The female body is amazing in many ways. We not only grow and nourish our babies during the sometimes unpleasant 40 weeks of pregnancy, but our bodies are also made to provide for all their nutritional needs after they are born!
This design of the human body can be freely used whenever our babies get hungry, no matter where the need arises.
And while modesty should be taken into consideration when nursing in public, the reality is most moms are doing their best to not flash everyone around them. But some babies are less cooperative than others and the mother’s focus is on what’s most important—the baby’s immediate need.
And in this day and age, concepts of nudity are grossly skewed. It is somehow acceptable to wear three flimsy pieces of fabric tied together with a string on a public beach and pass it off as a bathing suit, but a mother trying to feed her baby is shamed, glared at, and told it is inappropriate.
Worse still, this bullying causes many moms to feel inadequate and turn to formula while in public. This may seem harmless, but it can cause many problems in maintaining breastfeeding and undue stress on the mother.
The media is even worse in perpetuating this skewed perception on social expectations of the female body with seductive women flaunting lingerie, and couples having intercourse on television. All in the name of entertainment.
Our society has made it clear: As long as it’s in the name of entertainment, a woman should wear as little as possible, if anything at all, thanks to channels like HBO. But if a woman wants to use her body to feed her child as God intended, she is in the wrong and should be told so.
Providing life sustaining nourishment for your baby is not, and should not, be a shameful act.
Yet it’s regarded as such.
Today reported:
“A mom who claims she was asked to cover up while breastfeeding her child at a London museum responded to the request by tweeting a series of photos of naked female statues inside the gallery she was visiting.”
The mother, whose Twitter name is “vaguechera”, was visiting the Victoria & Albert Museum last week with her 12-month-old baby.
When her baby got hungry she found a bench to breastfeed and covered herself with a cardigan.
A museum employee soon approached her and asked her to cover up. Afterwards, vaguechera responded with a tweet and pointed out the irony of the request by posing in front of a naked statue—surrounded by several other pictures of naked art on display.
Ironically, one of Victoria and Albert’s collection pieces happens to be a woman with both breasts displayed holding a child on each side to nurse.
It is a 1794 porcelain piece by Louis-Simon Boizot from France and is iconically adored by artists and the public.
The mother who was addressed by the museum ended the day with a good attitude saying that, “on the upside..exploring depictions of breasts thru the ages and making lovely mammaries. I mean memories.”
Today reported:
“The posts caught the attention of the museum’s director, who quickly issued an apology.
“V sorry. Our policy is clear: women may breastfeed wherever they like, wherever they feel comfortable & shld not be disturbed,” Tristram Hunt said in a tweet.”
Replying to @vaguechera and @V_and_A
.@vaguechera V sorry. Our policy is clear: women may breastfeed wherever they like, wherever they feel comfortable & shld not be disturbed.
It is a good thing an apology was made for the museum’s sake. In the UK, breastfeeding mothers are legally protected under the Equality Act of 2010.
The Association of breastfeeding mothers reports:
“Breastfeeding mothers are protected by the Equality Act (2010), a law which bans unfair treatment. The Equality Act states that it is sex discrimination to treat a woman less favourably because she is breastfeeding.”
If the irony hasn’t already befallen you yet, this entire incident between the breastfeeding mother and the museum took place during World Breastfeeding Week.
The World alliance for breastfeeding action just celebrated “The World Breastfeeding Week’s 25th year”. This organization works with UNICEF, WHO, and many other organizations to show the relation of breastfeeding with Sustainable Development Goals.
While things did end amicably between the museum and this breastfeeding mom, there is still a perception at large that needs to change.
A mother should never feel embarrassed, shamed, or be ridiculed for providing the most natural food source nature could provide for their babies.
Society should work towards abolishing the stigma on breastfeeding and begin supporting one another in perpetuating our baby’s utmost health and nourishment.