A woman I know has started this project, and it’s really interesting to me. Some of my female friends who have seen the video love it. Some think it’s really inappropriate. Most of the men who’ve seen it just think it’s weird. Take a look:
My thoughts are a little bit conflicted. I think women should be able to feed their babies when they need to, and I have known women who were told not to feed their babies in public. I think mothers deserve some support when it comes to the huge job of taking care of their children. I think people should be okay with the natural, needed act of breastfeeding a baby. But I also acknowledge that women can be discreet about breastfeeding, and try to cause the least amount of disturbance to people when in public.
I support Jill, assuming that the women she is being an activist for are not obnoxious breast feeders. Breastfeeding is a natural part of life, and we should support the women who do it. And activism is always a little bit ridiculous in its extremeness. :)
What are your thoughts?
~Ruthie
I've breastfed both of my babies in many public areas using my nursing cover-up (CO, MO, OK, TX, GA...). I've never been treated rudely or asked to leave. I do seek to be discrete and it's really not that difficult to find a place to feed my baby. I hear other moms gripe about this "breastfeeding discrimination" a lot but I think it's simply a few instances blown way out of proportion by my fellow hormonal females (love you gals!). In my opinion, this "Milk Truck" is a waste of time, money and, honestly, I find it rather crass. Perhaps Pittsburgh is some den of anti-breastfeeding jerks...but perhaps this money would be better used elsewhere. To keep with the theme, maybe helping third world countries in breastfeeding education to prevent their children from becoming sick with contaminated water and formula? Anyway, that's my two cents :-)
ReplyDeleteI don't think that breasts should be totally desexualised, obviously they are instruments of pleasure. But I think that there needs to be people who stand up and say "Guess, what? There is a non-sexual purpose for breasts!"
ReplyDeleteI breastfeed in public frequently and I use a cover when my shirt doesn't adequately do the job. I have never been asked to leave somewhere, though I have been given dirty looks. I find that I am greeted with judgement from my single friends (who seem have trouble disassociating the act of breastfeeding from something sexual) and almost none from anyone who has children.
While this Milk Truck idea may seem obnoxious or a waste of money to some, I find it to be a step in the right direction as far as educating the public and normalizing feeding babies.
Leave it to the mommies to get a debate going!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your thoughts ladies. I think it's good dialogue.
Ruthie and I were thinking of making this post an official Carved to Adorn debate because we take opposite sides concerning The Milk Truck. I was going to put up a response, but Hannah, you pretty much said exactly what I was going to say, so I'll just put out a loud "DITTO".
I fully support breastfeeding and grew up very confortable with it. It's never bothered me or weirded me out and I've never considered it sexually provocative.
BUT I just cannot get behind The Milk Truck. For starters the overwhelming trend among young mothers in the US is to breastfeed. It feels a little like preaching to the choir. Second, I really don't think that many people take offense to it. Maybe I'm just hanging out with incredibly welcoming crowds, but I have never ever experienced breastfeeding disapproval and I have spent a lot of time with mothers in public places. Third, though I do think breastfeeding is natural and should be completely accepted, I also think there should be a common sense of politeness. Our bodies do MANY wonderful and natural things, but we don't walk around claiming that every single bodily function should be done for all to see. I'm not saying mothers should feel like they need to hide in shame. I'm just saying that I think it's completely normal for society to agree upon polite behaviors concerning our body's needs. And this brings me to my last point... The Milk Truck is not polite. I would actually say it's downright rude. And as such, if that's what people start associating with breastfeeding, then it will not aid the breastfeeding cause. It will only further the image of breastfeeding as something weird done by abnormal people. Shock activism does not help causes; instead, repeatedly desensitizing people through normal and socially accepted means changes opinions.
Hannah, I also really appreciate your comment about the funding behind this endeavor be better spent elsewhere. I hadn't even considered it and find it very provoking.