This is a HUGE issue. HUGE. Everywhere you look, woman are being asked to leave, cover up(have you ever tried to eat under a blanket? Yeah, it's HOT), go to the bathroom(Ok. that is just GROSS, how would you like to eat off the toilet? Yum), or go to their cars to feed their babies. WHAT?! REALLY?! Are we so repressed as a society that women cannot even feed their babies the way babies are meant to be fed anymore? I mean, really. The SOLE PURPOSE of a breast is to provide nourishment for an infant. The fact that they are used for "fun" should be secondary. If breasts are (supposedly) used only for sexual reasons and that is why people are so uncomfortable with NIP, then maybe some people shouldn't talk. I mean, you use your mouth to kiss. That can be sexual. You use your hands to, well, pretty sure it goes without saying what, but hey, that's sexual too, should we all wear gloves? Or is it the fact that breast milk is a "body fluid"? So is spit and people do that all the time (and it's GROSS). Crying? Tears are a body fluid too. I've heard people say that the don't want their children to see a breast/nipple. Why?
I'm very proud to say that I NIP. When my babies are hungry, they will eat. And they will eat anywhere that they happen to get hungry. If feeding my baby/babies makes you uncomfortable, look away, walk away, leave, or better yet, YOU cover up!
This is a writing that I found on the internet. I'm not sure who wrote it, but THANK YOU! IT.IS.PERFECT!
"Women should cover up their bottles when they are feeding their babies...
I wasn’t exposed to bottle-feeding much growing up and seeing it makes me very uncomfortable. I mean if you think about it, a bottle is a substitute for the breast, and since breasts are sexual, doesn’t that make a bottle kind of like a dildo?! Eww, gross.
When I see a mom bottle-..feeding, I don’t know where to look. I can’t look directly at the bottle or the baby because the idea of feeding a baby formula makes me sick to my stomach. It’s just gross. And the way babies sound when they eat??? They slurp and suck and dribble formula everywhere! It’s just nasty and it *smells*! I shouldn’t have to see that! And what about my young son? How am I supposed to explain to him why a woman is bottle-..feeding? I mean, he’s too young to understand how different parts of the body function. It’s going to be hard to explain to him that women actually choose not to nurse, or can’t for one reason or another. It’ll probably upset him to know that lots of babies don’t get "nurse-nurse" like he does. I don’t want to have to deal with him being emotionally scarred by seeing bottles.
And imagine the therapy bills I’ll have to pay for when he’s older!
So bottle-feeding moms should either go into a bathroom, re-lactate so they can use their breasts in public, or cover up with a blanket. Sure, I know the excuses......bathrooms are dirty and no one should have to eat in there. But women could still re-lactate. Oh, yeah I know how hard it would be, but ya know, we DO have nice pumps available nowadays. She could get a good supply going for the sole purpose of feeding in public. If she would just use her breasts, we wouldn’t have to see those indecent bottles all the time. And if she has a hard time re-lactating, she could always just cover up with a blanket when she has to use a bottle. Oh I know some babies aren’t comfortable under a blanket. Re-breathing their own carbon dioxide for 20+ minutes must come at a price, but who cares? At least I wouldn’t have to see bottles.
And if a woman doesn’t want to go through all that trouble, she could just schedule outings around the baby’s feedings. A bottle-fed baby only has to eat, what? Every 3-4 hours? She can just bottle-feed at home, go out, and rush back with a screaming baby if he needs to eat sooner than the schedule allows.
I’ll admit that I’m uncomfortable with bottle-feeding in public. And as an American, I have a right to not have to be exposed to that sort of thing. Women should be aware of everyone else and accomodating to all others.
After all, our right not to be offended is more important than a baby’s right to eat, right?"
response to a critical reply:
"I turned it around so people could see how ridiculous is is for ANY woman to hide to feed her child. It sounds a bit ridiculous when I say women should cover up their bottles, huh? I hope it makes you think.
Disclaimer...
Ok, so forgive me for assuming people would see the sarcasm in the post below. I don’t *actually* think women should cover up their bottles. I used all the arguments against nursing in public and turned them around to bottle-feeders in an attempt to show people just how idiotic it is to ask women to hide while feeding their baby.
The point is, breasts are not lewd or indecent. If you see a little nipple, get over it. Breasts are for feeding babies, first and foremost. The day you hide your bottles is the day I hide my breasts.
Also...
I realize the dildo reference may make some people’s jaws drop in disbelief, but that was possibly the most important part of the post. It seems the main reason people freak out about nursing in public is because breasts are also sexual, therefore should be covered all the times. Well, a nipple on a bottle was designed to replace the original thing, just like a dildo is meant to replace a penis. Sorry, but it’s true. If it sounds outlandish to you, then maybe you should reconsider just how sexual the breast is. It’s not sexual to feed a child at the breast any more than it is to feed a child with a bottle.
