Comments on: Why is Breastfeeding Equated to S*X?

By: kriekle

kriekle — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 03:58:26 +0000

In regards to the comment about formula being behind the counter like cigarettes, at my local grocery store it is. Yay Woodmans!
Also, Southern Baptists are not the only ones with breastfeeding issues. The pretty progressive United Church of Christ that we used to attend had issues with me breastfeeding in the sanctuary. They thought I should go sit in the lounge, which is populated every Sunday by several older gentlemen. Yeah, right. Eventually my husband and I were invited to a church council meeting to talk about the issue. I found support from people who surprised me and lack of support from others who also surprised me. The biggest thing about the meeting was that I educated them about the differences between the way a breastfed baby reacts versus a bottlefed baby. My kids don’t nurse just for nourishment. They nurse because they’re bored, or happy, or tired, or scared. Nobody spoke to me about the issue after that meeting, although I know it was still a problem for some of the church members, and was one of the reasons we left there. We’re now at a church called The Family Church. During Christmas program rehearsal, I was nursing my 3 year old and another boy kept trying to play. I didn’t know if he realized what I was doing, so I told his mom about the incident later in case he said anything or asked questions. She said that he’d seen her nurse his younger brother, although he might not remember, and it was perfectly natural to do. Boy, did I praise God for that response!

By: Julinda

Julinda — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 14:27:56 +0000

mamaluxe - I don’t totally avoid malls but we do try to get past Victoria’s Secret in a hurry!

By: janaki

janaki — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 23:27:48 +0000

HEATHER!!! Were you, by any chance cruising around the CafeMom groups when you came up with the foot one? That’s CRAZY!!!! I was JUST saying that in the Proud Public Breastfeeders group! Wow, goddessy minds think alike!

By: crystleyz42

crystleyz42 — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 14:30:20 +0000

There’s a really great academic article about this very issue that I HIGHLY reccomend. It’s highly readable but the book in which it is publish isn’t that common so you’ll probably have to get it via inter-library loan. Do it- it’s worth the wait!

“Beauty and the Breast: The Cultural Context of Breastfeeding in the United States” by Katherine A. Dettwyler. The article is published in: Breastfeeding: Biocultural Perspectives, edited by Patricia Stuart-Macadam and Katherine A. Dettwyler, Aldine de Gruyter, October 1995.

Here’s a link to Kathy’s website, which is also full of fantastic info: http://www.kathydettwyler.org/dettwyler.html

By: mamaluxe

mamaluxe — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 14:04:00 +0000

I was pleasantly surprised to see a very clear breastfeeding scene in “Rome.”

Straight men see breasts and they (at least most of them it seems) think s*x. However, fortunately the high brain functions of the more enlightened ones allow them to get past that when they are educated properly.

It always concerns me when people bring up the argument (against public breastfeeding) but there are CHILDREN there–what will I tell my kids if you lift up your shirt? Tell them that the natural way to feed babies is with breasts. I fail to see why this is such an issue. Do you not go to malls because they will walk past Victoria’s Secret? That seems much harder to explain to a five year old than breastfeeding.