Great story in the currant bun - breastfeeding in Mcdonalds!

[Umlellala]

Dh spotted this fab story on The Sun website

breastfeeding mums demo in mcdonalds

*yes, yes, I know. He also reads the Times online and BBC news. He is just well-read

Ok - well personally I prefer not to expose my all of my breasts but if Bumperlicious is happy to do so then why is it any concern of anybody elses? If you don't like it then go pass out in a corner. Her breasts are none of your concern if they are encased in low cut lycra so why does the absence of a few inches of fabric make all that much difference?

< thinks that actually we maybe all would want to make a fashion judgement about low cut lycra tops - and indeed their practicality whilst breastfeeding - but heh ho - my point still stands>

Actually I desperately cover up when this happens, liek I said, I'm sick of seeing my own tits, let alone everyone else seeing them, but it's this whole "It's ok, as long as you are discreet" attitude that really pisses me off. It's not always that easy, thankfully cod did find it easy so the rest of us of course should

DD is 13 months and we are just starting nursing etiquette, it's not easy, I am fairly new to this mothering lark and it's only recently that it had become appropriate to try and control DD's behaviour so I am just learning. Sorry if I am not very good at it yet.

But I remember when DD was a lot younger, going through a stage of popping off and staring at the rest of the world. No-one would suggest then that I shouldn't feed her, or that a 4/5/6 month old should no better. This is about a wider issue - it's ok as long as we don't have to see it.

Oh, and it is ok for men to wander round with no shirts on, but if a woman did it it would not be considered appropriate - why is that?

I can't lower myself down the food chain far enough to argue with the comments on that site (the ridiculous, ignorant ill-informed ones that is, I'm hurrahing at Misdee et al's reasoned and sensible comments).

The 'bonking/defecating is natural and we don't do that in public' line is insulting to the supposed intelligence of those who utter it. You do not need to bonk or defecate in public but a tiny baby needs milk on an extremely regular basis. There is absolutely no comparison.

YY - why should we put a caveat on breastfeeding?

I'm really bored of "It's ok so long as you stop at 6/12/18/24 months", or "It's ok so long as you don't see any breast."

Why must we have conditions put on bf-ing?

And that know better not no better (jeez - can you tell I wasn't bfed? )

that's

Agree with wanting to be modest, but the muslin cloth was on the baby's head!

Yes SD.

And why should it be compared to other things like bonking or defecating? A good male friend says 'I wouldn't wap my willy out in public', no well why would you and why compare it? Similarly we find ourselves arguing about the amount of flesh that young girls expose as a matter of fashion as a defence for bfing when these comparisons shouldn't be necessary. Bfing is what it is without caveats/conditions/restrictions/age recommendations. Breastfeeding seems so simple to me. Feeding of a hungry child from one's breast/s.

lol at those comments
presumably those guys are all looking at page three and going URGH! stop wapping your tits out love! no-one wants to see it!

why should exposing both your breasts for sexual titilation be acceptable but exposing part of one breast for a baby's nutrition be unpleasant/disgusting/need covering up?
it is about control of women's bodies, at heart.

Absolutely harpsi.

The comments are hilarious.

"PUT THEM AWAY. Don't want to see your when eating. Thanks."

A fully grown man who can't quite bring himself to type the word 'breast', or even 'tits'.

I expect he asks the newsagent to staple pages 2 and 4 of his Sun newspaper together before he reads it.

Anyone who has a problem seeing a woman's breasts feeding a baby clearly has deep rooted issues and should get themselves a good session with a shrink.

Message withdrawn

It's a perfectly relevant comparison in this context.

Just got round to reading those comments and I want to tear my face off in frustration!

So many to chose from but this one particularly made me want to pull my arm off and slap the guy:

"Sorry, gonna upset all you pc boneheads, breast feeding in public is disgusting, yes i agree its natural etc etc, but its UNNATURAL to feed in public, i quite agree with the manager. Its health and hygeine etc etc at the end of the day. I do believe, however, that resturants etc etc should provide an area where it is safer to breastfeed out of the public eye. Before you lot get on your high horse i do have a child and i would never allow my wife to breast feed where other people are eating. No matter what people say there will always be people who don't like to see it, and i am one of them people."

He would never allow his wife to bf where people are eating? I would tell my DH to fuck right off, except he would never say that! And "it's health and hygiene..." what, health and hygiene what exactly?

'health and hygiene' rofl

lol Bette Noire, but I'm sure he doesn't see the irony of his comment.

Bugs me so many people can't see that discomfort at the sight of a breastfeeding mum might be understandable - if they're not used to it, but it's not reasonable, and therefore they should just SHUT UP not keep putting their nipple neurosis on display.

iCod - you're quite right that I wouldn't want to see your big veiny tits on display in Macdonalds. I also don't want to see grotesquely fat teenagers with acne hoofing down burgers and fries. It repels me. However - I do recognise that my feelings are MY problem: your baby has a right to be fed, and obese, spotty teenagers have the right to eat what and where they like, no matter how disgusting people like me find them.

Public breastfeeding is only a problem in countries where an entrenched bottlefeeding culture has rendered breastfeeding a marginal and mostly invisible practice. Good for those mummies standing up to that idiot Macdonalds manager. Hope he got his wrist slapped by the company too.

Message withdrawn

No - not 'judging'.

I'm just articulating how the sight of fat, spotty teenagers wolfing down burgers makes me FEEL.

The difference between me and people who complain about the sight of bf mums is that I recognise that my feelings are a) socially conditioned b) my own concern and c) unreasonable, and therefore that I don't have a moral right to expect to be shielded from the sight of Vicky Pollard lookeelikies filling their faces with junk food.

Would like to add that I'm no oil painting either: I'm 42 and I know the sight of me bf my massive toddler has probably put a few people off their lattes and croissants..... but I stand by my right to do it without interference.

I think a breastfeeding demo may actually be marginalising. I think it feeds into the 'them and us' thing. That people who breastfeed are a certain type, and 'militant'.

I think lots of people breastfeeding as part of their everyday routine is much more effective.

But then, I know some people aren't comfortable doing that...

I understand your point TheFallenMadonna. It's unfortunate but I do think something like this may backfire and like you say create a feeling of 'them and us'.

I probably wouldn't have been part of a demo like this, but I would have gone in there with my family and bf (I'm sure I've bf in Macdonald's a few times).

Looking at the photograph in the article I ask myself "How much more discreet do you have to get?" All you can see is mum and baby, not an inch of breast to be seen.

And what if there was?

i can see barely a whisper of flesh.

actually i should stay away from that sun discussion board because i am hitting my head against a brick wall.

"sun discussion board" a misnomer if ever I've seen one!!