Boobs. They have become weapons of marketing products and services and shoved down our throats in almost every visual media we consume. Like product placement, breasts are usually used to draw your attention to a particular subject, only not so discreetly.
But, while the objects of so much visual attention, the female breast is also a rather important part of human life: breastfeeding babies.. And with August recently passed, which was Breastfeeding Awareness month, it’s an ideal time to question why the issue of breastfeeding is so heavily debated.
The issue of breastfeeding in public is a particularly hot topic lately, with mothers receiving backlash for breastfeeding without covering up. This prompts a backlash toward those critics but also makes some women begin to feel guilty for the pure motherly instinct of feeding their babies.
Unlike California, where breastfeeding is allowed anywhere, public breastfeeding was illegal in Idaho and Utah before 2018, where many women faced the inconvenient option of having to breastfeed in public bathrooms when out doing errands or eating out in a restaurant. Though a bill allowing women to breastfeed publicly finally passed with final votes of 66-5, women in Utah were still subjects of criticism and expected to follow specific rules. According to the Salt Lake Tribune on March 12, 2018, Republican
Representative Curt Webb thought the passing of the bill would lead to women being frequently immodest.
“This seems to say you don’t have to cover up at all,” Webb was quoted as saying. “I’m not comfortable with that; I’m just not. It’s really in your face.”
Like Utah, Idaho also passed the law, making public breastfeeding legal in all 50 states. Yet, not everyone is content. Polls on the number of Americans who believe that it’s acceptable for women to breastfeed in public, but one conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2015 showed that nearly 64 percent of respondents agreed. Even if that number has increased since then, it’s fair to estimate that some three out of every 10 Americans do not approve.
I just wonder how many of those people who chafe at the notion of a mother performing a perfectly natural biological function are as squeamish as seeing naked breasts in film or premium cable TV shows, and bodacious bosoms on commercials?
The majority of pediatricians encourage mothers to breastfeed, as it provides their baby with crucial nutrients for brain development, so the idea that mothers must choose to cater to other’s feelings about their exposed breasts instead of putting their baby’s needs first is entirely absurd.
“Breastfeeding forms a bond and is the healthiest option for both mom and baby,” said Martina Flores, breastfeeding assistant at the Women and Children Clinic (WIC) office in San Pedro. “Not only do we provide help with proper methods to breastfeed, but we also encourage women to take the shame out of feeding their babies in public. There’s no shame in being a good mother.”
It’s possible that those who are against public breastfeeding are not against it per se, but want a happy medium, such as CSUDH anthropology student Ernie Garcia, 25.
“I’m not completely against public breastfeeding,” he said. “But I do think they should cover up completely while doing it. You can’t whip your boob out and expect people not to look and you shouldn’t complain if they stare either.”
That’s not the most extreme viewpoint, but it isn’t a far reach from that to the kind of breastfeeding shaming and harassment of women that Maureen Shaw wrote about on the news website Quartz (www.qz.com) on Aug. 16, 2016, which documented several instances of public nursing shaming and claimed other women are among the biggest perpetrators.
But mothers are rising up against that shaming, asking why, if people are bothered by the sight of the woman anatomy in its biological form, they aren’t nearly as bothered by that anatomy being so sexualized in our media.
I think it’s a rotten double-standard that needs to be swept into the dustbin of history like past anti-women prohibitions, like chastity belts and not allowing women the right to vote.
“I just never understood why I have to feel ashamed to breastfeed my baby in public because a man can’t seem to mind his business and just look away,” said Isabela Morales, 26, History major. “Is a baby cow or kittens breastfeeding also offensive? I think people who sexualize breastfeeding to begin with are the problem.”
Unfortunately, some women stand against public breastfeeding out of internalized insecurities of their partner looking at another woman’s breast. However, it is crucial to keep in mind that if a woman wanted to show off her breast with the only motive to turn heads, she’d wear a low-cut shirt as women do in the commercials trying to sell you cars.
As hard as it may be to comprehend, mothers merely want to feed their children and mind their own business, and they expect you to mind your own as well.
Our California State Dominguez Hills University is a safe space for breastfeeding mothers; the Women’s Resource Center on campus also offers help with breastfeeding information and a private lactation room for pumping when you’re away from the baby.
August may have passed, but it’s never the wrong time to raise breastfeeding awareness.
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