“Let them eat tits”

nursingmoms

[above: Nursing Moms Tent at Ypsi’s 2013 Heritage Fest]

I know my friends who worked their asses off in order to make last weekend’s Heritage Festival the incredible success that it was are likely to take what I’m about to say personally, and I apologize in advance if that’s the case. I don’t mean it as a criticism… As a huge advocate for public breastfeeding, though, I just didn’t want to let this go without at least a passing mention.

First off, I think it’s awesome that the folks behind this event set aside a space for modest moms to breastfeed their kids in private. That’s a good thing.

With that said, though, women should be able to breastfeed openly, wherever they like, whenever they like… Actually, they shouldn’t just be able to. They should be encouraged to.

And maybe I’m just a little overly sensitive on this issue, as I’m a huge proponent of breastfeeding, but, when I saw this “Nursing Mothers Tent,” I cringed. And I’m wondering if others had the same impulse.

Was I reading too much into it, or, like me, did you get the sense that nursing mothers were being told to hide their breasts away behind closed doors, or, in this case, tent flaps?

Assuming that the folks behind the event aren’t against boobs, and the feeding of children, I think this could be remedied pretty easily next year with a sign that says, “Here’s a private space for your children to suckle, if you want to make use of it. Breastfeeding is awesome, though, and, if you want, you can do it wherever you like.”

While I know this is a political issue for some, for me it’s namely about public health. The value of breastfeeding is undeniable. And, in my opinion, we should be doing everything in our power to remove the stigma associated with the act, in hopes of encouraging more new mothers to forgo the free formula samples handed out at the hospital, and give their breasts a chance.

And, to those of you who feel as though I’m judging you for not having breastfed your kids, I’m not. I’m pretty sure that I was bottle fed for the most part, and I turned out alright. So I’m not saying that, if you bottle-feed your kids they’re going to turn out stupid and sick. I will say, however, that the evidence seems to indicate that breastfeeding has innumerable longterm benefits for both mothers and their children. And, I know this is probably obvious to most of you, but the stuff is both free and abundant. So why give your hard-earned money to Nestlé when you have it within your power to make your own milk that’s exponentially better?

It’s also worth noting, for those of you who have never actually seen a woman breastfeed, that it’s really not even remotely erotic. It’s not like the nursing mother takes her shirt completely off and struts around, nipples bouncing everywhere, for all to see. If you’re lucky, you might see a split second of areola peaking out from behind a snot-covered cardigan, but that’s about it. Seriously, inch for inch, you’ll get less boob from a nursing mom than from almost any other woman between the ages of 18 and 35. So it’s not like society will collapse if public breastfeeding takes off in a big way. Your life will probably be about the same that it is now, except you might hear a little more slurping. And I don’t know if it’s true for everyone, but I suspect, if you’re a straight male, you might even start fetishizing breasts a little less.

Lastly, for those of you who still aren’t convinced, I thought that I’d leave you with a few good breastfeeding quotes.

“When we trust the makers of baby formula more than we do our own ability to nourish our babies, we lose a chance to claim an aspect of our power as women. Thinking that baby formula is as good as breast milk is believing that thirty years of technology is superior to three million years of nature’s evolution. Countless women have regained trust in their bodies through nursing their children, even if they weren’t sure at first that they could do it. It is an act of female power, and I think of it as feminism in its purest form.” -Christine Northrup

If a multinational company developed a product that was a nutritionally balanced and delicious food, a wonder drug that both prevented and treated disease, cost almost nothing to produce and could be delivered in quantities controlled by the consumers’ needs, the very announcement of their find would send their shares rocketing to the top of the stock market. The scientists who developed the product would win prizes and the wealth and influence of everyone involved would increase dramatically. Women have been producing such a miraculous substance, breastmilk, since the beginning of human existence.” -Gabrielle Palmer

So, with all due respect to the bottle-feeders among us, maybe next year, they can take a turn in the tent.

