A certain community has made some posts I want to reply to...

[conuly]

Oh, somebody in the back of the class was nursing her baby, and it offended me so much!

I agree, babies should not routinely be in college classrooms, but the only way you know she was breastfeeding and not bottlefeeding is if you turned around and looked. You don't wanna be upset, don't look. Would you rather she'd let the kid cry?

Oh, somebody in the restaurant was nursing her baby, ugh! She should go to the bathroom to do that!

Most people are very discreet about it, covering with cloth and turning in towards the booth. It's possible this person wasn't, but your solution still sucks. Not only is the bathroom extremely unhygenic, and a terrible place to eat your lunch, but do you really want this woman to clog up a stall, or in some restaurants the ENTIRE BATHROOM for however long it takes her to feed her baby? Get a grip!

OMG! Somebody... changed their baby's diaper in the bathroom! I didn't go there to be exposed to bodily functions!

And what do you think the bathroom is for? Yes, changing the diaper at the table is icky. Changing it in the bathroom is practical and normal.

NOOO! I went to see a kid's movie... afterschool... and there were... CHILDREN there!

*headdesk*

Now, in fairness, a lot of those people, whatever they say, seem to care a great deal about kids... there's a number of posts on the subject of "parents shouldn't do that sort of fucked up shit to their kids", with the fucked up shit in question ranging from not feeding them right to murder. And it's certainly a rant community more than anything else, I'm not denying that we all need a place to vent. But... *giggles* Sometimes certain comments are over the top.

Comments

[gingembre.livejournal.com]

Actually, she did *not* "have her naked breast out" at BK. There is footage from an interview where she demonstrated her technique that I can point you towards if you're interested.

I have found through much practice that the *best* way is to have a shirt you can lift up slightly. After that, the baby's head and body covers everything. Most women also turn slightly into a corner, especially when latching on the baby. Using a blanket only draws attention - similar to putting a "breastfeeding here!" sign up. And for the record, most people I've encountered have been completely unaware that I was feeding the baby at all, they thought she was sleeping or just that I was cuddling her, and they were there from latch-on to finish.

On a further side note, the base problem here is that our culture sexualizes something that isn't meant to be sexualized. Many cultures have women going topless also with no thought to it being "indecent". And although quite a few people have foot fetishes, no one suggests that we not show our feet for the sake of modesty (at least not in this century!) Breasts are not meant to be sex toys, in fact almost no other species uses them as such. They are also not meant to sell beer and cars :-)

[maladaptive.livejournal.com]

That's all I'd heard about the BK woman. What I get for listening to word on the street. Like I've said, I really have no problem with breastfeeding... and I wouldn't go topless, because I'm one of those unfortunate souls that needs a bra.

And I agree wholeheartedly on the beer or cars bit. Just because men don't have them....