Why are people offended by the natural act of women breastfeeding their babies?
I believe that Lady Fuschia has it right. My wife breast fed two kids, and tried to be somewhat discreet, but we were only willing to go so far to cover up other people’s embarrassment. If we were in the mall, and a baby needed to feed, why should we leave the mall, or go to a restroom just so someone won’t be offended? She would usually try to find a discreet location, and cover up somewhat with a blanket or coat. Even then, she sometimes got “evil glares” from some people. You would think that she was stripping in the middle of the food court the way some people would look at her! Lady Fuschia, I must disagree with the part of your answer where you said “it grosses some people out – particularly men”. I would say the majority of the evil looks and even the rare nasty comment came from women, not men. Now that the serious part of the answer is done, I have an interesting story about breast-feeding. Back in 1989, I was working for a training company in Boston. The company offered week-
I suppose because it is an intimate act between two people, and involves for the mother at least, baring a breast which is normally considered socially unacceptable in everyday society in this part of the world. Personally I don’t have any problems with it, I think women should go one step further and don’t bother with the baby bit, but that’s just me 🙂 A lot of it is to do with social trends ingrained into people from a young age, in that they shouldn’t publicly display parts of their body, but as society seems to be becoming more and more accepting of display of flesh – look at fashions today compared to 50 years ago – and as people realise the many benefits of breastmilk over bottle feeding, I hope that it will become more socially acceptable. After all, as you say, it is perfectly natural and has been going on for a lot longer than wearing clothes has.
