Breastfeeding is a wonderful way for mother and child to build an unshakable bond. Not only that, but breastfeeding offers an array of essential heath benefits to both mother and child. In many states in the U.S. woman are allowed to breastfeed in public without covering their chest. This is done, but not without a shocking amount of backlash.
Canadian columnist Kristin Thompson stated, "Breastfeeding is not gross. It’s natural, it’s important and it’s really difficult. So it’s shocking to me that mothers are being shamed for doing it in public — and by other women."
Photographer Erin White set out to try and lift some of the fidgetiness that some people feel about breastfeeding in public. Her photo shoot "Women in the Wild" featured breastfeeding mothers of all shapes and sizes nursing their children in what ever stage of "modesty" the women felt comfortable in. White stated that the shoot turned out to be "undeniably beautiful" but what she didn't expect was that the photo shoot also turned out to be taboo.
"What did I see that others did not?" White said, "On our BabyCenter Facebook page, the mood veered from adulation to offended — to the point where one reader commented, “This isn’t art, it’s pornographic.”
There is nothing "pornographic" about a woman standing in a forest, completely covered, save for her breast, feeding her small child. It's beautiful. Obviously, not everybody feels that way.
Breastfeeding in public is an ongoing battle. Mothers who feed their children at the mall or at the park are immediately shamed by the people around them. The twist is that the shaming often come from other mothers. In the U.S. the average mother does not breastfeed past six months. If a mother does choose to breastfeed past six months, her judgement is called into play.
The most popular question asked is, "What is so hard about covering up in public while breastfeeding?"
The answer is that the mother shouldn't have to cover. There is nothing wrong with feeding a child who needs or wants the comforting breastfeeding experience, let it be in the grocery store or in a restaurant.
The fear of the exposed human body caused people to lash out. People project their own feelings of uncomfortableness that they feel about their own bodies (men and women) on someone who seems to not share in that common concern.
U.S. society it overly sexually charged. If a mother breastfeeds a child uncovered, she's accused of not being modest. At the same time, men and women walk around in clothes that do not leave much to the imagination and are automatically accepted.
A woman's breast was made for a simple function. It developed so a mother can feed her baby. There is nothing wrong, or indecent about feeding a child, no matter how old they are or how exposed the mother is. The problem is not the mothers who breastfeed in public (covered or not), the problem is the society that feels the that they have not only the need, but the right to shame her.
A woman's breast was made for a simple function. It developed so a mother can feed her baby. There is nothing wrong, or indecent about feeding a child, no matter how old they are or how exposed the mother is. The problem is not the mothers who breastfeed in public (covered or not), the problem is the society that feels the that they have not only the need, but the right to shame her.
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