to wish that one day, being prejudice against a breastfeeding mum will be the same as being prejudice against race, religion, sexuality, disability etc.?

[eggontoast]

Luckily, we have adopted laws in this country to prevent many kinds of discrimination. Unfortunately, it does not always work, but it does offer some degree of protection for those concerned. (OK, it may not stop people feeling racist for example, but they will put on a front, better than nothing I suppose. And, it does not stop everyone, I know, but at least they are taken to account for their actions (when caught).

I just feel that I, and others like me, are completely fair game to those who oppose bf so strongly that they will kick you out of their cafe, or off the bus they are driving.

To me, it is similar, not the same of course, as being able to ask someone to leave their bus or cafe because they are black or a lesbian.

I think there maybe something in the pipeline, but it just seems so far away.

Ive never see people oppose breastfeeding!

but No I dont think it will ever get to that point, people who are disabled, race, etc..... cannot change that FACT! breastfeeding you can change.

Interesting idea. However, there's a big difference between bf mothers and everything else you mention, in that people don't choose to be black/gay/disabled/whatever...

Breast-feeding is a temporary situation
The others you have cited are for life
I don't think they are the same really

"Prejudice" doesn't have anything to do with aversion to breastfeeding in public, though.

I don't agree at all, Cote. Aversion to breastfeeding in public cannot be anything but prejudice and discrimination.

It is a civil offence in England and a criminal offence in Scotland to stop a woman breast feeding in a public place. It is a civil offence as discrimination under maternity law if the baby is under 6 months and an offence under sex discrimination law if the baby is over 6 months. It is also covered in the Equality Act.

So it is similar to discrimination on the grounds of race or sexuality. Discrimination against breast feeding women is sexism. Even if the person who complains about the breast feeding is a woman, it is still sexism. You do not have to be a man to be sexist to a woman.

So people on here will argue that it is not sexist, but then people on here also say racist and homophobic things. You will never get everyone supporting the fight for civil liberties and be pleased that you are trying to fight for your rights. If everybody was in favour of granting civil liberties, we wouldn't have been fighting for them for the last 1,000 years of British history.

They are looking into it in Australia (or have already changed it).

"The Anti-Discrimination Act will be amended to make breastfeeding a specific provision supported by our legislation, ensuring that as far as possible people who do breastfeed do have the protection of the law."

here

So it will probably happen here at some point I imagine.

Discrimination, yes. Prejudice, no.

There is no "influencing someone's opinion in advance" here, nor an "adverse judgement formed beforehand".

Prejudiced against Jews, you might think they are all sly, tight with money, whatever. Prejudiced against Arabs, you might think they are all potential terrorists.

There is no prejudice against breastfeeding mums. There is, arguably, discrimination against them.

i believe the legislation exists already, but just not in a specific way.
We are becoming so over legislated to cover every scenario
Not sure it's such a good thing

How on earth can you claim that there is no prejudice against breast feeding mothers?

In France I have encountered massive prejudice against breast feeding mothers.

yabu
BF is a choice( a good one but still a choice) being disabled is not

I disagree also Bosinor , just because someone dislikes something, does not mean there being prejudice, discriminatory Yes

People dont like BF for their own reasons, they are entitled to feel like this, the same way people who dislike FF!

Their are two sides, not just one, Ive seen it countless times on here.

People dislike something, their is no crime in that!

Some basic explanations:

Prejudice is the dislike of something.

Discrimination is acting on that dislike.

If people don't like disabled people participating in sport, gay people holding hands, or women breast feeding, that is their prejudice and we have no right to make them change their minds. We do have the right to stop them discriminating against us by insisting that we cannot do these things.

I think a good number of people who don't like seeing breast feeding mothers, do so because they are prejudiced (things like considering breasts as only a sexual apparatus, bizarre ideas of what modesty is, etc etc)

No prejudice is the disadvantage or influence of something to not be objective!

NOT to dislike something, so in your case MILLY, I dislike baked beans, so am I being prejudice of them

Prejudice refers to someone's attitude, and discrimination to their behaviour. It is amazing that people are prepared to have such strong opinions and disagree with equal opportunities but refuse to read up on even the most basic facts about it.

Breastfeeding is not equivalent to racism. Sexism is equivalent to racism and breast feeding discrimination is part of sexism.

You can use prejudice and discrimination to refer to things that have nothing to do with people, but this thread is not about baked beans. I can discriminate about a fine wine, or be discriminating in my choice of data about weather patterns, but that is not the context here.

Thanks, Milly, for the reminders of a couple of basic definitions...

oh dear lord milly, I have read up on the "basic facts" I think you should do the same!

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prejudice

Of course it someones attitude, its the same for any person saying they dislike something, as its their own being who dislikes that said "thing"

But just because someone dislikes BF/FF does not mean they are being prejudice! (if this was the cae, people who disliked something are all being prejudiced) so we are now living in a country where the whole of the population is prejudice for disliking something!

But because BF/FF is such a emotive topic, they just cannot dislike either, they have to fit into a category by your way of thinking!

OK, LittleMrsHappy, were I to say I didn't like Jews, I wouldn't be prejudiced, according to you?

'seriously-why do you think the way you choose to feed your baby is so amazing that you should be made 'special'?'

Not made special, just equal.

I've never heard of a FF mother be asked to go sit in the loo while the baby is feeding.

PMSL @ wiki being the font of all knowledge.

If someone dislikes breast feeding, that is a prejudice. If someone dislikes blindness, that is a prejudice. Your wikipedia link does not dispute that.