One local woman, Mary Hornung, experienced shame and humiliation, simply for breastfeeding her baby.
While dining at a local Chick-fil-A in North Dakota, she thought nothing of sitting down to breastfeed her baby.
But when the owner, a woman herself, approached Mary, her comments were shocking.
The owner actually told her she needed to “cover up” or get out.
Mary was calm and even stated the laws on breastfeeding, but the owner wasn’t having it.
And now, Mary’s going public with the way she was treated, simply for breastfeeding her child.
Taking to Facebook, she posted the horrific account about what happened:
Parents reported:
“FM people: Just a heads up, we just went to the soft open of Chick-fil-A West Acres and the owner basically kicked me out for breastfeeding without a cover.
The owner came to our table where I was showing no more than the upper portion of my breast, barely more than what was visible in my shirt and asked me to cover.
I tried to explain that I couldn’t, because my baby refuses to be covered and she started harping about the children and men who can see my indecency and I need to cover.
I said they could practice the simple art of looking away and tried to cite North Dakota breastfeeding laws.
She told me if I chose not to cover, then she would have to ask me to leave, so I told her my review would reflect my experience and I would be relaying the experience in every local mommy group.”
***Edited to add: Thank you for the support and shares! I cannot keep up with all of the comments and shares, but really appreciate the mostly positive comments.***
Update: I was issued the following public apology: “I would like to publicly apologize to Macy Hornung for the way I handled the situation on Saturday. I ask for your forgiveness on this matter as I learn from it. My goal is to provide a warm and welcoming environment for all of my guests. @macyhornung Sincerely, Kimberly Flamm (Owner/Operator)”
What an unbelievable and infuriating story!
But sadly, this type of discrimination against moms breastfeeding their babies happens all the time.
As Mommy Underground previously reported, a woman was asked to cover up while breastfeeding her baby at a museum.
No woman should have to think twice about feeding her baby.
But the most mind-blowing thing about women getting shamed for breastfeeding their babies is the double standard.
Somehow, society deems it acceptable to encourage women to dress scantily, but yet shames a woman for breastfeeding.
Moms should be able to freely breastfeed their babies, without fear of getting kicked out of an establishment or humiliated.
We need to support our women and their babies.
No woman should be asked to “cover up or leave”, simply for feeding her baby.
Good for Mary for shining light to the way she was treated, hopefully, businesses will take note.
Do you think Chick-Fil-A should have asked Mary to “cover up”?
Have you ever experienced discrimination while breastfeeding?
Tell us your thoughts and share your story in the comments below.
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