Breastfeeding Should Be Allowed In Public
Suck it up!!!
“That is so disgusting! Nobody wants to see that! Go do that in the restroom!”, these are some of the most common insults a mother has to deal with while nursing her starving infant in public. Breastfeeding is one of the most natural processes in life, yet very often breastfeeding gets demoralized when it is taking place in public. Even though the law protects the mother’s right to breastfeed in public, mothers get harassed for nourishing their infants in public.
In the United States of America 49 out of 50 states allow breastfeeding in public places. For example, in Texas; the Texas Health Code Ann. § 165.002 (1995) “authorizes a woman to breastfeed her child in any location.” Another example would be in Maryland the: Md. Health-General Code Ann. § 20-801 (2003) “permits a woman to breastfeed her infant in any public or private place and prohibits anyone from restricting or limiting this right.” As one can see these are specific laws supporting this action. Which is essentially protecting the infant’s right to get fed out of his or her home. So how is it that individuals think they can take the right of breastfeeding in public away from a mother, and tell them to go do that in …show more content…
the restroom.
I conducted a survey of mothers who had breastfed, and asked if they had ever been harassed over breastfeeding in public.
Seven out of the thirteen women were victims of harassment due to public breastfeeding. The most common remark was “go do that in the restroom”. Not one single woman was told “go feed your child in restroom”, so I went ahead and conducted a random survey of 10 people, and asked if they had ever eaten in a restroom. One person out of the ten said they had eaten in a restroom. Seven out of the ten people said they had never eaten in a restroom. Two out of the Ten people were irritated that I had even asked the question, because they said they would never eat in a restroom. Which leads to the question: why are mothers being told to go do that in the
restroom?
The matter of the fact is that in today’s society women tend to get sexualized, and there are high standers for a woman to look, and act certain way. If a mother is seen nourishing her infant in public it is likely a man thinks it is repulsing. If a woman sees a woman breast feeding in public it is likely that they think it is not lady like, because of the exposure. So when women are not being seen as individuals sexualize them, and standers are not met, individuals tend to get uncomfortable.
However, breasts are being used it for its natural purpose. So why throw a fit over the natural process of breastfeeding and even get to the point of harassing a mother? The child has to be fed whether individuals like it, or not. By law, they have the right to breast-feed in public, and if a mother breastfeeding her infant makes individuals uncomfortable, they should just to look the other away. Mothers are going to breastfeed their infants whether individuals like it or not, because they have to feed their hungry infant.
“That is so disgusting! Nobody wants to see that! Go do that in the restroom!”, these are some of the most common insults a mother has to deal with while nursing her starving infant in public. Breastfeeding is one of the most natural processes in life, yet very often breastfeeding gets demoralized when it is taking place in public. Even though the law protects the mother’s right to breastfeed in public, mothers get harassed for nourishing their infants in public.
In the United States of America 49 out of 50 states allow breastfeeding in public places. For example, in Texas; the Texas Health Code Ann. § 165.002 (1995) “authorizes a woman to breastfeed her child in any location.” Another example would be in Maryland the: Md. Health-General Code Ann. § 20-801 (2003) “permits a woman to breastfeed her infant in any public or private place and prohibits anyone from restricting or limiting this right.” As one can see these are specific laws supporting this action. Which is essentially protecting the infant’s right to get fed out of his or her home. So how is it that individuals think they can take the right of breastfeeding in public away from a mother, and tell them to go do that in …show more content…
the restroom.
I conducted a survey of mothers who had breastfed, and asked if they had ever been harassed over breastfeeding in public.
Seven out of the thirteen women were victims of harassment due to public breastfeeding. The most common remark was “go do that in the restroom”. Not one single woman was told “go feed your child in restroom”, so I went ahead and conducted a random survey of 10 people, and asked if they had ever eaten in a restroom. One person out of the ten said they had eaten in a restroom. Seven out of the ten people said they had never eaten in a restroom. Two out of the Ten people were irritated that I had even asked the question, because they said they would never eat in a restroom. Which leads to the question: why are mothers being told to go do that in the
restroom?
The matter of the fact is that in today’s society women tend to get sexualized, and there are high standers for a woman to look, and act certain way. If a mother is seen nourishing her infant in public it is likely a man thinks it is repulsing. If a woman sees a woman breast feeding in public it is likely that they think it is not lady like, because of the exposure. So when women are not being seen as individuals sexualize them, and standers are not met, individuals tend to get uncomfortable.
However, breasts are being used it for its natural purpose. So why throw a fit over the natural process of breastfeeding and even get to the point of harassing a mother? The child has to be fed whether individuals like it, or not. By law, they have the right to breast-feed in public, and if a mother breastfeeding her infant makes individuals uncomfortable, they should just to look the other away. Mothers are going to breastfeed their infants whether individuals like it or not, because they have to feed their hungry infant.