I'm a lesbian and I like breasts
I freely admit that, and have no shame in admitting that.
Having said that: when I see a woman breastfeeding, my first thought isn't OOOOOOOO BREASTS!!!!! YAY!!!! (no matter how attractive the woman is) or even OOOOOOO BREASTS!!! THIS MAKES ME FEEL ALL WEIRD AND UNCOMFORTABLE!!!!! My thought is usually nothing, because big deal, or maybe a Thank God I never had kids.
So, why do so many people get so bent out of shape about breastfeeding, including women? Is it prudery and perversion, to be all cutesy and alliterative? As a few people said in the military women breastfeeding thread in GD: how is it any different than giving a baby a bottle? To me, it isn't.
Have any of you ever been approached by someone when you were breastfeeding in public and been snarked at? Told to smother your baby in a blanket so someone doesn't freak out? Or take your baby to a bathroom to suckle?
Excuse the provocative header of the OP, but I was thinking this as I read that GD thread yesterday. I know first-hand breasts aren't JUST for feeding babies, but when they are feeding babies, breasts certainly aren't being sexy or provocative. I don't get it.
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No one thought anything about it, even where women were very open about it, unlike most American women's tendency towards a covered and more modest approach.
But, those countries weren't bombarded with the same level of sexualization and objectification in constant marketing campaigns, movies, tv, and other media. Perhaps that is a large part of the difference.... In those countries, it seems the "natural" aspect of breast feeding is not countered by a preponderence of sexualizing emphasis.
I'm sure some would counter with the far more open atmosphere of many European countries toward both sex in general, nudity, but also openness and encouragement of breast feeding. To which, I might argue that there is still more "balance" than is the case in the US. 
Thought this was going to be a remake of Sir Mixalot's, "I Like BIg Butts." 
TlalocW
Last edited Fri Jun 1, 2012, 12:08 PM - Edit history (1)
free of charge, in an intimate nurturing way yet we're told to either not do it or do it in private because it makes people uncomfortable. Is that because we allowed our consumer culture to convince us that breastfeeding is for savages or poor Third World women who can't afford the *better* stuff that's full of bovine growth hormone and pesticides? This would be the same culture that barely gives women any maternity leave to take care of her child and pushes the sale of formula and now breast pumps to get those women back to work.
One other thing that shocks me is the reaction to women who breastfeed their children until they're 5 or so. What's wrong with that?
I love seeing toddlers, of all ages, run up to their moms, lift up her top and have a quick drink before running off. It's a lot healthier than grabbing something full of sugar and chemicals that keeps the corporate machine going.
I think it's prudery and perversion that explains some of the reactions and that those reactions are deliberately encouraged. Take for example how a few weeks ago, people were outraged that Times had a magazine cover of a woman standing up to feed her toddler because it wasn't natural to suckle a boy toddler that long and it wasn't natural to do it standing up. A few are openly disapproving that it's not happening in dark rooms where their filthy minds won't have something to cluck over.
Excuse me? What's this Victorian attitude?
Beautiful Mayan women in my neck of the woods, openly breastfeed their toddlers all day, standing up even! The amazing thing is that these children don't cry. I've never heard a baby crying down here and they go with their mothers everywhere. All day long, they're strapped to their mother's back and they're the happiest, best adjusted children I've ever seen.
Nobody even bats an eye over it.
In order not to make your thread too picture-heavy for people with slower connections, I'll start a different thread of just pictures of beautiful Mayan women feeding and being with their toddlers. This is just the first one.
The rest are here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/11396452
I had no problem with the breastfeeding but the pose did seem unnatural to me too- they had an alternative shot of her with the baby in her lap that I thought was much more natural and realistic than the standing pose. So the comment about the Guatemalan women nursing standing up interests me.
This is why I love your cross-cultural posts. I always learn something new.
but what magazine cover isn't?
The women here breastfeed as they're walking even.
Before my mom came to visit a few months ago, I hired a woman to help me do some detailed house-cleaning.
She had her baby strapped to her back the entire time, unless she was feeding him. She worked really fast too. It was amazing and beautiful to watch.
Thanks for liking my cross-cultural posts
I love how they just rotate their large shawls, hand woven not store-bought, start feeding and go on with whatever they were doing.
It caught on with Western women who lived down here. I hope they'll keep spreading the word
Finding a sling for Roscoe was actually a happy accident. My husband and I had resigned ourselves to the side effects of Roscoe’s colic––a constant ringing in our ears and the tendency to bounce up and down automatically at the sound of a squeal, even if it came from a fire truck. Then we visited a friend who convinced me to try her ring sling, a Maya Wrap. She whipped it over my head, tucked Roscoe inside, and had him sleeping in a matter of seconds.
Maya Wraps consist of a long strip of hand woven cloth made by a cooperative of Guatemalan women and looped through two large rings that cinch the baby in place. You can buy the fabric in colorful striped patterns but we were happy to be borrowing a solid cream-colored sling that blended with whatever we wore. The Maya Wrap also comes with an instructional video which greatly helps sleep deprived minds cope with the simple operating instructions.
After I started using the sling it occurred to me that during the nearly four months I spent living in Guatemala a decade ago, I saw countless babes tucked into slings on buses and soundly asleep while their parents bartered for mangos in the local street market. Its simple brilliance is now making it a hit with several American moms.
For Roscoe snoozing in the sling seemed to remind him of the womb. As a result, I could vacuum, write, shop, and even use the bathroom with him happily tucked against my chest. I brought him to work at just a few months old and was able to do most of my regular tasks with him snugly nestling. When my husband completed the Portland Marathon, Roscoe was nursing deep within the sling and I could take a finish line picture without worrying about flashing the unsuspecting spectators.
...
http://greenbabyguide.com/2009/07/12/baby-wearing-101/
$75 for sewing two rings on a piece of cloth? I guess that seems easier than tying it but the price astounds me when all you need to do is tie it securely.
