Poll: Breastfeeding in public

[Galliam]

It's a perfectly natural act. If you wanna act like a 12 year old boy about it you should probably grow up and show some respect. Mothers don't get to chose when their kids are hungry. And how would you like it if someone said that you can't eat in public, but that you had to go into the bathroom to eat.

Couldn't have said it better myself. Look, we're not talking about women wantonly flinging off their bras and shoving their knockers in your face. We're not talking about doing something to get attention, and we're not even talking about anything involving adjusting certain body parts or clothing (not that, I argue, that should be such a heinous thing either. It certainly isn't on the cricket field). We're talking about a child wanting his/her lunch. It's completely unfair to say to a woman (not to mention said woman's child) that no, it is indecent and improper for you to want to feed your hungry child wherever you want. You must instead do it in a special often cold basement room, or order your child not to be hungry until you can find somewhere private.

And, er, seriously? If you don't like looking at it, a simple half-turn and the "horrific" site of a mother nurturing a child is completely obscured from your vision. Easy.

So what if your chair is directly facing her? Should you just stare at the table? Without a blanket to cover up, I am seeing waaay too much of your body at dinner. I know they have special maternity wear that minimizes exposed body parts, but most women I've seen have opted for the "lift your shirt" approach which exposes everyone in the restaurant to your body while we're eating.

Its just NOT too much to ask that you keep that activity as private and personal as possible.

 

[inFAMOUSCowZ]

ell it depends where at. If I'm at a restaurant, I don;t want to see some kid sucking on a lady's breast. But if pretty much anywhere else, hell go for it.

 

[banthesun]

If its being done in a restaurant, I have trouble continuing to eat without staring directly at my plate.

This is the bit that really got me. You're at a restaurant. You're eating. The baby's eating. Should women who choose to breastfeed not leave the house? The baby needs milk and breastfeeding should be an available option (I'm not going to go into the benifits because I don't want to look up any studies).

Frankly, I don't see why this should be an issue. Breasts have a distinct non-sexual use. Women using their breasts to feed their babies should be as acceptable as using your hands to pick up something, or your legs to walk.

 

[Gordon_4_v1legacy]

I think a give and take approach is needed. Most mothers I know wear special maternity bras and tops that allow for discreet removal of the breast and a section of material to cover the child and mother. If the above criteria is fulfilled; then you shut your pie hole and let the lady feed her child.

If not, politely bring your objection to their attention: but be warned: parents of newborns are notorious for having little time for the childless youngsters tell them what's what. Especially since sometimes parents forget stuff or get caught off guard.

For the record, breastfeeding in public is okay by me.

 

[Snotnarok]

Baby needs to eat, breast feeding is the best food for them apparently, let them have at the twins.

Seriously where did we go so wrong in our ways that people have to whine about people breast feeding. Don't want to see it? Here's a tip for you, don't look.

 

[Killclaw Kilrathi]

So what if your chair is directly facing her? Should you just stare at the table? Without a blanket to cover up, I am seeing waaay too much of your body at dinner. I know they have special maternity wear that minimizes exposed body parts, but most women I've seen have opted for the "lift your shirt" approach which exposes everyone in the restaurant to your body while we're eating.

Its just NOT too much to ask that you keep that activity as private and personal as possible.

You could look at your meal?

I understand where you're coming from, I really do. It makes it all kinds of awkward when a woman gets her breast out and starts feeding her child. I mean, where are you meant to look? Am I meant to act normal like it's just nothing, or am I meant to avert my gaze so she doesn't get offended that I might be looking at her tits? It creates a very weird situation where there isn't really a standardized reaction. It's aggravated by the fact that there are ways to feed a baby that doesn't involve breasts.

That said, that's not really enough reason to ban something. I don't have a right to not be offended, or weirded out. And even though plenty of mothers do it right from the get go, not all of them want to bottle feed their babies for whatever reason. I'm not so self-entitled that I think feeling a bit weird about something is reason enough to make it illegal, especially when it's something natural like a mother feeding its young.

 

[MaxwellEdison]

Why do you care that much? You're an adult, look away if you're that irked by breasts.

 

[AgentNein]

It's a perfectly natural act. If you wanna act like a 12 year old boy about it you should probably grow up and show some respect. Mothers don't get to chose when their kids are hungry. And how would you like it if someone said that you can't eat in public, but that you had to go into the bathroom to eat.

