The “breastfeeding in public” debate is back in the news again. Unbelievable. Why do breastfeeding mothers have to feel like second-class citizens and be discriminated for doing what is one of the most natural things in the world?
Kochie’s Breastfeed anytime, anywhere….. discreetly opinion has provided fodder for several of my conversations in recent days, and of all things an article titled “10 grossest things witnessed inflight” came through my social media feeds this morning. I’m deliberately not linking the article because I’m annoyed and I don’t want to give it any more “juice”. Two things made the top 10 – one about a woman pumping breast milk on the plane and one about a woman’s frozen breast milk that accidentally defrosted and leaked on another passenger. These two items made the list with some other seriously disgusting things. I was appalled at their inclusion.
I read Kochie’s article this morning and it seems to me that what he is trying to say is “be discreet and sensitive”. I don’t have a problem with being discreet. What I have problem with, is how that opinion is perceived and how it’s being used to justify what are really double standards.
No one seems to give women who dress in skimpy bikinis, wear g-strings, go topless on a beach a hard time. Apparently, women’s bare skin is ok in that context, but a bit of breast while feeding your child requires discretion. I question who should really be using the muslin wraps that Kochie says breastfeeding mothers should use to cover up!
The reality is that the bikini picture I’ve chosen is far less revealing than what society actually finds acceptable
The thing that saddens me the most is when I hear women join in the debate in favour of relegating a nursing mother into a unseen corner, and criticising those who won’t for being insensitive. There is something seriously wrong with a society that requires discretion and sensitivity from a breastfeeding mother and not from…. well, you name it, ….. all the other things people do that are indiscreet and insensitive.
Photo credits: https://www.morfae.com and https://www.theage.com.au
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Related articles
- Kochie’s double standards (theage.com.au)
- Breastfeeding and the working woman
Comments 2
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