Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Mr. Rogers View on Breastfeeding



This just made me think. Why is breastfeeding so often considered to be dirty and more for the poor/uneducated? Why is it considered pornographic to have a mother breastfeeding in public or on TV?



Whirling inside the mind of at

2 comments:

joyous melancholy said...

I have speculation about why it has the image it has. Formula is expensive, and if you can't afford it you really only have one option - hence the "poor" link. Also, it used to be the practice for wealthy women to hire wet nurses, so the mom was removed from the physical feeding from long ago. It's sad, but I think we're making good progress towards re-educating the public about it.

My bigger fear now is that we may be swinging the other way. Not that we're breastfeeding too much, but that some people are so militant about it that it might turn public opinion against it. Like we were talking about the other day, how some loud obnoxious people ruin something for everyone. Religion, meetup groups, etc. And also like we were talking about at D-land more recently - just because we have the right to nurse doesn't mean we need to flaunt it all the time wherever we go.

I'm not saying you do. Some people do. I'm more than willing to get in-your-face and loud if I need to. Give me a hard time, I'll gladly whip out a boob for all to see, "How do you like them apples" style. But for the most part I excercise discretion and courtesy. Which is what I've seen you and our friends do. I think you and I and the people we hang with just need to keep on doing what we're doing. Feeding our babies without shame, and without unnecessary grandstanding. We'll always run into opposition of some sort, but hopefully it's growing fewer and farther between.

February 23, 2009 at 7:10 PM
Carrie said...

amen sister!

February 25, 2009 at 9:45 AM

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