
The female chest is more than an object of sexual interest. For optimum health, more and more doctors are encouraging women to breastfeed their children. And unlike men who flaunt their chests for vanity or to catch the sun, nursing women’s breasts are, in reality, working-breasts.
And in reality all chests, whether male or female, are mammary glands covered with skin…some larger, some perkier, some rounder, some more hairy.
As a mother who breastfed, I believe in discretion. I never wanted to look like I was an aborigine in a National Geographic magazine. It’s easy enough to use a shawl as a screen when one needs to breastfeed in a public place. But as a woman, a breastfeeding proponent and a law-abiding citizen, I also believe that laws should be applied evenly, regardless of gender. Breastfeeding mothers should not face harassment or arrest if they choose to nurse openly.
Maybe the Aborigines have it right.From: http://www.qcitymetro.com/living/articles/in_defense_of_public_breast_feeding085457553.cfm

[bunnyema]

There is nothing wrong in breast feeding in public!

[mikeisnude]

I totally agree.   I think those ladies are awesome for doing what they did.  Nothing will change sitting and hoping for it.  Women are going to have to push for it like these ladies did and guys are gonna have to support them  its just not right that guys can go bare chested and girls can't.  It's not only a double standard but it's just dumb.  If it comes to pass that women can be topless like guys then that's a good step toward allowing simple nudity in my opinion,  go girls 

[DarkDippy]

Breasts are beautiful and, agreed, there's nothing wrong with breastfeeding but society has a way to go. It's not just about the so-called "sexual" aspect of being topless. From what I gather, the act of breastfeeding repulses the general public for some reason. For a people who drink copious amounts of bovine lactations, I find this incredibly effed up.

The other thing I've found amongst some of my textile friends is that THEY think the breastfeeding is somewhat shameful. We may exist in a "free" society but upbringing and conditioning still has moms scared of or ashamed of suckling their kids in public. I posted a this www.badasspublicbreastfeeding.com on Facebook recently. I think it's a nice sentiment to start changing the mindsets of moms first and subsequently the general public outlook.
 

We still have so far to come as a society.

[TheBestYoucan]

You don't have a right not to be offended. You do have a right not to be sexually assaulted. Breasts are not sexual organs and their use in breast feeding has nothing to do with sex. Therefore, I don't see a problem with it.

[Dan]

I totally agree.   I think those ladies are awesome for doing what they did.  Nothing will change sitting and hoping for it.  Women are going to have to push for it like these ladies did and guys are gonna have to support them 

Guys are usually not an obstacle to this. Most of the offendees are women.

[nakedrobot]

I totally agree.   I think those ladies are awesome for doing what they did.  Nothing will change sitting and hoping for it.  Women are going to have to push for it like these ladies did and guys are gonna have to support them 

Guys are usually not an obstacle to this. Most of the offendees are women.

how funny to bring this up, I just heard one of my wife's girlfriends say that she didn't want her husband seeing another woman's breast even it was breast-feeding. Not always male instigated. I know that this isn't always the norm, but it happens.

[Dan]

how funny to bring this up, I just heard one of my wife's girlfriends say that she didn't want her husband seeing another woman's breast even it was breast-feeding. Not always male instigated. I know that this isn't always the norm, but it happens.

*Rarely* male instigated. Guys either support or keep quiet about it.

[AElf]

This isn't a question of morality, or prudery or top freedom.  Whenever or wherever the child is hungry nothing in the world could be more natural than breastfeeding.  To make it seem sexual or shameful in any way is entirely perverse, disgustingly so.  And as for women opposing their men seeing another woman's breasts, this speaks volumes about what they know about the inclinations of their men and about their own insecurity regarding their own bodies.

[Dan]

this speaks volumes about what they know about the inclinations of their men

I don't see how it does.

[Danee]

This isn't a question of morality, or prudery or top freedom.  Whenever or wherever the child is hungry nothing in the world could be more natural than breastfeeding.  To make it seem sexual or shameful in any way is entirely perverse, disgustingly so.  And as for women opposing their men seeing another woman's breasts, this speaks volumes about what they know about the inclinations of their men and about their own insecurity regarding their own bodies.

As usual, an outstanding comment.

[Historybuff83]

This isn't a question of morality, or prudery or top freedom.  Whenever or wherever the child is hungry nothing in the world could be more natural than breastfeeding.  To make it seem sexual or shameful in any way is entirely perverse, disgustingly so.  And as for women opposing their men seeing another woman's breasts, this speaks volumes about what they know about the inclinations of their men and about their own insecurity regarding their own bodies.

As usual, an outstanding comment.

Agreed, it's amazing the amount of venom I've seen from other women towards others who breastfeed.  Thankfully I know the military hospitals I've been around advocate breast feeding so a lot of military spouses we've been around breastfeed.  Hopefully the pendulum will slide towards sanity once more

[AElf]

this speaks volumes about what they know about the inclinations of their men

I don't see how it does.

  This is me not being surprised.

[natureboy1776]

I have always found it rather arbitrary that laws allow men to freely expose the exact areas of the body that women would be arrested for showing.

It was pondering that very question that started me on the road to nudism.

Even stranger when you get more specific and realize that the laws allow exposure of the fleshy part that does have a slightly different appearance between genders but it is the parts that are exactly alike that is taboo. Why.

Taking this further, it is disgusting when we realize that it comes down to possessing and commercializing the female anatomy by men, that these laws are protecting. Not the protection of the women themselves.
 

[Dan]

  This is me not being surprised.

Why don't you explain what makes you think so?