Boobs.

[spookyevilone]

In a NY IKEA, a breastfeeding mom who had everything covered was told she needed to use the bathroom for "that", and security escorted her there. It was in use. When she decided not to wait, security held her up at the door and checked her receipt.

Breastfeeding squicks me out. I don't care how "natural" it is or how good it is for the baby, the only time I ever want to see one mammal sucking on another is when there are fangs and an artery involved and even then, that shit should be covered with a blanket for decency.

That being said - it's the United States. I have the right to like or dislike what I choose and I have every right to walk away from a breastfeeding mother as though she's got a creeping and contagious set of cooties. That is my personal choice, based on my personal opinion.

The breastfeeding mother, on the other hand, is covered by law in 24 states - NY being one of them and MN being another - to breastfeed her baby in any public space or building whenever she damn well wants to, and she has the right to not half-smother her bite-sized larvae with a blanket if she chooses not to. I am utterly creeped out by the act, but I would be the first in line to organize the flash mob of boob-feeding women and their babies for a nurse-in at that store if I lived in that state. Hell, I live here and I'm half tempted to make a few calls, because I Know Some People in that state.

Breastfeeding, in 24 states, is a legally protected civil right. The term for denying someone a civil right is called discrimination. Discrimination should be fought by every right-thinking person any time they encounter it. The Civil Rights Act of 1875 provides: ""...all persons within the jurisdiction of the United States shall be entitled to the full and equal enjoyment of the accommodations, advantages, facilities, and privileges of inns, public conveyances on land or water, theaters, and other places of public amusement; subject only to the conditions and limitations established by law..." and the fact that we even need a law to protect a woman's right to feed her baby in public disgusts me far more than the act itself does.

For those who live in MN, here are the applicable statutes:

Minn. Stat. Ann. § 145.894 directs the state commissioner of health to develop and implement a public education program promoting the provisions of the Maternal and Child Nutrition Act. The education programs must include a campaign to promote breastfeeding.
Minn. Stat. § 145.905 provides that a mother may breastfeed in any location, public or private, where the mother and child are authorized to be, irrespective of whether the nipple of the mother's breast is uncovered during or incidental to the breastfeeding.
Minn. Stat. § 181.939 (1998) requires employers to provide daily unpaid break time for a mother to express breast milk for her infant child. Employers are also required to make a reasonable effort to provide a private location, other than a toilet stall, in close proximity to the workplace for this activity. (SB 2751)
Minn. Stat. Ann. § 617.23 specifies that breastfeeding does not constitute indecent exposure.

For those who live in other states, a good resource of statutes can be found here

If I spawn, I will probably breastfeed. I will probably be utterly squicked out the entire time and anyone smugly telling me otherwise or how much pregnancy changes how you think about things has clearly never met. There aren't enough pregnancy or mommyhood hormones IN THE WORLD to change how I feel about certain aspects of procreation. There are probably enough to keep me from sanitizing the child in the dishwasher, hosing it down with Lysol, or blasting it clean with a garden hose, as well as enough to keep it fed and relatively pain-free, but that doesn't mean I won't be documenting just how gross and disgusting the entire process of larval development is.

And I'll probably be doing it right here in this blog. Aren't you lucky.

Comments

[textualdeviance.livejournal.com]

The only thing that bugs me is the UberMommies who call attention to themselves, as if I'm supposed to be impressed by their ability to feed their children, like every other mammal on the planet.

Y'know, do your thing. Fine by me. But don't go around being an attention whore about it. Oh, and please to not be bringing your squalling toddlers to R-rated films and tablecloth restaurants, thx.

[spookyevilone.livejournal.com]

Oh, the boob nazis make me want to punch them in the head. Especially the ones who do the bottle vs. boob thing. That shit makes me insane with rage.

What really irritates me about people who drag their toddlers out to movies or restaurants is that most of them use the "We couldn't afford a sitter" excuse. Really? Then fucking stay home an extra week until you have the money to go out AND get a sitter.

[textualdeviance.livejournal.com]

Ugh, yes.

I've seen so many selfish parents who don't seem to realize that parenting requires lifestyle changes and sacrifices. They just go on trying to have the same life they had before the kid(s) came along. They end up not just annoying other people by bringing kids to kid-unfriendly spaces, but frustrating the kid, too. Really, your three-year-old is not going to be happy after watching a bloody horror movie.

Not, of course, that the converse is any better. I've also seen a lot of lobotomized "my kid is my entire world" sorts who couldn't have an adult conversation if their lives depended on it.

I've always felt that the best parents are the ones who recognize that they're the adult, and model responsible adult behavior for their kids to learn. Sure, get down on the floor and bark like a dog to make the kid laugh. Having kid-level fun is great. But you also need to know when to say, ok, I'm the grown-up here, and my child is my responsibility, not my little friend.

[misanthrope-mom.livejournal.com]

You want me to talk about poop explosions?

[spookyevilone.livejournal.com]

I was a nanny for four years and I have a bizillion nieces and nephews, not to mention being a midwife. There is no form of human excrement that I haven't seen, smelled, had to clean up, and probably been covered with at some point.

[hypomanic-poet.livejournal.com]

Gah! That would piss me off. I probably wouldn't be able to be patient if that was me.

Did the lady sue the store? I would have. I would've done SOMETHING.

[spookyevilone.livejournal.com]

It doesn't say. I hope she does.

[eltanin.livejournal.com]

I'm still breastfeeding Morgan (at 19 months - gasp!). We've drastically cut back on the practice in public, because she likes to do keg stands. And we've cut back to morning wake-up, nap, and bedtime.

I've nursed just about everywhere in every situation (and in five states, come to think of it..). I was always as discreet as I could be, and the only stranger-comment I ever have received was an older woman who approached to say that she was happy to see a mother breastfeeding her child.

If anyone ever did to me what happened to that mother, I'd explode on them. But I do know my rights. Many mothers probably haven't checked the law, and might not know that they are protected. That's what angers me the most - that a mother who is simply trying to feed her child is made to feel like a criminal and/or sexual deviant. Just disgusts me.

[spookyevilone.livejournal.com]

There shouldn't have to be a law. That's what really bugs me. It's a BABY and it's EATING. And granted that I think it's icky, I also think people who chew with their mouth open are icky and I don't get to kick those fuckers out of public spaces. And truly, they'd deserve it more - they're old enough to know better.