Breastfeeding in Public

[Shamanic Rhythm]

Breastfeeding? Who the heck has a problem with that? "How dare you display your evolutionary biology in front of me!"

The issue is not with "evolutionary biology". The issue some have is perceived public indecency based on one's individual beliefs and/or their society's view of breasts in general. For one to argue from a moral stance that a mother should not feed their newborn child is just flat out wrong. To argue they shouldn't breastfeed around other people since not everyone wants to see bare breast is another thing.

But that's my point. The evolutionary value of mammary glands is being able to carry and feed a hungry newborn wherever you go. Why get so worked up about people continuing to make use of that?

And if the problem is 'omg bare breasts', some people just need to deal with it. Or learn to look away.

 

[Mr Cwtchy]

Sure didn't take long for people to start throwing the 'misogyny' card around. Guess it's just easier to do that instead of, I dunno, trying to understand the opposition's viewpoint.

 

[Bakuryukun]

It's a kid eating some food. Why is this even a debate?

 

[Mezahmay]

And if the problem is 'omg bare breasts', some people just need to deal with it. Or learn to look away.

I'm sure that's exactly what most of us do, but the random crusaders telling people to stop is what makes the news.

 

[Dragonbums]

Sure didn't take long for people to start throwing the 'misogyny' card around. Guess it's just easier to do that instead of, I dunno, trying to understand the opposition's viewpoint.

Who said this? The most people said is "get over it." Not a single person in this thread even once claimed misogyny in this whole topic.

 

[Verlander]

My youngest was 3 months old last Monday.

It's not an issue, most women choose to wear a light shawl over it anyway, but even if they didn't it's not an issue.

 

[AndrewC]

Taking a shit is also natural but I don't drop one in the middle of the street or on a train do I?

If they cover up, then I'm all for it. However not covering up does irritate me slightly and would prefer they did it somewhere more discrete.

Yes, it's a natural thing and it's not like I hate the act but I always get slightly hesitant about what this could provoke some complete nutjob to run up and do to the woman in question.

Blah blah blah inb4 people whine at me, weirdly it's one of the very few things that can annoy me when I'm out and about.

 

[Trippy Turtle]

Really depends. At a shopping centre or something, sure fine. Its more along the lines of a guy walking around topless or having a boisterous argument with a friend. Nothing wrong with it, but time and place people.
In a restaurant no. I won't go over and complain about it but I mean come on. Its a formal setting, nobody needs to see you topless. Similar to swearing, its just common decency to not do it in front of children and other places just in case some people people don't approve. Sure they will get over it, but you could just be polite and not do it. It's not as if its a chore to go to a bathroom or something.

 

[Mithcha]

Meh, I can eat where ever, so can the baby. And given that the mother is a walking bottle, don't see why she should get a new one for public use in the name of 'decency'. Fuck that. Just feed the fucker. Really don't care.

 

[The Ditz]

Although I am a little uncomfortable around breastfeeding, it still is probably the best option for the mother and child, so who am I to get in the way of that.

I mean , its not like bottles are always an option as you need the formula to be warm.

and to the people who compare breastfeeding to the body's removal of waste, lets call it what it is: eating... so, if you think that babies shouldn't eat in public and should go into the bathroom in order to do so, maybe you should stop ordering and eating food in public and instead go into the restroom and eat there, if eating in public seems so objectionable to you.

 

[Petromir]

In general as long as its being sensibly done go with it.

In a really fancy restaurant etc where I'm expected to be wearing a full lengths sleave, collar and tie (possibly even a jacket) a greater level of modesty is appropriate than at a chain restaraunt (thankfully a fair number of the former I still know of are by design more private locations). A fair number of other places I'd discount on hygine or safety grounds for the good of the baby in question.

 

[happyninja42]

Does it make you feel uncomfortable when you see a woman breastfeeding her child in a public area? If so, does it always make you uncomfortable or is it okay provided that her breasts are completely covered?

No it doesn't make me uncomfortable. I might have a momentary shock reaction upon first walking into a room and seeing a woman with a breast out, but after my brain processes what's going on it's business as usual in that regard. She's got a child, the child needs to eat, end of story. I have no issue if they want to use a blanket or towel to cover up while they do so, and in fact, every time I've ever seen a woman in public nursing, this has been the case. I've personally never seen a woman just flip out the boob and start nursing, with everyone able to see her full breast. But if I did see it, aside from the initial reaction, and the one stated below, I don't really care.

Alternatively, do you just see it as something natural and non-sexual, something women should be free to do whenever and wherever they please?

I do think it's natural, and I think it's non-sexual for the child and mother. However my reactions to it on some occasions have been sexual. Sorry but if I see a woman I find sexually attractive partially undressed, my brain instantly thinks "oh my yes, I would like to see more of that woman without clothes on, preferably pressed up against me!" But that's not exclusive to nursing women, and in fact has nothing to do with them nursing. Any attractive woman I see will trigger that mental reaction to some degree or other. Welcome to Everyday of the Week in a guy's head.

