Breastfeeding: When did it become such a big deal?

It’s natural. We all need to eat, especially babies. At one point in our lives we were fed in public, whether it is by bottle or by breastfeeding, but it’s intriguing to know that breastfeeding in public is still a controversial subject. Breastfeeding is natural and is not done as a sexual intent, but it’s surprising to hear several people are disgusted by the fact, and women feel the need to hide out in bathrooms or in their cars to feed their child. It seems the action of something that was meant to be beautiful is somehow viewed as dirty or wrong, like smoking in public.

Not only has it been viewed as disturbing, but mothers are also being punished for it. Back in 2006, a woman was kicked off a Delta flight after she refused to cover up while nursing her daughter. Starbucks (2011) have asked women to do their nursing somewhere else, a manager at Applebees reportedly called police after a new mother refused to nurse her son in the bathroom (2012), and a manager at Hollister (2013) apparently screamed at a woman for breastfeeding her child outside of a the store and forced her to leave. All these events have sparked “nurse-ins” where numerous mothers would sit in front of the store and breastfeed their child. Even with this movement, some mothers were still harassed by security guards for exposing themselves and threatened to kick them out.

In 2016, there was a social experiment held to compare a woman with a tight shirt and a woman breastfeeding in public. The types of responses were horrendous. It is definitely upsetting to see that even this day in age, breastfeeding in public is still looked down upon.

I am personally not a mother, but many of my friends who are still experience this type of judgment from the public. They are still asked to cover up, to move to the bathroom, or even told to stay home to handle “your private business.” It’s interesting to know that these types of harassment that go on are states where breastfeeding are protected by law to breastfeed in a public space. Breastfeeding is a natural thing, whether it is done in private or public. Women shouldn’t feel ashamed or embarrassed to do so because it’s apart of what being a mother is all about.

But it begs to question:

1. Why is breastfeeding in public still a continued controversial issue?
2. What can we (or society) do to change the public’s view so women are able to feed their babies as nature intended without being looked down upon (e.g. more exposure to the public via TV or news, public service announcements)

If you’d like to read more about the stories in detail, here are a few links (References):

Parents. (2012). Dawn Holland, Breastfeeding Mom, Asked To Nurse In Applebee’s Bathroom. Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/18/dawn-holland-breastfeeding_n_1893681.html.

Parents. (2013). Hollister Nurse-In: Breastfeeding Advocates Feud With Shopping Mall Following Protest. Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/07/hollister-nurse-in_n_2425541.html.

Schrobsdorff, S. (2011). Woman Kicked Off a Plane for Breast Feeding. Time. Retrieved from http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2053230_2053229_2053225,00.html.