Indecent Exposure?

Have you ever had the experience of learning a new word and then suddenly hearing that word used in conversation all the time around you? The word is probably being used the same amount as it ever was, but since you just learned it, it seems to suddenly be all over the place. That is how I feel about the "breast-feeding debate" right now. It's the same as it ever was, but because I happen to be a breast-feeding mother at this point, I feel like I hear about it all the time. And frankly, I am getting irritated with a particular viewpoint that I am hearing or reading about so frequently. Apparently, there are a lot, I mean a lot of people out there that think mothers should not breast-feed in public. Many of them are women themselves. Many of them say extremely harsh and negative things about public nursing. For example, here are a few quotes I pulled from the comments of an article I read about this topic a few weeks ago:

"I’m a mom as it sounds like all of you ladies are, but I do NOT agree to breastfeeding in public. I don’t think my 5 year old son needs to get a lesson in sex ed while shopping at the mall with me! My son is not allowed to see MY breasts, so why should he be forced to see YOURS."

"What’s with this “they have to eat NOW attitude?” I know infants require more often feeding but they are not gonna die if they are 30 minutes late. At what age does this stop? These are the kids that are going to be severely overweight by time they are 8 because you have raised them to eat immediately when you are hungry. I’m tired of this “it’s natural” defense. So are lots of other things I’m sure you don’t want to see in public. Next - why is your kids hunger more important than other people’s desire not to see your nasty boob! Geesh."

"Some woman was doing this at my son’s baseball practice last week. up on the top bleacher with no one else around, but there were 8-10 7 yr olds within 50 feet. I wanted to say something but I was afraid she would show me more.."

"Breastfeeding is a personal thing that should be done discreetly & preferably in a private setting. I can’t imagine myself breast feeding my kid every couple of hours out in public. What is so necesary that the mother has to be out all day!!! If they are going to be out for so long then use the pump and fill into a bottle!!! Too many women are “popping out their breasts” in public, specifically restaurants."

This kind of idiotic banter makes me angry. It's like these people have no facts whatsoever behind their opinions. No nursing mother I know is thrilled about feeding their baby in public, and we all try to be as discreet as possible. When a baby is eating, the breast is covered by their face/head and some of our shirt probably as well. As soon as the baby finishes, we cover as fast as possible leaving about one millisecond where flesh might possibly be glimpsed. Here is an interesting idea. Why not just ignore and look away from nursing mothers? They aren't doing any harm and aren't flashing their breasts around like strippers. To that last comment I say- many babies won't take a bottle so nursing is the only option. And I am afraid that there are many many things that might require a nursing mother to leave the house with her baby for extended periods of time. Especially if she has other older kids that must go and do things. The world doesn't stop when you have a baby. You still have to leave your house! To the next to last comment my reply is: within 50 feet? You've got to be kidding! The kids would need binoculars to see anything from that distance. The poor woman went to the very top bleacher with no one else around. I would say she was being totally discreet. To the second comment I say: you obviously have never been in charge of an infant that has been waiting 30 minutes to eat. I think I'd rather have a mother discreetly nurse their infant than listen to it scream its head off. And by the way- nursing on demand is not a cause of overweight 8 year olds. And to the first comment I say: nursing is not sex ed. If your 5 year old does not know the primary function of breasts, then it might be a good time to let them know that all mammals feed their babies in this way.
There is this stigma about breast feeding that amazes me. I have never seen a woman flaunting her breasts while trying to feed her baby. Most women cover with blankets, and even if they do not it's almost impossible to see anything! Most of all I just feel sad that our culture has so sexualized breasts that many simply can't see them as having any other function. And more sad is the irrational verbal bashing that many freely dole out on mothers who choose to breast feed in public. I don't have an agenda. I don't have a lot of nerve. In fact, I try really hard to not have to feed my baby in a public place. But, sometimes it happens. I have to make the best of it and feed him even though it makes me a little uncomfortable. I'm not going to feed him while sitting on a toilet in a dirty bathroom. I am going to find the most out of the way place I can and face away from everyone. Sometimes I'll be more shielded and sometimes I'll be more out in the open depending on the circumstances. And I think that anyone who has a problem with it needs to turn away and go on with their business.