AAAARGH, drives me crazy, reading this sort of dross from women who should know better...

[DarrellRivers]

Am reading my mother's Good Housekeeping magazine today.
Can't find a link to the article but it is the letter from the editor, Louise Chunn,at the beginning of the September 2007 issue.
She starts by describing that 90% of women in Uk wear the wrong sized bra etc etc, and then moves onto the complex relationship between women and their breasts.
This thinking is hot on the heels of the law being passed to protect breast feeding mothers in public, ie not being allowed to ask them to stop.
Then goes on to say
'As I've formerly breastfed 3 babies, I might be expected to support the new law. But , on examination , I'm deeply ambivalent.Discreet, low key feeding in a public place has always been tolerated, but in-your-face, milky-breast-baring is not the same thing at all.
I don't care how many women say they think it's fine; we have to take on board that, because breasts are associated with sex, breast feeding does make many men uncomfortable.'

I felt sickened that women continually to think it normal that breasts when breastfeeding infants, should be discreet.
Sometimes it is not, sometimes it is.
It makes me cross to think that when feeding my babies I should feel sensitive to those poor embarassed men.
Don't normally get ranty on mumsnet, but needed to share my irritation,and FGS , you'd think such a rag as Good Housekeeping would be a little more up to date.
I felt like I was reading something written by an old fashioned MIL.
What do people think?

Hi moondog, I never did feed in front of him again. MIL stopped bringing him with her when she was calling in unexpectedly or left him in the car until she was sure the coast was clear. So silly really but he is a quiet, shy boy and I didn't want to make an issue of it. Fed around my own brothers of similar age with no problems. They were totally comfortable with it and are very pro-breastfeeding now as a result of talking to me and my sister about it. MIL is a very uptight person and was always strange about it. When she came to see me in hospital after dd was born and looked into my room her first instinct was to turn away when she saw I was breastfeeding. She got a bit better as time went on though.

I read this too and cringed at the idea of having to spare the feelings of those poor uncomfortable men (who are probably on their way to purchase the Daily Sport, anyway).

Think I might manage an angry letter, too. I'm a subscriber and really thought they'd moved away from their stuffy image...

prhaps we should stage a 'in your face milky breast baring breast feeding sit in' in hyde park - see how many people we can make uncomfortable !

I know of the one woman in my mum and tot group who DOESN'T bf and she only feeds her child water in front of us because she is embarrassed. Lord alone knows what men would make of that - I mean, a bit clear bottle with a rubber nipple, that's almost fetish feeding isn't it? Lawk! What next?

I wish my milky breasts were in my face, rather than around my kneecaps, as well!

I can't believe anyone can take such nonsense as this seriously. It's a bit like reading a pronouncement from the Church of England about gay people - and about as relevant. GH hasn't realised that the world has moved on.

I think the words "in-your-face, MILKY-breast-baring" are very interesting - definitely implying that it's the milkiness, i.e. baby feeding that's the problem, rather than bare tits.