Public breastfeeding and being discreet

[ChristineES]

There is one question I want to ask, at the risk of sounding like a fool. If a baby is feeding, then you can't see the nipple since the baby's mouth is around it. Since that is true, then what's all he blooming fuss about? Women in bikinis at times show more breast than a breastfeeding mom.

 

[Kerr]

There is one question I want to ask, at the risk of sounding like a fool. If a baby is feeding, then you can't see the nipple since the baby's mouth is around it. Since that is true, then what's all he blooming fuss about? Women in bikinis at times show more breast than a breastfeeding mom.

Perhaps jealousy .

 

[MysticSang'ha]

There is one question I want to ask, at the risk of sounding like a fool. If a baby is feeding, then you can't see the nipple since the baby's mouth is around it. Since that is true, then what's all he blooming fuss about? Women in bikinis at times show more breast than a breastfeeding mom.

My take on the fuss is first that the breast is being actively "used", second that the nipple is briefly exposed before latching on and after latching off, and third that a woman is utilizing her breast for a non-sexual activity in a culture that highly sexualizes them.

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

Strangely enough, my wife and I and a friend had lunch yesterday in one of the larger malls in our area. We chose to eat outside and found ourself sitting next to a woman who was breastfeeding her child. There was plenty of traffic. No one seemed to care.

 

[Monk Of Reason]

Vast majority of people don't give a flying turd if a woman breastfeeds so long as she isn't doing a strip tease and poll dance with the baby as a counterweight. Its just a few pruds who are ashamed of their bodies and sexuality.

 

[Me Myself]

I suspect there would be, mostly by the Christian fundie family living down the lane, and regardless of the weather.

I don't see the laws changing that quickly, whatever they are. I'm still kind of new to the area.

Edited to add this amusing picture of breast feeding.

Epicness!

Various societies around the world have sexualized/fetishized parts of the body, and more often than not, the female body. Alternatively, some social norms regarding the body are not sexual, yet nonetheless extensively a part of society.

Footbinding in China, a form of foot fetish, results in severe harm to the feet of women that, from a young age, have their feet bound to remain small, for the pleasure of men:

Lip Plates in Africa and South America (apparently independently derived), were worn by women in some tribes, men in some tribes, and men and women in some tribes. Progressively larger lip plates drastically permanently stretch the bottom lip:

Some women in Africa and Asia wear progressively more neck rings, to deform and push down the collarbones and shoulders, to create the illusion of a longer neck, associated with status, or marriage, or wealth. If the neck rings are removed the neck may be unable to support itself; it causes dependence on the neck rings:

And yet, in many tribes, women walk around topless. Why? Because breasts are only obsessively sexualized in some cultures. And like some of these practices above, sexualizing breasts can cause harm, if a society creates an unnatural stigma around a woman, her breasts, and her baby.

It's a mistake to assume that one's own social norms are absolute or privileged, or that they are above being addressed by logic due to some status as a social norm that doesn't need defense, especially when they cause demonstrable harm, like in the UK study about women's views towards breastfeeding, and the low rates of breastfeeding.

I think most people would say faces can be very sexy. This does not mean they want them covered (muslims aside.)

Breasts are in general associated with feminity and are indeed regarded as sexy by different cultures. It is part of what helps make the hourglass figure too.

The harm comes not because boobs are seen as sexy, but because sexy is seen as bad and not appropiate for public places.

Any kind of effort needed to comply with necessitated discreetness is considerably more than any kind of effort needed to handle being around a breast feeding woman. Making people do the harder job in favor of saving others from doing an easier job, regarding something that is mostly non of their business is pretty selfish and ignorant.

Placing higher demands on women in general based on self-centered and falsely assumed premises is pretty selfish and ignorant.

Absolutely. Though justnow I wondered how much men want to enforce this or women do.

I mean, sure, I assume some of the people who dont want to see breasts are men but... are most of them men? half of them? less than half?

Honest question.

 

[DallasApple]

My take on the fuss is first that the breast is being actively "used", second that the nipple is briefly exposed before latching on and after latching off, and third that a woman is utilizing her breast for a non-sexual activity in a culture that highly sexualizes them.

Not only that my baby would pull back on my nipple and "snap it"!(of course I scolded him but still)

 

[Badran]

Absolutely. Though justnow I wondered how much men want to enforce this or women do.

I mean, sure, I assume some of the people who dont want to see breasts are men but... are most of them men? half of them? less than half?

Honest question.

It's hard to say. I neither have had a good number of personal experiences with this nor have seen statistics addressing the matter. I have seen women being pretty obnoxious about it, though. There's probably a considerable number of women who are so in regards to this matter.

 

[Skwim]

Just because it's kind of funny.

Moderator cut: image removed​