face-down-asgard-up:

Let’s talk about breastfeeding

“I don’t want my kids to see that!” “I don’t want my husband/boyfriend to see that!” These are things I’ve heard people say when discussing breastfeeding in public. Some of you seem to think there is something wrong with the act of breastfeeding, especially in public. You think it’s obscene or sexual in some way and you wish people would just go into the bathroom or do it at home.

So, is it really breasts that make you uncomfortable?

This photoset shows how breasts are portrayed in media (specfically advertisements) vs. what breastfeeding looks like.

The ads can be seen in magazines, on the web, on billboards, posters, etc. Your children or SO can encounter them every day and yet I don’t hear the outrage or disgust that is directed at women who breastfeed.

Why are some of you more offended by breasts being used to feed children, which is not a sexual act, but are fine with breasts being presented through the lens of the straight male gaze in order to sell products that have nothing whatsoever to do with breasts? What is it about using our mammory glands to feed our young, like all mammals do, that deserves your admonishment and offense?

“Yeah, well, pooping is a natural biological function too!” Except, how can you even compare pooping to breastfeeding? Breastfeeding has nothing to do with eliminating waste. A better comparison would be that breastfeeding is like when you sit down to eat a sandwich. You eat in public, right? Why can’t babies?