By Elisabeth Dale
The controversy over whether women should be able to breastfeed children in public continues. This week featured a comedian’s on-line rant about his exposure to an incident witnessed on public transportation. His beef? He admits the mother used a blanket to cover herself up; but he still found the practice disgusting. Perhaps if she had been suckling a newborn and not a “three year-old” (his assumption), it may have appeared less offensive. But he isn’t the only one speaking out against the practice. Women are asked to leave restaurants, airplanes, and even public swimming pools for daring to lactate in the open.
The response from breastfeeding advocates? They continue to stage nurse-ins, and even declared August 15th as national Public Display of Breastfeeding Day. After all, this isn’t the same as an arbitrary “no-shoes, no-service” issue. Laws have been enacted to protect a woman’s right to nurse wherever necessary, even on Boston’s MBTA. It doesn’t seem to matter whether it is legal or not, though. Those affronted by such benign displays believe that their right not to view a breastfeeding mother trumps a baby’s need to be fed. Something seems wrong with this logic.
What’s your opinion? Can negative attitudes toward public breastfeeding be changed?
