If you want to know how to fire me up. . .
. . . be two dumb people with outdated opinions who nonetheless feel it is necessary to publish their inexpert opinions and push them upon an admittedly small circulation. Normally I just ignore this column on grandparenting in our local newspaper. Sometimes I read the cute remarks from little kids and the advice is generally innocuous enough, if rather trite. But today the headline on breastfeeding caught my eye. I read:
"Dear Dee and Tom: My married granddaughter, a ravishingly beautiful 21, is obviously proud of her first child -- and her own bosom. She loves to show off both while breast-feeding in public. Do you approve? -- "Granny," Marietta, Ohio
Dear Granny: We think that both children and breasts are here to stay. They've been around for thousands of years. However, breasts have taken on all sorts of sexual connotations, in addition to their all-natural function of feeding newborns and maintaining the human race.
We have noticed with amazement how young girls on public beaches seem to compete in exhibiting as much of their breasts as possible, apparently to stimulate interest from ogling males of all ages.
We feel your granddaughter should breast-feed in public only while wearing a special blouse, now available at many clothing stores. If breast-feeding is necessary in public, it should be done discreetly -- not blatantly."
Where can I even begin with all the things that offended me?? First of all, this poor woman's own grandmother is implying that when feeding her child she is actually serving the dual purpose of feeding her child and whoring herself to the general public, and that she does the latter with great joy. Let me guarantee you, I do not know a single woman who, while just beginning to get the hang of breastfeeding, views her breasts in a sexual way. They become milking stations and very little else. How can you think of them as sexual when you have an electrical dual breastpump or YOUR CHILD attached to them? This grandmother seems to be accusing her own granddaughter of being an exhibitionist slut, just because she happens to have nice boobies! The stupid Hardies go on to reenforce this ignorant grandmother's view by proclaiming that "young girls" love to be ogled by men of all ages. This is so ageist and gross it makes me want to puke. (Do I seem a tad annoyed here?) Yeah, all young women are sluts who love it when lecherous old men cop a peek while they are sunbathing.
ALSO, this grandmother fails to take into account the fact that when you are getting the hang of breastfeeding, it might be difficult to do it discreetly. Now, this lady never says how she comes to the conclusion that this young mother is in fact showing off her breast, but I wonder if it occurred to her that it was just easier to let her breast show than be so worried about anyone catching a glimpse.
Lastly, why SHOULD we be ashamed of breastfeeding?? Whey should we be ashamed to let anyone catch even a glimpse of a very natural act? Other cultures don't have this hang up. In Japan, for example, even though the young women are in general very very modest, most mothers have no compunctions about breastfeeding openly. They know it is a natural and beautiful thing, and not at all sexual. It's this kind of attitude exactly that keeps many mothers from breastfeeding at all or for as long as is ideal. If they are forced to stay home all day with their unsightly breasts which are not fit to be in public, why wouldn't they choose the bottle? If women know that they are being judged in a sexual/moral light everytime they breastfeed in public, why wouldn't they be discouraged? Hey, why SHOULDN'T we breastfeed blatantly? What do we have to be ashamed of? We are doing what we feel is best for our children, and that is something to be proud of, whether we are proud of our actual breasts or not.
And we should NOT have to wear nursing blouses! Have you ever had to wear a great big nursing blouse with nasty flaps over your breasts? That would be enough to make me never leave the house.
This grandmother and the dumb Hardies should be applauding this mother rather than censuring her. Man, I am so mad.
"Dear Dee and Tom: My married granddaughter, a ravishingly beautiful 21, is obviously proud of her first child -- and her own bosom. She loves to show off both while breast-feeding in public. Do you approve? -- "Granny," Marietta, Ohio
Dear Granny: We think that both children and breasts are here to stay. They've been around for thousands of years. However, breasts have taken on all sorts of sexual connotations, in addition to their all-natural function of feeding newborns and maintaining the human race.
We have noticed with amazement how young girls on public beaches seem to compete in exhibiting as much of their breasts as possible, apparently to stimulate interest from ogling males of all ages.
We feel your granddaughter should breast-feed in public only while wearing a special blouse, now available at many clothing stores. If breast-feeding is necessary in public, it should be done discreetly -- not blatantly."
Where can I even begin with all the things that offended me?? First of all, this poor woman's own grandmother is implying that when feeding her child she is actually serving the dual purpose of feeding her child and whoring herself to the general public, and that she does the latter with great joy. Let me guarantee you, I do not know a single woman who, while just beginning to get the hang of breastfeeding, views her breasts in a sexual way. They become milking stations and very little else. How can you think of them as sexual when you have an electrical dual breastpump or YOUR CHILD attached to them? This grandmother seems to be accusing her own granddaughter of being an exhibitionist slut, just because she happens to have nice boobies! The stupid Hardies go on to reenforce this ignorant grandmother's view by proclaiming that "young girls" love to be ogled by men of all ages. This is so ageist and gross it makes me want to puke. (Do I seem a tad annoyed here?) Yeah, all young women are sluts who love it when lecherous old men cop a peek while they are sunbathing.
ALSO, this grandmother fails to take into account the fact that when you are getting the hang of breastfeeding, it might be difficult to do it discreetly. Now, this lady never says how she comes to the conclusion that this young mother is in fact showing off her breast, but I wonder if it occurred to her that it was just easier to let her breast show than be so worried about anyone catching a glimpse.
Lastly, why SHOULD we be ashamed of breastfeeding?? Whey should we be ashamed to let anyone catch even a glimpse of a very natural act? Other cultures don't have this hang up. In Japan, for example, even though the young women are in general very very modest, most mothers have no compunctions about breastfeeding openly. They know it is a natural and beautiful thing, and not at all sexual. It's this kind of attitude exactly that keeps many mothers from breastfeeding at all or for as long as is ideal. If they are forced to stay home all day with their unsightly breasts which are not fit to be in public, why wouldn't they choose the bottle? If women know that they are being judged in a sexual/moral light everytime they breastfeed in public, why wouldn't they be discouraged? Hey, why SHOULDN'T we breastfeed blatantly? What do we have to be ashamed of? We are doing what we feel is best for our children, and that is something to be proud of, whether we are proud of our actual breasts or not.
And we should NOT have to wear nursing blouses! Have you ever had to wear a great big nursing blouse with nasty flaps over your breasts? That would be enough to make me never leave the house.
This grandmother and the dumb Hardies should be applauding this mother rather than censuring her. Man, I am so mad.
posted by mariko at 4:24 PM
1 Comments:
I hit your blog when I clicked "next blog" I totally agree with you. And besides that, who cares if her breast is out when she breastfeeds? People are so pathetic in what they choose to waste their time on and call "issues" Ugh!
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