Breastfeeding in public, why do people still freak out about this?

[awesome possum]

I shouldn't need to "bring up one argument" for why pissing into a bottle in public is not the same as breastfeeding a child in public.

It is basic common sense. Or at least should be, seeing as how apparently grasping basic common sense is not for some people.

[E-Ro]

It is not prohibited in public. In fact, many states have laws protecting the rights of breastfeeding mothers.

Here's the thing about breastfeeding in public. You should be glad when you see a woman breastfeeding her child in public. Why? Because her child is quiet. Most breastfeeding mothers aren't clamoring to get to a public space and feed their child. Most like to do it in a quiet, private place. That's optimal for the child and the mother. However, there are times when a mother can't do that and her child needs to eat.

I breastfed in public with my children. It was almost always in a situation where I had nowhere else to go and I had a very fussy baby and it was the only way to calm my baby. I was doing the public a favor, along with feeding my child. I breastfed my first baby on an airplane. As much as people LOVE to complain about loud, annoying kids/babies on airplanes, you should be thrilled if a mother feeds her baby in that situation b/c her baby is now not crying and most likely will fall asleep.

My babies also wouldn't take a bottle from me. So it was always better to feed them than let them be hungry, miserable and spread the misery to those around them.

This is a really good point, the sound of a baby screaming is probably the most annoying thing ever.

[Ankou]

Expelling waste and expelling food are obviously difference. Just look at the fact that an infant drinks breast milk, and only Bear Grylls drinks pee.

[awesome possum]

Expelling waste and expelling food are obviously difference. Just look at the fact that an infant drinks breast milk, and only Bear Grylls drinks pee.

Reading a discussion about breastfeeding online...

Better drink my own piss.

[Ankou]

The camera crew for that show probably know his wiener better than they know their own.

[Stannisaurus]

Expelling waste and expelling food are obviously difference. Just look at the fact that an infant drinks breast milk, and only Bear Grylls drinks pee.

That's not the argument here (or at least my argument, I doubt possum realizes what's going on).

[Ankou]

Delineate your argument.

[awesome possum]

That's not the argument here (or at least my argument, I doubt possum realizes what's going on).

Please project your short-comings upon someone else. You've done a great job of portraying yourself as a dunce in your short time here, buddy, you don't really need me.

But if you insist, I'm your huckleberry.

[Ankou]

I'm always a great target for shortcomings. Who wants some?

[Mlle. Zabzie]

Those who are opposed to breastfeeding in public, how comfortable are you with nudity? Do women in bikinis at the beach disturb you? What about a man in a racing speedo? If I'm breastfeeding in public, I'm pretty clothed - more so than I am at the beach, for instance. And the baby pretty quickly covers the rest of me. Or is it just the reminder that we are at base animals and our bodies function and create things like food for infants? How to the anti in public people feel if the woman and baby are draped? Also uncomfortable?

[Elder Sister]

I love how posters say, "I have no problem with it, but yeah, it's like pissing in public."

Really? Could you be any more passive aggressive? How is taking a whiz in public the same as feeding a baby? I'll tell you how it is - when you are fixated on a breast as a sexual organ rather than simply a part of the anatomy that feeds and sustains young.

For those of you who are equating breast feeding with public urination, I suggest you either grow up or stay isolated from society; not for your sake, but for the sake of others.

[Ankou]

Well to be fair he's using pissing as an example because it shows the penis as a non-sexual organ. The problem is it becomes an excretory organ and people still find that distasteful.

[Weeping Sore]

@KhaZab, EldSis: I think there is an element of "How dare you re-purpose my sex-object by using it to feed your baby?" going on, as opposed to mere prudery.

[Elder Sister]

@KhaZab, EldSis: I think there is an element of "How dare you re-purpose my sex-object by using it to feed your baby?" going on, as opposed to mere prudery.

WS, I totally agree. Thank you for articulating this for me.

[KiDisaster]

@KhaZab, EldSis: I think there is an element of "How dare you re-purpose my sex-object by using it to feed your baby?" going on, as opposed to mere prudery.

I think you hit the nail on the head here.

[Elder Sister]

Speaking of passive aggressive, complaining about other posters indirectly without actually bringing it up with them?

And in any case, what was meant by it was this.

This is very similar to what I, and many others have said. It is an organ that is sexualised by society, but you blame individuals for not being able to rise above the culture that made them?

And the reason the example came up in the first place was an explanation for why some people might feel uncomfortable with it, not some devious way to complain about why it was wrong.

Hey, feel free to amend it to say, "To Leap, with love and kisses" or whatever floats your boat.

The fact of the matter is that there is so much of this ridiculousness in this thread it would have taken me 10 minutes to go back and list every gentle little baby soul who is super offended by the mere thought of a naked boob feeding a kid in public.

[Stannisaurus]

I love how posters say, "I have no problem with it, but yeah, it's like pissing in public."

Really? Could you be any more passive aggressive?

I think you should really look up some definitions of "passive aggressive."

[Ankou]

Speaking of passive aggressive, complaining about other posters indirectly without actually bringing it up with them?

And in any case, what was meant by it was this.

This is very similar to what I, and many others have said. It is an organ that is sexualised by society, but you blame individuals for not being able to rise above the culture that made them?

And the reason the example came up in the first place was an explanation for why some people might feel uncomfortable with it, not some devious way to complain about why it was wrong.

I do blame individuals for not rising above their cultures all the time. How else do cultures change? With that attitude women still wouldn't be able to vote.

[Elder Sister]

DinoStannis - I just covered that, but thank you. :)

For those of you who are offended by breastfeeding in public, are you equally offended by feeding the baby in public, or is it simply the naked breast that horrifies/scares/tempts/disgusts you? Are you aware that at one point in history, women couldn't show their ankles, bare arms, or wear their hair down?

I seriously cannot figure out why it's such an issue. And I cannot wrap my head around how a comparison to urinating in public is even close to the same thing.

ETA: And yes, Ankou - I love your statement. It's one thing to be ignorant, it's another thing to choose to stay that way. There are lots of things I'm still an idiot about. But if I'm so closeminded that I'm not even willing to entertain another viewpoint, I will get to live in perpetual ignorance for the rest of my life.

[Mlle. Zabzie]

WS - this is definitely part of it. I do think that people (men and women) struggle with the idea that a nursing mother produces a substance similar in kind to the substance purchased in tetra packs from the local Safeway. It isn't even the fact that it is milk per we but rather that you are closer to the actual production of the milk.