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70 Comments

  1. Andrew Jason Clock
    Posted August 20, 2013 at 12:26 am | Permalink

    The Health Tent, which is presented by St. Joe’s & UofM Medical Systems, as well as several other local medical and health establishments, added the Nursing Mother’s Tent last year. I never really thought about it before as making a statement about breastfeeding, and since all of my contacts for the tent have been women who worked for hospitals, I just assumed it was a good idea. It’s definitely not intended to suggest that breastfeeding isn’t acceptable by the festival, at least as far as the festival is concerned. I looked at it as just what the sign says, a quiet place to breastfeed in the middle of a very public and sometimes very crowded and busy place.

  2. dragon
    Posted August 20, 2013 at 1:21 am | Permalink

    You have never felt more anger than:
    -That time your Ipad got delivered one day late.
    -When you finished making omelets and realized you were out of sea salt.
    -That time nobody recognized you at the coffee shop.

    My guess is #3.

  3. Posted August 20, 2013 at 3:28 am | Permalink

    Have to admit that I used the “nursing tent” last year. It made me feel ashamed. This year I just nursed in a quiet corner of the beer tent pre- 2 good stouts. It was much more enjoyable.

  4. Posted August 20, 2013 at 4:15 am | Permalink

    This is an awful idea. It’s like a burqa for breastfeeding.

  5. anonymous
    Posted August 20, 2013 at 7:50 am | Permalink

    I like the idea of a rent-a-burqa tent for women who show up in halter tops and hot pants and suddenly begin t feel ashamed.

  6. bee
    Posted August 20, 2013 at 8:17 am | Permalink

    Mark, you’re rad. 13 years ago, I woulda felt like this tent meant I should stow away to nurse, but today I’d be grateful for a restful spot where I wouldn’t be distracted and Ziggy wouldn’t be distracted. He’s really fucking difficult to nurse. And sometimes I don’t wanna feed my kid while 20 people say hi, because Z likes to say hi too and it’s annoying to have a really active milk ejection reflex and stuff… PLUS, a tent like that can offer a sense of togetherness and in a world where so many mothers don’t have visible and active support and advocacy I think it’s awesome for the tent to be there.

    Just another perspective from someone who’s nursed an easy, discreet kid and another that needs to be involved in every interaction [taking talking with his mouth full to a whole new level]

  7. Megan
    Posted August 20, 2013 at 8:20 am | Permalink

    I know i’m in the minority about this, but i absolutely hate public breastfeeding. I know it’s healthy, i think all kids should be breastfed, but i don’t see why i need to be subjected to some woman’s boob in a kid’s mouth and that HORRENDOUS sucking noise that seems to permeate everything like nail clippers do. Why is feeding your child equal to showing everyone your tits? What happened to dignity and decorum and just a tad bit of class? Share this moment with your kid in private, not with everyone in the coffee shop. With this argument i always run into the boobs aren’t sexual objects! They’re food! Newsflash. This is America. Marketing firms don’t use elbows to sell cars and beer. They use boobs because boobs give men and lesbians hard ons (well, not the lesbians, but you know what i mean!).

    I have no interest in seeing nipples when i’m out and about. If i wanted to see nipples i’d turn on the computer or go to Deja Vu.

  8. Posted August 20, 2013 at 8:33 am | Permalink

    Mark, I can’t believe the day has come but I completely, 100% disagree with you. I do not want to see some kid hangin off someone’s tit. I just don’t. I’ve seen too many women make a show of it, most notably in the beer garden at the Corner. Ew. I realize it is natural but do you know what else is “natural”? Pee. I love peeing yet I do it in private. Because, you see, some things are meant to happen *in private*. If it’s a “moment” to bond with the kid, then go on and bond *in private*. And spare me the “don’t make my kid eat in the bathroom” bullshit that often accompanies the lowing about breastfeeding–when I was in legal aid I had no time for lunch and had to cram a peanut butter sandwich down my throat in the john lest I miss a case. Guess what? You get over. Guess what else? The kid has no fucking clue if it’s sucking in the bathroom, in the beer garden or at the Taj Mahal. Why? It’s a fucking baby, that’s why.