Yes they should be free to do it whenever and wherever they please. Yes it gives me sexual thought sometimes, but my sexual fantasies are not their problem or concern And I'm not going to prohibit them caring for their child because they're triggering fantasies in my head.

Do you think that instead of possibly making people uncomfortable, women should have to go into private areas, such as bathrooms, to breastfeed?

Absolutely not. Who wants to stand in some nasty public bathroom for several minutes, while your kid nurses, and possibly someone else is dropping a torpedo into the bowl stinking up the place? They're not doing anything nasty, and shouldn't be forced to sit in a bathroom while they do it like some kind of second class citizen. I actually saw a "Nursing Mothers Room" sign on a women's bathroom just yesterday. It was the first time I'd seen that, and I found it odd, because I thought they had a legal right to nurse wherever in the United States? I might be wrong about that, but I could've sworn I saw a news article about a woman fighting a business telling her to stop nursing, and she quoted she has the legal right to do so in public.

Do you think that women who do so are exhibitionists? Should they just always have bottles prepared to feed their child when out and about?

.....wow really? *snerks* I'm highly amused by this radio talk show that you listened to, if this was the type of statement they made. No I don't think they're exhibitionists, I think they've got a hungry kid, and a boob full of milk by which to feed him.

 

[Lil devils x_v1legacy]

I really do not understand the hang up people have with the human body or why anyone thinks it is okay to impose their weird hangups on to other people. A woman should be able to bare her breasts in public the same as anyone else does their arms, leg or face. There is nothing shameful about a breast, and even worse expecting them to hide it to feed their child is beyond absurd. I do hope one day society moves beyond this weird trend of " body shaming" it seems to be in right now so people can focus on more important issues.

 

[someonehairy-ish]

I'd much rather people breastfed than have to listen to little people-spawns screeching away in public. And as a wise man once said, one should never vote against boobs, for that can only be a losing strategy.

 

[the December King]

Sure didn't take long for people to start throwing the 'misogyny' card around. Guess it's just easier to do that instead of, I dunno, trying to understand the opposition's viewpoint.

Who said this? The most people said is "get over it." Not a single person in this thread even once claimed misogyny in this whole topic.

I hate to be that guy, but thundra on page 2 did say it. As someone who has mixed feelings on this topic, when I don't agree with someone's polarized viewpoint, those kind of words do jump out.

 

[Scars Unseen]

Sure didn't take long for people to start throwing the 'misogyny' card around. Guess it's just easier to do that instead of, I dunno, trying to understand the opposition's viewpoint.

Who said this? The most people said is "get over it." Not a single person in this thread even once claimed misogyny in this whole topic.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/18.862544.21486901

As for my opinion, I'd rather have someone exposing their breast than letting their hungry baby cry. It's not about the mother or the observers. When your baby is tired, let him sleep. When he's filled his diaper, change it. And when your baby is hungry, feed him. Simple as that.

And as usual, XKCD has something to say on the topic(second row down).

Spoiler

 

[TravelerSF]

Huh... So this is a problem to some people? Probably a cultural thing then. I haven't really been many situations where someone has started breastfeeding, but I recall one somewhat distant acquaintance of mine just taking her breast out and starting feeding her baby in a scout meeting with some more and less familiar people. I really had not much experience with how to react, but since she didn't seem to see anything odd with that, I decided neither should I. And I still hold that position.

I mean if people are fine with seeing models showing off their tits and ass in advertisements, they should be able to take a mother using her breast to FEED HER BABY. If you find THAT too much to take, well then you've seriously lost touch with what it means to be a human being.

 

[Mr. Eff_v1legacy]

Babies need to eat. Boobs have the food. Let them eat.

I fail to see how anyone could see breasts as sexual when there's a wrinkly little person suckling on them. People who get upset about this type of thing need a new cause, or a hobby of some kind.

In fact, I don't think people should get uptight about boobs even when there aren't babies involved. Let people be comfortable in their own skins, and be let others get uptight over it if they want.

 

[giles]

Well, women breastfeeding their babies in public is like men going shirtless in the summer. It's not illegal and the people who do it know they're gonna annoy some people. And they don't give a fuck. So complaining is useless.

That said, I'm not sure I wanna see that kind of stuff in a restaurant. Restaurants are for pretending to be super sophisticated so it doesn't quite fit. On a related note, I don't want men to be shirtless there either.

 

[wildstars]

beside, except for the 3 seconds you uncover the breast, and put the baby on it, and the other 23 seconds where you remove the baby and cover the breast again.

Who timed this? Are the competitions, like quick draw competitions?

On a more serious note...
For me, its the not-intimate-nature of something that would be intimate if it wasn't a baby. That bugs me. I think that's it, but I'm not sure. I'm certainly not prudish, I have no problems with topless women in public or otherwise.

I think the urination comparison is an attempt to point out that 'natural & non-sexual' is not a valid arguing point. I would've gone with coughing as a comparison. Also, no matter what it is... its sexual to somebody.

Long and short of it is: if its legal (and even if it isn't) I just deal with it. But you've gotta put up with my harmless but loud persistent cough in exchange.