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My daughter’s credentials as a lactivist were forged when she was four months old. In the spring of 2005, we joined a nurse-in on the sidewalk outside Time Warner Studios on NYC’s Upper West Side. The nurse-in was a response to derogatory comments about nursing in public made by Barbara Walters on The View.
Lest we think that this was an isolated incident, in November 2006, a breastfeeding mother was kicked off a commercial airline when she refused a flight attendant’s directive to cover up her nursing baby. (For the record, covering up with a blanket draws more attention, not less – and besides, my daughter would never tolerate it. I can’t blame her! I don’t like a blanket over my head when I’m trying to eat or drink.)
Discrimination and prejudice against nursing mothers is a form of sexism. Preoccupation with breasts as sex objects, along with increasingly explicit and objectifying images of women’s bodies in advertising, movies and TV, has distorted public perception of nursing mothers. The glimpse of a nipple – whose purpose on this planet is to feed and nurture a baby – is confused with pornography.
Let’s channel our frustration into voting for and supporting elected officials who care about nursing mothers and babies. This is a family-friendly issue of bipartisan appeal at a time when Congress and the White House need to flex their bipartisanship.
Let’s take back the breast!
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