Couldn't have said it better myself. Look, we're not talking about women wantonly flinging off their bras and shoving their knockers in your face. We're not talking about doing something to get attention, and we're not even talking about anything involving adjusting certain body parts or clothing (not that, I argue, that should be such a heinous thing either. It certainly isn't on the cricket field). We're talking about a child wanting his/her lunch. It's completely unfair to say to a woman (not to mention said woman's child) that no, it is indecent and improper for you to want to feed your hungry child wherever you want. You must instead do it in a special often cold basement room, or order your child not to be hungry until you can find somewhere private.

And, er, seriously? If you don't like looking at it, a simple half-turn and the "horrific" site of a mother nurturing a child is completely obscured from your vision. Easy.

So what if your chair is directly facing her? Should you just stare at the table? Without a blanket to cover up, I am seeing waaay too much of your body at dinner. I know they have special maternity wear that minimizes exposed body parts, but most women I've seen have opted for the "lift your shirt" approach which exposes everyone in the restaurant to your body while we're eating.

Its just NOT too much to ask that you keep that activity as private and personal as possible.

I'll repeat what others have said. You're the one with the issue. So what you can do is get over it, and hang up your hangups. The mother shouldn't have to change her ways because you can't handle the sight of a breast. It's a breast. A part of a woman's body. When a woman can feed her child in public without some entitled asshole seeing it as an obscene act I will be a very happy man.

Maybe you should just move to my neck for awhile, Burlington Vermont where there are no silly and archaic nudity laws and you'll get over it pretty quick.

 

[joshthor]

where is the "only if she is hot" option?

 

[gillebro]

It's a perfectly natural act. If you wanna act like a 12 year old boy about it you should probably grow up and show some respect. Mothers don't get to chose when their kids are hungry. And how would you like it if someone said that you can't eat in public, but that you had to go into the bathroom to eat.

Couldn't have said it better myself. Look, we're not talking about women wantonly flinging off their bras and shoving their knockers in your face. We're not talking about doing something to get attention, and we're not even talking about anything involving adjusting certain body parts or clothing (not that, I argue, that should be such a heinous thing either. It certainly isn't on the cricket field). We're talking about a child wanting his/her lunch. It's completely unfair to say to a woman (not to mention said woman's child) that no, it is indecent and improper for you to want to feed your hungry child wherever you want. You must instead do it in a special often cold basement room, or order your child not to be hungry until you can find somewhere private.

And, er, seriously? If you don't like looking at it, a simple half-turn and the "horrific" site of a mother nurturing a child is completely obscured from your vision. Easy.

So what if your chair is directly facing her? Should you just stare at the table? Without a blanket to cover up, I am seeing waaay too much of your body at dinner. I know they have special maternity wear that minimizes exposed body parts, but most women I've seen have opted for the "lift your shirt" approach which exposes everyone in the restaurant to your body while we're eating.

Its just NOT too much to ask that you keep that activity as private and personal as possible.

Yeah. If it bothers you that much, stare at the table. If the woman opts for the "lift your shirt" approach, the only part of her you're seeing that you wouldn't see at the beach, is the part that serves as the feeding vessel.

I think you're missing the point here, which is that the baby is just as entitled to eat in public as anybody else. I think it is a lot to ask to keep that activity "as private and personal as possible", because in saying that you're shaming new mothers and saying that they are disgusting and selfish for wanting to feed their children.

 

[gillebro]

where is the "only if she is hot" option?

I... REALLY hope that was a joke.

 

[Galliam]

So what if your chair is directly facing her? Should you just stare at the table? Without a blanket to cover up, I am seeing waaay too much of your body at dinner. I know they have special maternity wear that minimizes exposed body parts, but most women I've seen have opted for the "lift your shirt" approach which exposes everyone in the restaurant to your body while we're eating.

Its just NOT too much to ask that you keep that activity as private and personal as possible.

You could look at your meal?

I understand where you're coming from, I really do. It makes it all kinds of awkward when a woman gets her breast out and starts feeding her child. I mean, where are you meant to look? Am I meant to act normal like it's just nothing, or am I meant to avert my gaze so she doesn't get offended that I might be looking at her tits? It creates a very weird situation where there isn't really a standardized reaction. It's aggravated by the fact that there are ways to feed a baby that doesn't involve breasts.

That said, that's not really enough reason to ban something. I don't have a right to not be offended, or weirded out. And even though plenty of mothers do it right from the get go, not all of them want to bottle feed their babies for whatever reason. I'm not so self-entitled that I think feeling a bit weird about something is reason enough to make it illegal, especially when it's something natural like a mother feeding its young.

