I read this article yesterday and it made me tear up a little. What really got me is how strongly people feel that women should be ashamed of breastfeeding. It makes me sick to think that people feel the need to hide, not talk about, shy away from breastfeeding.
For some reason the comments underneath really moved me. So much love and support for children and breastfeeding. My feelings are pretty simple. Breastfeeding is beautiful, and I don’t think it should be a big deal at all. I would love it if we could all just treat the site (or thought) of a woman breastfeeding as nonchalantly as the site of bottle feeding.
Women don’t want to be able to walk around topless, show their boobs to the world, shove their breasts in your face (although I’ve seen many men hoot and holler joyously when this happens when a baby is not attached to the breast). They just want to be able to feed their children in peace, without stares, comments, judgment.
It’s not gross, disgusting, unconscionable. People don’t care that bikini models flaunt tons of cleavage on the front of magazines on the supermarket shelves. Put a child to that breast (the same breast who’s main function it is to feed a baby) and all hell breaks loose.
This would be like me saying to you, “you know, it’s ok for you to wear reading glasses to look sexy, but if you need to use them to read with, go in another room. That’s just gross.” Really people? Gross?
I think the public is gross.
Bring it Sesame Street!
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lazy to living 
I totally agree with you 100%!!! I read this as I breastfed my new little girl. If someone felt uncomfortable or disgusted at the fact that I feed my child from my breast, they would really not like me then. I would more than likely have a few choice words for them. These types of people have absolutely no clue!
It was funny, I breastfed in public for the first time today. I’ve read so many horror stories about harrassment and gawking related to this, I was kind of nervous. But the thing is, we moved to a foreign country while I was pregnant, and the attitude seems totally different here. Formula seems to have made some pretty big inroads, but culturally, breastfeeding is still totally normal here– I’ve seen women nursing babies and toddlers basically anywhere there’s a place to sit down– on buses, in parks, at the mercados… So today I was nursing the little one outside my apartment, and three of my neighbors walked by. Each one stopped to say hi, look at the baby, and tell me how “lindo” he is, without any hint of embarrassment or judgement. I could get used to this : )
How wonderful! I have had a lot of luck with breastfeeding in public, however, the rude glances were hard to swallow. Most people would just ignore me or steer clear. How nice for it to just be normal and comfortable. Congratulations on your child!
Sent from my iPhone…please excuse my typos! 🙂
I’m glad you spoke up and that there was a larger cultural movement to address this issue. I can only hope the lessons learned stick.