Complain to Ofcom about Loose Women's discussion of public breastfeeding

[handlemecarefully]

here

whispers: but you would still look like an idiot and do nothing to further your cause

Why would someone look like an idiot? Genuine question.
Personally, I don't want to watch ill informed discussions. I can go down the pub and watch people be racist, sexist, hey, ignorant on any number of subjects. If these women didn't b/f, then hey, up to them, but what a waste of a discussion just to make stupid remarks about those that do.

who do you think reads these complaints?

do you think they are briefed on what constitutes a valid complaint and what doesn't

it is so patently clear that you cannot complain to a broadcasting authority about a discussion on a chat show that necessarily falls under free speech that you will simply look like an ill-informed activist

If those airheads had sat there and talked in such a stupid way about vaccinations or cervical smears and had implied that one group who do it are fanatical and distasteful idiots, nobody would be defending their right to talk crap.

Sorry, but for me this is on the same level. They talked uninformed crap about a public health issue which they are allowed to talk crap about, when they would not be allowed to talk the same kind of crap about other health issues. And why is that? Because of our society's pathetic hang up about breastfeeding. I don't give a shit if the programme producers think I'm a militant, the fact is, the more people complain about stuff like this, the less socially acceptable it becomes. Remember thirty years ago when it was alright to make racist and homophobic jokes on TV? The people who complained then were called militant, humourless activists as well. But guess what - I haven't seen Bernard Manning on TV recently.

Thanks Caligula. Nuff said!

But they weren't saying that breast feeding is wrong, simply that they find public breastfeeding distasteful! And that opinion will not be altered by strident protest, because you will be dismissed as militant 'wimmin' who knit your own muesli. Discreet public breast feeding rarely elicits any complaints because most people are entirely unaware that it's going on.

didn't see the programme so can't comment, but am sure carole mcgiffen does have a child. I think she had a daughter with Chris Evans before he was famous.

Sorry, but yes I am bloody militant about this issue. I believe in a baby's right to be fed wherever its mother happens to be at that time and I believe in a mother's right to go where she wants to, when she wants to (within reason obviously - I'm not talking about being allowed to go places no-one else is, like secret military installations!) whether she is competent and discreet about breastfeeding or not. I don't believe that mothers ought not to be allowed to go to the supermarket and buy food, because they're slightly incompetent about breastfeeding. I don't believe they ought not to be allowed out of their houses, because they're not very good at arranging a pashmina elegantly enough.

The airheads on Loose Women may have the opinion that bf is distasteful, but frankly that opinion is not valid and should be challenged by other opinions which are based on real knowledge. That was my objection to the programme - there was another opinion expressed, but it was not expressed with any knowledge or competence, or awareness of the realities of the technicalities of breastfeeding. In effect, the airheads were saying that women who can't bf discreetly ought to bugger off out of public view. And they are wrong about that, and other, more informed women, have every right to challenge them.

well if you want to challenge an opinion you should do it in a way that doesn't label you a crackpot

I'll say this one last time

write to the producers of the programme or the 'right to the reply' type programmes and request equal airtime to put forward your case

do not write to a body like ofcom because they won't help and doing so is a waste of time and a laughable waste of effort

but actually that's a lot more effort than firing off a vitriloic email to ofcom sin't it?

Mud, posters who objected to the programme did e-mail the programme and did not get responses or even acknowledgements. Therefore, it's reasonable to conclude that writing to the programme, as you suggest, is not an effective means of complaint.

And I'll say this again: the only reason public attitudes change, is because the crackpots of the world keep cracking away at them.

Crackpots of the world unite!

personally I breastfed where and when I liked and got nothing but friendly smiles - even if I didn't then I didn't even notice because really I was always caught up in my own world with my breastfeeding baby and couldn't care what anyone else thinks. I never knowingly flashed a breast and even if did, so bloody what?

But that's the funny thing about it - some people would find the fact that you flashed a breast by accident deeply offensive. The same people wouldn't find it remotely offensive if you flashed a breast by accident in a changing room, or a swimming pool, or at a TV awards ceremony (a la Judy). Anyone who would find any of the latter three situations offensive and distasteful is (quite rightly imo) dismissed as overreacting.

I didnt see the show in question but recently on the radio here (northern ireland)there was a talk show about the same thing ie should women breast feed in public. this man came on and said it was the equivilent of changing your baby if he/she had a dirty nappy on the table in a resturant!! personally breast feed my own dd who is nearly 7mths at church, in a cafe in the carpark wherever needs be and havnt noticed my boobs (now larger thanks to all this bf!) falling all over the show. bottle or breast as long as your baby gets fed then what the heck. next time some passerby says anything to a bf mum you should just flash the boob and ask want some?!!!!

I watched this & was surprised that Fiona who'd fed for 2 yrs? didn't defend it better, not surprised by Coleen/Carole as they were just playing their usual dumb/antagonistic roles.
The prog is always so rushed that they rarely conclude topics/interviews properly & therefore are not exactly a serious type of prog, just light entertainment.
In this case however I do think someone should have been primed to say something sensible at some point, otherwise, agree with Freckle.