To think a sit down breast-feeding protest is a pointless and exhabitionist?

[WhiteTrash]

Totally prepared to be flamed for this.

Im from sunny Brighton and a post on facebook recently did the rounds regarding one women breastfeeding in a cafe to be approached by several 70 year old women who told her she should have been more descreet.

Yes they're out of line.

Next day theres posts going round about a sit down breastfeeding protest in town that Id been invited to.

My first thought was why?! I come from a very open minded, accepting, earth-mother (aka middle class hippies)ish town. To have a sit down breastfeeding protest is purely exhabitionist 'look at me! Im breastfeeding, in your face- ACCEPT ME. SEE ME.' bullshit.

I feel I (we) make far more a point by simple breastfeeding 'normally' around town as and when we need to. Why the need to get a group. Of women together for boob time?

Good grief, STOP with the 'discretion' demands already. It's such horrible, stupid, harmful NONSENSE.

If you want to be discreet when feeding in public, good on you - I wholeheartedly support you in that.

But the minute you come on Mumsnet telling non-discreet feeders that they should stay at home (WTAF??) you're seriously damaging other women's attempts to establish normal on-demand bf-ing.

With my older child, it took me about three months to get the hang of feeding him without faffing about with my nipple and his gob for a couple of minutes. He used to feed about 20 times a day as a newborn. Does anyone seriously think I should have gone into absolute purdah for three months? What fricking century is this?

aaaargh stop it stop it!

Also these women are protesting because a private individuel asked one woman to be more discreet, not not to breastfeed, just be more discreet about it. So they are now protesting in the hope of what? Changing one person's view that breastfeeding should be done discreetly not with boobs swinging about. All they are doing is enforcing stereotypes that breastfeeding mothers are attention seeking pushy mothers, and are denormalizing it as it were. I bet they also had to call the media themselves too.
Imagine if everyone protested everytime a stranger ticked them off.

damnyou,
Sorry, but you should be discrete when breastfeeding. No-one else should be forced to look at your body parts when they are trying to eat. If your child was screaming you would not stay in the cafe eating would you, so why go there if you cannot breastfeed without sitting there for five minutes with your breasts swinging about.

Sorry kelly but I really think that's utter, utter nonsense. If your baby's screaming to be fed, you should feed him/her - and, quite frankly, ignore anyone who thinks otherwise.

General message to all posters on this thread: PLEASE have a think about the lurking new bf-ing mothers who will be reading this thread. Their takeaway will be: oh because I'm struggling to get my newborn latched on ALMOST ALL new mothers do I'm a) doing it hopelessly wrong and b) a disgusting person who must be getting subconscious sexual kicks from exposing myself. I'm obviously not cut out for this breastfeeding lark, and since it's impossible for me to not leave the house for the next 12 weeks I'd best reach for the formula, despite the fact that i WANT to breastfeed.

Do you really want any new mother to go away thinking that?

In all my time of breastfeeding and associating with bf mums, I have never seen anyone's boobs 'swing about'.

Grow the fuck up.

Tangerine you said it better than me

I'm so shocked by the loathing on this thread. Self-loathing and loathing directed towards other mothers. For having tits and using them in the way nature intended. That's why the UK's breastfeeding rates are so pigging awful - right there.

Oooh, that seems to have done the job

It is a load of nonsense, if you are doing anything in public, bfeeding, drinking coffee, whatever, you can do it discretely. When I started the first time I had trouble latching on, but that was really early days and I wasn't going out in the first week.

Why do I need to grow up? Some women do make a big song and dance about breastfeeding, and do just let their breast swing about, taking about five minutes to feed their babies. Not all women, but these are the women who give everyone a bad name. And of course if anyone disagrees with them they tell them it must be because they think they have sexual breasts. they need to grow up and realise that just because people do not want to see they breasts it does not mean people find them attractive, sexual etc.
And in countries like Denmark where breastfeeding is very high, it is not acceptable to sit in a cafe with your breast hanging out. You either do it discreetly or go somewhere private. The only place I have seen women exposing themselves during breastfeeding is in the UK.

Where are all these swinging, hanging boobs?

Over egging this one a bit I reckon.

Tangerine,
They are attached to the woman who refuse to be discreet when breastfeeding. They are in a minority, most women who breastfeed see it as normal and do it discreetly. But there is a minority for whom the fact they are breastfeeding is some amazing mother nature type thing and make a real song and dance about it, and go out of their way to have their boobs out before they feed. As I said these are not the normal breastfeeders, but they are the ones who give everyone else a bad name and denormalize it. Seeing some woman sitting at a table with her breast hanging about, while she spends five minutes getting the baby out does not encourage women to breastfeed. Seeing a woman sitting discreetly breastfeeding whilst carrying on as normal does encourage women to breastfeed. these protestors are putting the average woman off breast feeding as they are protesting against discreet breastfeeding. As i said before the countries with the highest rates of breast feeding do not have this sort of behaviour.

It is not the 'swinging, hanging boobs'. It is that facial expression.
'Look at me. I'm doing something revolutary. First mother ever to do. I'm breaking all the taboos' type. And they get frustrated when no one gives a shit. So they start pushing tables/chairs/buggies, blocking the area, then if anyone complains about the pram blocking the corridor or the fact that she occupies 8 chairs with her shopping, she will say: 'You see! I knew you have problem with bfing!

Laquitar,
I knwo exactly what you mean. I have had experience with that very woman. They really seem to think they are some sort of amazing earth mother, and the entire world must now revolve around them and their child.

Well, I only seem to encounter people who have seen these women on MN, they are some sort of internet phenomenon.

Bf really brings out some real woman hating attitudes. I must remember to hide them all in future. Tbh, I can think of far more things that put me off than 'indiscrete' bf...non flattering clothing, poor table manners etc.

As for saying someone who has not yet got the hang of bf yet ought to stay home in case an inadvertent flash of breast put off some cat's bum on the other side of the cafe well...shame on you.

BF does not bring about women hating attitudes, the woman who make such a song and dance about BF bring about BF hatign attitudes. Just because soemone is a woman does not mean they support indiscreet breastfeeding (or those awful women who bring their children into coffee shops and let them race around being brats, because "that is just what children are like")

Love it Laquitar! Spot on.

Who cares, who cares, who cares, who cares, who cares...?!

If some 'attention-seeker' wants to 'swing their boobs about', let them! Don't give them the attention they allegedly seek! In my 37 years on this planet I have never come across this, but obviously some of you are positively inundated with 'boob swingers'. The demands for discretion, above all else when it comes to b/feeding are just hilarious.

And all of you too-cool-for-school types with your a-may-zing, scintillating lives - just get on with living them and stop banging on about how interesting you are because you find breastfeeding so boring.

Yeah, right, sweetie - me think the ladies doth protest too much.

Get over yourselves people - honestly, it's JUST breastfeeding; it's just getting food into a baby. If people want to to do it or not do it or do it flamboyantly - who really cares?!?!?!

It's not exhibitionist to bf in public.

It is exhibitionist to wop your boob out when your baby isn't hungry to make a rather pathetic and weary point.

It's got elements of "slut walk" about.

We are of course referring to this flashmob and not the topic of feeding babies!

Still pontificating on this banal topic, I see....

Yawn, LeQueen, as always.

Oh, let me add a quick passive aggressive smile, as you always do. :)

:)

As usual the whole point of this thread has been missed.
I only commented because I thought a BF flashmob was attention seeking, nothing else.
I never meant to come on a BF in public debate.
Obviously that is totally normal.