WTF?

[muninnhuginn]

So I wanders off this afternoon to deal with things parental and come back to find my screen full of beautiful pictures of contented babies doing what comes naturally. Wow.

And the reason? Double wow.

And nope, I cannot see how there is anything obscene about images of breastfeeding... at all. Nipples 'n' all. But I can't find one of me and Looby Loo "at it" so the new icon's courtesy of cangetmad to whom many thanks. It's a gorgeous image.

I wasn't breastfed. I suspect I may have had better health if I had been and I think it was a matter of my mother's health post delivery that meant she didn't. My younger brother was. I did breastfeed. For just over twelve months. It was bliss. I'm certain it helped support Looby Loo's health and growth. It changed my attitude to my body and my internal view of myself--entirely for the better. It's not something to be hidden from view--except if an individual woman is happier to be private whilst feeding her child: her baby, her breast, her choice--well not unless we ban all images of anyone at all eating in public.

Comments

[ex-lark-asc.livejournal.com]

Unpleasant is relative when it comes to personalness/privacy. I think I look great naked and so does Mark, but I'm willing to accept that the general public may not be so enthused, and therefore I don't wander around in the market square in my birthday suit :)

[muninnhuginn]

That's to equate somewhat what would probably (due to cultural constraints about public displays of [adult?] nudity) be classed as exhibitionism with what I would simply see as feeding/eating. I'd be happy to have both of these as acceptable parts of the public domain--even if this meant that at times I saw bodies that I might personally find unpleasant (tho' there are few bodies I think I would react to that way). It's not a personal issue. Personally, I find the sight of folk stuffing Big Macs into their faces unpleasant, if not downright disgusting. But I'm not going to suggest it shouldn't be allowed. We (as a society) have deemed the consumption of food, however nutritious or otherwise, in public to be acceptable. If I don't like, I just look away, or probably walk a sufficient distance away that I'm not suffering an olfactory assault.

Actually I think everyone should try wandering around in public in their birthday suit once in while--just pick the right weather!

[ex-lark-asc.livejournal.com]

That's to equate somewhat what would probably (due to cultural constraints about public displays of [adult?] nudity) be classed as exhibitionism with what I would simply see as feeding/eating

Yes, but unfortunately at breastfeeding we hit a crossover between things our society considers acceptable behaviour (eating) and things it considers unacceptable behaviour (getting your tits out in public). And I, like everyone else, have to live with the fact I'm a product of this culture: I find it unpleasant to be presented with other women's tits in a public or semi-public context. I happen to think that the way to achieve change in these attitudes is to respect the status quo and go about subtly and non-confrontationally acclimatising society - ramming one's boobs down everyone else's throats and accusing them of everything from victimisation through repression to intolerance if they find the experience unpleasant is not exactly likely to be productive. In fact I'd say it's much more likely to get you marginalised as an extremist minority, and/or to provoke society at large into a backlash against the movement as a whole.

just pick the right weather!

Move to Texas then!

... oh, wait...