We are sharing another post on breastfeeding. This time it's accompanied by a powerful spoken-word poetry by an angry mama who is standing up to the opponents of public breastfeeding. Watch and read!
"Hollie McNish got tired of taking her infant daughter into public bathrooms to breastfeed her, and with good reason – those places can be off-the-charts-disgusting. After the fumes of stale urine and toilet pucks left her nostrils, she decided to make a video about her feelings. Videos about feelings are the very best kind, especially when they contain the words “piss” and “shite.” (That’s fancy talk for shit.) McNish published her spoken word poem “Embarrassed” on YouTube only a short while ago but it has gone viral, and one can hope that this video virus is strong enough to overcome the dangerous and debilitating “Stick-up-the-ass disease” from which public-breastfeeding opponents suffer. McNish sets us straight here.
Every time the subject of breastfeeding in public comes up, I feel like I’ve stepped out of a time machine from the 1960′s. How is breastfeeding in public a problem? Perhaps it’s the circles of sane, rational people I tend to run with, but why is public feeding not only not okay, but something people get frothy with rage over? They’re just boobs, for crying out loud! Nursing women are using them with their intended primary function. It’s not like I’m sitting in a mall food court firing blueberries into my kid’s mouth with a slingshot, although that does sound awesome. And as McNish points out, society’s collective vision is saturated with images of women’s breasts and bodies in a sexual manner, and we accept this. Lingerie advertisement show us deep cleavage, and the term “Side Boob” has taken on a life of it’s own. BUT BEWARE THE MIGHTY NIPPLE, FRIENDS! Those pink and brown nubs of flesh are just not cool or fit for public consumption, so breastfeeding outside of your home is not permissible. Back into the kitchen with you, ladies!
This bullshit doesn’t even make sense in Bizarro World. I breastfed both of my children for a long time (OMG so loooong), and I remember the days of location scouting well, especially early on. After a few months of nursing I was desensitized enough to walk through grocery stores with a kid swinging from my chest and was still able to haul 25lb boxes of laundry detergent into my cart. I am a woman; it’s what I do. But it’s hard to manage a tiny new baby and big milk-laden boobs on the best of days, and sometimes I’ll bet someone did – quite literally – get an eye-full. Nobody sued, and I imagine there was little to no emotional trauma other than seeing my homemade makeshift nursing bra.
I would tell any breastfeeding mother to treat public feedings as discreetly as she sees fit. But I’d only tell her that if she asked. Because if she didn’t ask me for my opinion, it’s none of my business what she does with her boobs in order to nourish her child. If comfort for some mothers means using a tent or blanket-like contraption, then go for it! Whatever you need, just please feed that kid because his incessant crying is gettin’ on mai nerves.
Store staff and “helpful” public should never point anyone towards the bathroom when asked for the nearest place to sit down. I’ve been in bathrooms where I quite literally feared for my life should I even inhale, so the thought of having my infant child spend an extended amount of time there wasn’t going to happen. Almost 100% of the “family rooms” or “Mother’s Special Nursing Closet” sections at malls or parks that I’ve visited were wholly disgusting. Everything feels like it’s been dipped in maple syrup and smells like a prison blanket. The rocking chairs are stained with every human fluid possible to exude, and you just know teenagers are totally banging in there when they’re supposed to be in third period English class.
I’m not going to tell you how to feed your baby, although McNish makes some good points about the economics and politics of formula baby milk in her poem and I agree with her wholeheartedly. She notes how safe breastmilk is compared to artificial milk, especially when it’s made with dirty, bacteria infested water. No one supports feeding babies stinky stagnant funk-water, so why do we insist they be fed next to it?"
Share your comments below on public breastfeeding.
Source:
Video:
Embarrassed: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiS8q_fifa0
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please include your initials or first name just so we know a bit about you :)....