I can take a joke. I have an excellent sense of humor. In fact, some tell me I’m hilarious. I am also frequently seen running about town carrying an infant while herding two older boys. When the infant gets hungry, I nurse her. Woe is the sad sack who tells me I’m indiscreet, or asks me to cover up. Dude- I’m barely keeping my kids from getting run over by your SUV. You also want me to juggle a blanket in 95 degrees?
I’m positive I’ve nursed a baby- probably also a toddler- at a MLB game. Another woman did the same thing last weekend, but was unfortunately sitting in front of radio personality, Tim Mihalsky.
His first tweet mentioned that he could see the woman in front of him nursing: “the lady in front of me is breastfeeding her baby at a Dodger game. No shame.” We could give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he meant, “no shame in that- good for her” but really what he meant was, “has she no shame?”
Sigh.
Later when mama tweeters called him on his immaturity, he fought back, claiming he was just kidding- but commented, “if she was hot, it woulda been a different tweet,” and “didn’t mean to upset Twitter by not liking a crazy woman in front of me breastfeed.”
Just so I’m clear- is she crazy because you don’t find her attractive? If she were hot, would it be okay for her to nurse, rather than feed her child a Dodger Dog as you suggest? For me, this is the idea that bears the brunt of my anger, and quite clearly illustrates the entire issue of breastfeeding in public.
If women weren’t objectified in the first place, cut apart and served up for your sexual enjoyment, it wouldn’t matter if a baby latched on, even if Bill Maher were sitting nearby.
Bottom line- I’ve said it before, but it deserves a recap: The principles at work here are about more than covering up, or sitting in a restroom stall while nursing your baby. They are about more than modesty or making sure everyone is comfortable. If women’s bodies weren’t already sexualized and obectified, no one would care when a baby nurses.
More coverage over at The Feminist Breeder.