Black Breastfeeding | Breastfeeding...It's a Beautiful Thing

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Now, that's a lot of breast!
Thursday, June 7, 2007

You won't get much celebrity breastfeeding gossip on this blog because the celebs I adore or even care about pretty much stop with Oprah and Prince, two people who won't be breastfeeding anytime soon.

That said, however, I can't help but comment on this picture. What's up with showing so much breast? I admit it, I'm a prude and believe that the breast should be covered up in public to give nursing moms and their babies some privacy and to spare people from stumbling over trash cans or getting whiplash just to divert their eyes from seeing a nipple. I hope I don't unleash the beast in some people for saying this and I know there is a lot of support going around in the blogosphere for her, but I think Maggie Gyllenhaal is being rude. Take a peek. What do you think?

Labels: breastfeeding in public

posted by Jennifer James @ 12:31 PM,

9 Comments:

At June 7, 2007 7:36 PM, Fat Lady said...: Not unleashing the beast in me, but I'll respectfully disagree with you. I think we need to see more women breastfeeding openly and unashamedly. If everyone nursed the Maggie does in those pictures, people would stop seeing breasts as offensive or overtly sexual and start seeing them as merely a body part that serves a specific purpose.

Once people were offended by a woman showing her ankle in public. But once skirts were short for a while, ankles became pretty mundane. I hope one day breasts are viewed pretty much as ankles are - they're there, they do their job, but very few people think about or notice them much.

As long as we're uncomfortable with seeing women nurse, how can we expect women to feel comfortable with nursing?

I say, good for Maggie!!
At June 7, 2007 9:31 PM, Rose said...: I agree with you. I was actually thinking about posting about the topic last week.

I think we as a society SHOULD be okay with seeing so much when it's for that purpose, but we aren't. I don't believe we should be hidden away at home as a result and I don't believe anyone has the right to say something disrespectful to a mom in that situation, but I'd rather if someone doesn't show quite as much.

In part, I feel that way because I'm so sick of the anti folks who say in disgust "We've all seen those moms who just whip it out." Honestly, the vast majority of women I know don't do that at all, but it gives the negative folks fodder for their fires.

All that being said, I think we should all give leeway to new moms just figuring it out and any mom whose baby suddenly pulls up the shirt to expose a nip slip without warning (hate that).

And just FTR, I'm not a fan of blanket or cover-ups or anything of that sort (if the mom doesn't want it. I know some moms who actually prefer it. In my experience, though, most don't and they shouldn't be expected to).
At June 7, 2007 11:51 PM, Doulala said...: You know I love ya Jennifer but I too have to disagree with you. I am a firm believer in "If you don't want to see it you can turn your head". Who was she being rude to, the man sitting next to her, the photographer, the thousands of people who, thanks to the internet, will see her performing a natural/normal act? I think the real person being rude is the photographer. It's not like she was posing for these pictures (even if she was, I wouldn't think of it as rude). I also think that the person who wrote the blog you linked to is just being silly. The photo's were shot from the opposite angle so the man next to her probably didn't see much of anything. If he did and he was offended he has a neck (that allows him to turn his head) and or eyelids (that, when closed, keep him from seeing things).

I hope you know that even though we disagree on this topic I still love what you are doing with this blog.
At June 8, 2007 5:55 AM, MommaSteph said...: Respectfully disagreeing as well. The breast is for nursing. We're pretty uptight in the US and need to get over ourselves.
At June 8, 2007 7:06 AM, Leah said...: I love Maggie. She is so great.

I agree with what fat lady said, but I would also like to add that I think Maggie knows exactly what she's doing. I think she's trying to normalize breastfeeding. If you don't want to expose your whole breast, you don't have to, but I think a lot of the people who think bfing is gross will change their tune if it is normalized among celebrities. Sad, but true. So I think she knows darn well that papparazzi are out there and breastfeeds openly to get pictures of a nursing mom in all the magazines.
At June 8, 2007 7:30 AM, Jennifer James said...: Hi Ladies! I'm so glad so many of your respectfully disagreed with me instead of calling me a close-minded bleepity bleep bleep :)

I'm dedicating an entire post to public breastfeeding today from an historical prospective. Stay tuned.

Thanks for chiming in.
At June 8, 2007 8:37 AM, Mamaebeth said...: i also disagree. the day i see less boob on TV, in the movies, at the beach, and at the mall we can discuss it again. if men can walk around bare chested, i don't see any reason women shouldn't be able to either.
At June 8, 2007 8:39 AM, Mamaebeth said...: oh, but having said that, i try to be discrete as possible because i don't want other people to see my breasts unless it is an accident.
At August 15, 2007 2:06 PM, Corin & Davey said...: I think she's showing just as much boob as the woman in the B&W photo just below the caption "What's up with all the black and white photos?"

I love your blog and I love what you do. But, gotta disagree with you! I loved seeing those photos of MG breastfeeding like that.