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think, babies are human too, which means they also need food to
survive – so why shouldn’t they have the right to be eating too? And
furthermore, does the fact a baby is being breastfed interrupt or
change the fact that you are eating a delicious meal at a delicious
restaurant? No, so why should one care?
It is this pattern of disgust for these breastfeeding mothers
however can be most vividly seen among males, and here we must
question the underlying feminist and cultural discrimination that
may not be so long ago in the past. It seems for males, breasts are
okay when they want them to be okay, which is very rarely, if ever,
when they are seen breastfeeding a child in public. David Koch, or
‘Kochie,’ may be a familiar name to some of you early risers, became
a topic of conversation in the media after some controversial
comments made earlier this year. The Sunrise presenter is a vivid
example of the double standards males have toward women’s breasts,
as he was noted stating
‘women need to be more discreet about breastfeeding… and
that they’ve got to be classy about it.’
The ironic thing about this is that the
segment prior was in fact a montage of heaving-bosomed Bond girls
and other famous bikini wearers, parading around a catwalk showing
women how to get that perfect summer body. These girls weren’t
being discreet about their breasts on display, so why does one have to
be when breastfeeding?
It appears that when attractive women are wearing minimal attire
on their upper half, breasts are seen as a good thing, but otherwise,
they are not. One must pose the question, how can breasts be
considered with sexual connotations when purposely made in order
to feed ones child? Creepy when you put it like that, I know.
Furthermore, it is crucial that we begin acknowledging the
benefits of breastfeeding, with studies showing that breast-fed
children are less likely to contract a number of diseases later in life,
including juvenile diabetes, multiple sclerosis, heart disease, and
cancer. The mothers also have a lesser chance of adopting such
cancers as Ovarian and Uterine, and even Breast cancer.
So, in the scheme of things, what’s showing a little bit of breast in
public, which though may seem a little farfetched now, could be the
difference between the life and death of a mother and her child?
The really sad thing is, however, that a survey conducted in 2013
showed that 65% of women were no longer breastfeeding in public
as they felt too self-conscious because of people staring. We have to
ask ourselves as women if this is a world in which we want to live.
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