Denied At Delta
Needless to say this irks me in every way imaginable. Having nursed my own kids and going well out of my way to make other people feel at ease, I am annoyed that a mother feeding her child is left to feel like an exhibitionist and as though she has done something wrong. Most nursing moms feel a little uneasy nursing in public places, so they go to lots of extra effort to avoid that, by delaying feedings, trying to hide baby under blankets (tried it-doesn't work!) or nursing in bathrooms. Babies have a right to eat and moms have the right to feed them. Enough said.
posted by Kristen @ 2:08 PM
7 Comments:
At 4:30 PM,
Anonymous said…
Ah, the conservative Culture War intersects liberal Political Correctness! How wonderful! And rationality and common sense are the victims! How utterly surprising!
This is almost as bad as when John Asscroft covered up the bosom of a blind justice statue at FBI headquarters with a flag.
I wonder if Heather Wilson has something to say about this? ;)
At 7:46 PM,
Kristen said…
I don't know, John. There are very many "culture of life" people who are very much for all aspects of natural parenting, including extended nursing and attachment parenting. And there are just as many liberal women who prefer to be "liberated" from nursing via use of formula. I think when someone makes a judgment about women nursing in public, it has less to do with their political standing and more to do with their own expectations of the female body, as in breasts are just toys for men and any other use is perverse. That said, I don't follow the antics of those wacky politicians as closely as you, so you might know better than I where they would come down on this issue.
At 10:16 AM,
Anonymous said…
"In this post Janet Jackson world..." has been uttered as a prologue to assine statements almost as often as "In this post 9/11 world..." has. It's ridiculous.
At 5:50 AM,
Anonymous said…
Yes. this Delta catastrophe infuriated me, as well. I agree that people who are up in arms about mothers nursing babies in public need to look inward at their own discomfort with their bodies and the sexualization (if that's even a word.......I don't even care at this moment) of women's breasts. God gave us breasts to feed our children. They are not something to be ashamed of or to be oogled. UGH.
At 5:44 PM,
Heather Plett said…
Appalling. And really - how many 22 month olds are gonna leave that blanket over their heads when they get all stuffy and hot?
I was once asked in a mall to use the washroom and I declined. Fortunately, nobody kicked me out and I just went right on breastfeeding.
At 8:23 PM,
Kristen said…
The good news in all this is there was enough of a stink from the general public that they have reprimanded the flight attendant (not sure what that entailed) and they have issued a formal apology. And Mo, I get do see somewhat where people are coming from, though I don't agree with their reaction. Even before I had David I knew I wanted to nurse him, but I kept thinking, "wow, it's going to be so weird to nurse a child" and mostly it's because we don't grow up thinking how one day our bodies could provide food for our babies- We just hope we'll look good in a tight sweater. It's just kind of a shame. Heather- yeah, and why would they want a passenger doing anything covertly under a blanket?? Hell, she could be setting off bra bombs for crying out loud! ;>
At 12:49 AM,
Flea said…
Yeah!! We have lovely mother rooms in some shopping centres these days.
But I agree with you.
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