I hope I didn't give the impression that I think it should be illegal, because I really don't. I want people to take a more generally considerate approach to it.

Like it or not, from the looks of it for every 2 people that aren't offended by it, theres 1 person that IS offended. So 1/3d of the people in a given room are gonna have an issue with what you're doing, maybe you should consider covering up for the sake of those around you? Im not telling you to let your baby go hungry, I just feel like people get really dickish about this topic.

 

[Wharrgarble]

There's a huge difference between a woman ripping her entire top off to feed her child and doing in a much more subdued way. In fact, I can't remember the last time I ever saw a woman making a huge deal out of feeding her baby. Not to mention now a days they have blankets that you can cover yourself and the baby with. They're actually quite nice, and most people don't even realize they're doing it.

It's not obscene, it's natural. And at least to me, I'd rather have the mother feed the kid than have to listen to it screaming for hours on end.

 

[Titan Buttons]

It's not like the women just wipe it out, they almost always have special clothing that prevents anyone from seeing anything but still allowing the baby to feed

 

[Janktrio]

Meh. I don't really care if a woman decides to breastfeed in public, she's just doing something that comes normally with having a baby. Although I do admit it can be awkward for some people it shouldn't really matter in the end.

 

[Bakuryukun]

Should feeding your child be perfectly fine behaviour? That is indeed a question every parent has to ask themselves.

That's an extreme over-simplification of the subject.

For one thing, breast feeding is a choice, and I believe it's even possible to... "extract" the milk, and feed it to the baby without use of the standard delivery device.

I'm all for women choosing the natural way to feed their kid, but the old "It's natural, get over it" argument is... just not valid in our modern society. Nothing we do is natural any more, and if we did do those things, we wouldn't be invited over to dinner next time, or we'd get arrested.

The bottom line is that public nudity is illegal in most countries, and that feeding your child in public, without being nude, is both possible and practical.

Everything we do is natural, and saying otherwise is delusional, even if we do "unnatural things" (whatever that means) it's merely as an extension of something that IS natural.

also breastfeeding is shown to help the mother-child bonding process, if people have a problem with it, maybe THEY should leave. Also I don't really think breastfeeding counts as "public nudity" seeing as there's a large baby head in the way.

 

[jonyboy13]

I say death penalty to women who do that. You don't see me drop my pants and scratch my balls even if it itches like fuck. Public places are one thing, but in places you eat? What the hell is wrong with them?
If we're already on the topic of public and babies then I'm all for keeping your screaming whining baby at home.

 

[BabyRaptor]

If they stay covered, fine. If not, I reserve the right to be uncomfortable with it. Especially the ones who scream and ***** every time someone looks at them.

Public nudity is public nudity...It's a crime most places, so why should these people get off simply because they chose to feed a child a specific way? You're not special. Pump your breast milk into a bottle if you think the kid will need it while you're out.

During my time as a manager at Arbys, I did have to remove someone from the store because of breastfeeding. She came in with her 5 kids, ordered food and didn't bother to pay. She immediately sat down, totally stripped and let the baby go to town. Meanwhile, her 4 other children were running wild and tearing the place up. People complained and I asked her to either get her kids under control and get dressed or leave. She replied that she was busy feeding her baby. I ended up having to kick her out a few minutes later after her other kids knocked over several tables and one landed on the broken foot of another customer. She threw a fit and tried to file a complaint. It went nowhere.

Disclaimer: Yes, I'm a female who has had a baby. No, I didn't breastfeed.

 

[MASTACHIEFPWN]

As a 20 something man, I feel perfectly justified NOT wanting to see certain things when I go out into public. Its not because I think its wrong to breastfeed, or even because its supposedly "obscene". It just strikes me as something that should be done privately.

Did this guy say he doesn't like Boobies??!!!

I think so...... That's just not right!

OT: I don't give the king of Hyrule's ship about it, honestly. If you need to feed your bebe, it needs to be fed. When you're hungry you usually get food, amirite?

But really, because I am not a woman, I don't care. If a child needs to be fed, feed it. Just don't go flaunting your tits in public, I don't want to walk down the street with a boner... If you know what I mean...

 

[Stevanchez]

I don't care.

But I gotta say that the, "It's natural." excuse seems really stupid to me. There are a lot of things that are "natural" that we are not allowed/supposed to do in public because of public decency.