At last women are allowed to feed their babies and not just at home in the comfort of their rocking, feeding chairs. Hey, they can even go out to cafes, restaurants, and to work without being asked to leave – fancy that. .
Under changes to the Sex Discrimination Act passed last week by the Federal Parliament, it will be discriminatory for a restaurateur to decline service to a breastfeeding woman, or an employer to refuse to hire a breastfeeding mother.
As I wrote in a previous column
Nobody can forget the hype when Kate Langbroek, breastfed on live TV during The Panel. “Publicity stunt!” cried some. “Outrageous!” cried others. “Oh please!” I cried at nobody in particular. There’s nothing contrived about breastfeeding. If only infants could follow a PR schedule. Have you met a baby? They tend to be rather spontaneous and extremely unreasonable, particularly when tired or hungry which is approximately always. Kate Langbroek was at work. Her baby was hungry. She fed him. It happens. The end. And yet people still talk about it today.
The fact she was working at all is a problem for some people who feel uncomfortable when the worlds of work and motherhood collide. They can’t compute that personal choice or financial necessity makes that collision a reality for millions of women like Kate every day. Oh look, it’s 2009.
With over a decade of breastfeeding on my CV (not consecutively and not of the same child), there’s not a public place where I haven’t breastfed or expressed. Beaches, planes, shopping centres, parks, airports, restaurants, BBQs, offices, cafes, meetings, parties, weddings, funerals, churches, synagogues…and frankly, I couldn’t care less who was watching.
Oddly enough, I tend to prioritise my baby’s immediate needs over the Elizabethan prudishness of people who have a problem with boobs being used for their natural function. I’m zany like that.
When I’m in breastfeeding mode, my breasts are about as sexual to me as a bowl of Weet Bix. Because that’s exactly what they represent to my baby. Sustenance. Not sex.
I also find the term ‘public breastfeeding’ amusing. Those who oppose it exude a fearful, vaguely alarmed vibe, as if there are groups of marauding mothers using their babies as an excuse to flash their lactating breasts in strangers’ faces: “I know! Let’s meet at Westfield! The first person to flash their leaky nipple to 100 shoppers wins a toasted sandwich!”
As for the suggestion by some that breastfeeding should happen in toilets, I totally agree. As soon as those same people are happy to have their morning coffee made, served and drunk in a toilet cubicle, we shall happily breastfeed right alongside them.
My other favourite thing is when people say mothers should be discreet. This is also true. There are far too many breastfeeding women who brazenly strip naked to the waist in public each time their baby grizzles. Have you seen them throw their bosoms around with gay abandon while waving their arms in the air like they just don’t care? What is wrong with these women? Why do they derive so much pleasure from being almost nude in public? Oh wait. They’re not and they don’t. We feed our babies as quickly and quietly as possible because THEY ARE HUNGRY and SO THEIR CRIES DON’T DISTURB YOUR VERY IMPORTANT PUBLIC BUISNESS such as texting someone while you sip your skinny latte and flick through a newspaper in a coffee shop. Selfish exhibitionists, yes we are.
Have you ever been confronted while feeding your own children? How do you feel when you see a woman breastfeeding in public ?
Top Comments
As a population none of us would be here today had it not been for breast milk ... Of course it is primitive and most of us would rather sneak off into a little cave to feed our babies but the fact of the matter is we live in this western society where the caves are no longer an option - we find ourselves out with hungry babies and our only option is likely to be a café etc! I imagine that the people with a problem with breast feeding in public must not be parents themselves - it would be interesting to see whether their opinions change upon becoming a parent. As for disgruntled looks when it comes to bottle feeding - how do they know it is formula or expressed breast milk?! There are far too many judgements and it is a shame because as a very new mother I find myself very awkward and embarrassed when I am out and my baby is hungry I find myself usually breastfeeding in the car hiding under a shawl!
Absolutely love breastfeeding being as "sexual as a bowl of weetbix", can't wait to use that line if ever anyone gives cheek about breastfeeding in public.
Also, would like to remind a lot of the "primitive" commenters that Australian law states it's illegal to request you to stop breastfeeding in public. It doesn't say the same for public urination. Is the law uncivilised?