IF (and that’s a big "if") nursing WERE sexual, then I would assume people would have the same reaction to a bottle as they would to a dildo. But they don’t. It’s something to think about anyways."
I'm very proud to say that I NIP. When my babies are hungry, they will eat. And they will eat anywhere that they happen to get hungry. If feeding my baby/babies makes you uncomfortable, look away, walk away, leave, or better yet, YOU cover up!
This is a writing that I found on the internet. I'm not sure who wrote it, but THANK YOU! IT.IS.PERFECT!
"Women should cover up their bottles when they are feeding their babies...
I wasn’t exposed to bottle-feeding much growing up and seeing it makes me very uncomfortable. I mean if you think about it, a bottle is a substitute for the breast, and since breasts are sexual, doesn’t that make a bottle kind of like a dildo?! Eww, gross.
When I see a mom bottle-..feeding, I don’t know where to look. I can’t look directly at the bottle or the baby because the idea of feeding a baby formula makes me sick to my stomach. It’s just gross. And the way babies sound when they eat??? They slurp and suck and dribble formula everywhere! It’s just nasty and it *smells*! I shouldn’t have to see that! And what about my young son? How am I supposed to explain to him why a woman is bottle-..feeding? I mean, he’s too young to understand how different parts of the body function. It’s going to be hard to explain to him that women actually choose not to nurse, or can’t for one reason or another. It’ll probably upset him to know that lots of babies don’t get "nurse-nurse" like he does. I don’t want to have to deal with him being emotionally scarred by seeing bottles.
And imagine the therapy bills I’ll have to pay for when he’s older!
So bottle-feeding moms should either go into a bathroom, re-lactate so they can use their breasts in public, or cover up with a blanket. Sure, I know the excuses......bathrooms are dirty and no one should have to eat in there. But women could still re-lactate. Oh, yeah I know how hard it would be, but ya know, we DO have nice pumps available nowadays. She could get a good supply going for the sole purpose of feeding in public. If she would just use her breasts, we wouldn’t have to see those indecent bottles all the time. And if she has a hard time re-lactating, she could always just cover up with a blanket when she has to use a bottle. Oh I know some babies aren’t comfortable under a blanket. Re-breathing their own carbon dioxide for 20+ minutes must come at a price, but who cares? At least I wouldn’t have to see bottles.
And if a woman doesn’t want to go through all that trouble, she could just schedule outings around the baby’s feedings. A bottle-fed baby only has to eat, what? Every 3-4 hours? She can just bottle-feed at home, go out, and rush back with a screaming baby if he needs to eat sooner than the schedule allows.
I’ll admit that I’m uncomfortable with bottle-feeding in public. And as an American, I have a right to not have to be exposed to that sort of thing. Women should be aware of everyone else and accomodating to all others.
After all, our right not to be offended is more important than a baby’s right to eat, right?"
response to a critical reply:
"I turned it around so people could see how ridiculous is is for ANY woman to hide to feed her child. It sounds a bit ridiculous when I say women should cover up their bottles, huh? I hope it makes you think.
Disclaimer...
Ok, so forgive me for assuming people would see the sarcasm in the post below. I don’t *actually* think women should cover up their bottles. I used all the arguments against nursing in public and turned them around to bottle-feeders in an attempt to show people just how idiotic it is to ask women to hide while feeding their baby.
The point is, breasts are not lewd or indecent. If you see a little nipple, get over it. Breasts are for feeding babies, first and foremost. The day you hide your bottles is the day I hide my breasts.
Also...
I realize the dildo reference may make some people’s jaws drop in disbelief, but that was possibly the most important part of the post. It seems the main reason people freak out about nursing in public is because breasts are also sexual, therefore should be covered all the times. Well, a nipple on a bottle was designed to replace the original thing, just like a dildo is meant to replace a penis. Sorry, but it’s true. If it sounds outlandish to you, then maybe you should reconsider just how sexual the breast is. It’s not sexual to feed a child at the breast any more than it is to feed a child with a bottle.
IF (and that’s a big "if") nursing WERE sexual, then I would assume people would have the same reaction to a bottle as they would to a dildo. But they don’t. It’s something to think about anyways."
Love it!!
ReplyDeletelove it too, I have been lucky not to have been asked to feed elsewhere except at church of all places... I havent fed in the church yet because of being asked not too, yet I feel its gods place and he designed us so whats wrong with it, it was good enough for Jesus
ReplyDeleteI had a problem NIP at the high school, as the staff though it was inappropriate to allow teenage boys to see a baby eat. I sent the superintendant a letter stating the state law, she replied that school were locally controlled and did not have to follow state law. I replied that I wanted to know if all babies were required to be fed out of sign, or if they discriminated against breastfed babies. I never heard from her again.
ReplyDeleteI just have to say, I love this post. :) Especially the dildo comparison!!
ReplyDelete