So yesterday my background check hadn’t come back in time for me to start work (I’ll be going in tomorrow, instead) so I decided to take yesterday off from the internet, and do some Christmas shopping, mail some packages, clean my house. Of course, whenever I do this, I miss out on something good, I *always* do!!
So here’s what I missed, and my belated response.
The blogger at Franklin Circus makes a post about a woman who “selfishly” fed her baby at the counter at a gym. Brittney makes a post over at NiT, and is basically, “Oh, HELL no!” Then she defends breastfeeding in public with great arguments, she does as good of a job as I would have, and I’ve been defending public breastfeeding for YEARS. Go Brittney!!
I have some responses I’d like to make, myself.
franklincircus says over at NiT:
Elizabeth Rich was so busy building her body that she coundn’t be inconvienced by other people including her child. This self centered woman can’t even take the time to shower before feeding her child after working out. Then, she feeds the child at the front counter as she fills out paperwork and can’t understand how anyone could be offended.For Elizabeth, it’s all about her and probably has been since birth.
It seems to me that this blogger knows Elizabeth personally, and has some other personal beef with her. Because, come on, anyone that knows anything about breastfeeding knows, it’s VERY hard to be selfish, and be a breastfeeder. Breastfeeding takes a hell of a lot of time and effort, it limits how much “me” time you get, it makes it VERY hard to get away and it generally takes a lot out of you. This is not to lament breastfeeding, it was totally worth it- but it’s not the baby-feeding choice of the selfish, f’sho.
Secondly, when they say, “Elizabeth Rich was so busy building her body that she coundn’t be inconvienced by other people including her child.” that’s where I get royally pissed off.
NOW HEAR THIS! Motherhood =/= Martyrdom!
For those of you that missed what I just said, let me make it perfectly clear:
MOTHERHOOD DOES NOT EQUAL MARTYRDOM!!!
That’s right. Mothers deserve “me time”. Mothers deserve to be able to have some time to go work out, to go to the library by themselves, to have some time off. God forbid poor Elizabeth Rich want to work out for awhile. God forbid she doesn’t want to sit in a nasty, sweaty locker room or bathroom and feed her child there. Whether the actual germs are worse in a locker room or a child care area is a moot point. Why should we breastfeeding mothers be relegated to the proverbial back of the bus? Where is there to sit and feed your baby in a restroom? The toilet? That’s uncomfortable, screw that.
For those who are concerned that her breasts may have been nasty since she was sweating and didn’t take a shower first (which, honestly, I’d like to know how anyone KNEW that unless they were following her around- it doesn’t make sense for her to pick her baby up before she took a shower- who was going to hold the baby while she took a shower?) a breastfeeding mother’s nipples have certain oils which assure cleanliness for the breasts. Of course, if you’re dragging your breasts through a pig pen floor, or something, yeah, better clean those chichis off first, but it’s even recommended when you take a shower, not to wash your nipples with soap, lest you wash off the protective oils.
For those who are offended at the possibility of seeing a flash of a breast- get realand go to counseling for your issues. First, breasts are generally a very beautiful sight. Secondly, LOOK SOMEHWERE ELSE!!! I almost wish I was still nursing, I’d post a video of myself nursing. Why? Because I’m an exhibitionist? Hardly. I’d post it to prove you can breastfeed without showing the whole world your breast. MOST women who go out in public and breastfeed have mastered this. Most women I knew that breastfed/are breastfeeding have totally dreaded going out in public because of the comments they might get. So most of us practice before a mirror to see how much we’re showing. Just about every breastfeeding mother I know, has done this.
I honestly cannot believe this is such a big issue.
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November 30, 2005 at 11:26 am
Preach on, sister Ivy!
Oh, since the all the hoopla about public breastfeeding, around here, the local malls have all created nursing lounges.
One of my moms’ groups held a nurse-in in front of Victoria Secrets. A member of the group had asked to use the dressing room to nurse her daughter, while shopping there. The customer was told to use the restroom in Old Navy, the dressing rooms couldn’t be used for that purpose. Anyhow, the protest went very well, they applied for all the proper permits and used discretion. They ended up on the news and now things are changing.
Nifty.
November 30, 2005 at 3:07 pm
Obviously I’ve never nursed, as I’ve never had a baby to nurse.
But the thing that chaps my ass about this whole debate [this is a constant argument on Disney World UseNet groups and forums] is that I think it’s one of the last vestiges of classism in the world.
The wealthier classes used to have wet nurses and/or “confinement” for mothers. Breastfeeding was for sharecroppers, factory workers and other “low class” people. It was that way for literally HUNDREDS of years, both in the U.S. and Britain. I really get the impression, –again, after reading thousands of rants against public breastfeeding on rec.arts.disney.parks–that the people who are upset about it are not upset because they may see some titty. They’re upset because it reminds them that the class barriers are dropping.
I’ve seen public breastfeeders referred to as “monkeys”, “white trash” and “suckling pigs” for starters. Nice, classy behaviour, huh?
The fact that this took place in Franklin–home of the Great Tennessee Class War–says a lot to me.
November 30, 2005 at 3:52 pm
Amen Sistah!!
November 30, 2005 at 7:41 pm
You rock!
Boobs rock!
December 1, 2005 at 11:07 am
I wonder what this persons response would have been to me. While my ‘Captain’ was in NICU, I had to pump. And guess what, I did it when ever I could and needed to, not for me, but for my son. My neices and nephews got a lesson in nursing Christmas 2005, when I whipped out my pump in the sitting room at my parrents house. My nephew said, ‘I didn’t know you could do that, neet.’ and that came from a 10yr old. Even children aren’t offended, maybe the idiot at the gym should grow up! Thanks for letting me rant, and Go Girl (ivy)!