Lone Star Pa informed me this morning that he watched a segment on GMA about public breastfeeding which stated that something like 57% of Americans polled stated that seeing a woman breastfeeding in public made them uncomfortable and that over 70% said that they thought women should stay at home to breastfeed. I hate to be a snob but I often wonder why so many Americans are such dumb-fucks...I just can't help it. Either they are stupid or it is a Taliban sort of thing and, as the mother of girls, I really prefer to think they are stupid for my own personal peace of mind, if those are my choices. I mean: we all know that breastfeeding is infinitely healthier for babies than any of the alternatives and that babies need to be breastfed for a minimum of a year if at all possible, preferably longer in this world of daycare, close living conditions and antibiotic-resistant bacteria (and just the natural unfolding of nature, really, as weaning usually occurs much later when it is child-led, although there is a lot of variation). There are a lot of things in this culture that make such a goal impossible for a lot of families, but that is what we are shooting for, in terms of public health.
So what? Mothers should just sit at home for a year or more? Seclude ourselves as unclean? I am sorry but I just can't condone that kind of misogynistic shit. The polled Americans either need to educate themselves or go do something else to themselves as far as I am concerned. Yeah - I'm a little worked up; it's about my daughters' freedom, after all.
8 comments:
Yeah mama, this is one of my big, ire inducing issues. Why are people so stupid?
In most countries, breast feeding is seen as a natural act. Because people are uneducated, mothers should stay home so they can feed their babies? That is one of the most ridiculous statements that I've ever hear. Lets get real America! Women have breast and they produce milk after they give birth, it's nature at work. The milk is produced so the mother can feed her baby. Education on this natural act should be mandatory in this country!
No, no, you've got it all wrong. Women should stay at home (or in their special red tents) to breast-feed. During that year or more, we cannot cook,* clean, balance cheque-books, pleasure their partners, getting up to change a diaper in the middle of the night, or ANYTHING traditionally girley, because we are too busy secluding ourselves by breastfeeding. During that time, we will need things to entertain us: ice-cream socials with other breast-feeding women, guitar clinics (imagine how good you'll be in a year's time!), dance-parties... oh, the list is limitless.
*Unless we cook for a hobby.
Um, I meant to say "our" partners.
Heh.
Perhaps you have a point....
Someday I'll actually get my sentences together.
This country for all it's progression and freedom is so amazingly backwards in the dumbest ways. Anything to do with the body is considered "evil" and must be hidden at all times. What on earth is up with this? Arrrrrgh!
Yeah, but the body is not considered AS evil when the breasts are displayed as sexy. This is nothing that hasn't been said before, but I am reminded of the MAD comic where a friend borrows a bikini from another friend, and gets admiring glances until she finds out that the bikini is actually underwear. She runs screaming from the pool.
Post a Comment