    I have no idea why this movement is even a “thing” but I have a guess. See, if we can get all riled about women! not being able to breastfeed! in public! and then the Powers That Be advocate whipping out your tit whenever and wherever you are THE WOMEN WIN! See how non-sexist they (company, festival, whatever) are! They let women breastfeed in public! And then we aren’t paying attention to things that affect (almost) all women like, I don’t know, the possibility of getting raped, unequal pay, sexual harassment on the job, access to birth control, etc.

    On a personal level, I have no idea why this issue angers me as much as it does except for the reason listed in the second paragraph, above. I realize that this puts me in the minority here but so be it. (I can take the flame war) At the end of the day, I just don’t want to see women with those smarmy looks on their face as someone sucks on their boob I guess. If I want to see the loveliest boobs ever, I need only look down my own shirt and that’s quite enough. (Ha! I just looked! They look awesome today!).

  9. maryd
    Posted August 20, 2013 at 8:47 am | Permalink

    I love that the tent was there, as Bee points out not every kid is easy to feed. I was a mom who breastfed 3 kids anywhere they needed it. It is the way infants eat. I support public breastfeeding, it is just f*cking normal. Avert your eyes if it bugs you, as no one is trying to show off a drippy nipple. And it is so much preferable to a screaming infant eh?

  10. bee
    Posted August 20, 2013 at 8:52 am | Permalink

    also, I should note, I’m a serious lactivist. I moderated the proMom message boards back in 2000, I ran a website from 2000-2004 called bad ass breastfeeding babes… I am not by any stretch of most people’s imaginations “modest”.

    Biology is just sometimes annoying. And as an adult that has a hard time eating and walking, imagine a mother as, hmmm, a corndog, shall we say? Some people can eat that and it’s really easy to handle, and sometimes you end up with mustard all over your face and some asshole takes a picture and makes it look like something else. Just, ya know, for metaphorical purposes.

  11. Megan
    Posted August 20, 2013 at 8:56 am | Permalink

    You know, i hate that remark. “Avert your eyes.” What about my ears? What about the fact that i could very well have been there before you? How about, your the mother, shouldn’t you know their feeding schedule and maybe run out before or after you’ve fed them? It makes me highly uncomfortable, frankly it grosses me out, and i’m 100% with TeacherPatti. She and i can take all of you on!!!

    I’ve decided the next time i see it, i’m going to stare and possibly try and drool and be as creepy leery as possible. You want to expose your boobs in public, then i’m going to damn well watch. BOOBS!!! Maybe i’ll even take a picture or two… She has no expectation of privacy in the milk aisle of Kroger.

  12. bee
    Posted August 20, 2013 at 8:58 am | Permalink

    one more thing- I don’t think pee and breastmilk should be in the same sentence. and 98% of nursing moms are not trying to make a show of it; but yeah, I think in the cultural [western] sense, the zeal of the newly converted DOES make a point to get all up in your face about it. Which, whatever, don’t look.

    But ultimately the tent is incredibly awesome. It would be a different story [or burqa-esque] if women who were seen breastfeeding were rounded up and sent to the tent….

  13. bee
    Posted August 20, 2013 at 8:59 am | Permalink

    megan? why are you being so aggressive about this? Take us all on? Really? Is that even necessary??

  14. E.
    Posted August 20, 2013 at 9:02 am | Permalink

    I can see how it might be easier to breastfeed in private, and I don’t think the existence of the tent necessarily says “you need to hide your disgusting, leaky boobs.” With that said, though, we need to do whatever we can to encourage more moms to feel good about their bodies and breastfeeding. The formula industry is huge, and it’s bad for babies. They literally inundate new parents with free formula before they leave the hospital in hopes that they’ll give up on breastfeeding after a day of awkward, painful, frustrating attempts, and resort to the free formula they’ve been given. It’s insidious. We need to talk more about breastfeeding and we need to see more of it, even if people like Patti are freaked out by it.

  15. Really?
    Posted August 20, 2013 at 9:05 am | Permalink

    Maybe next year they can have a masturbation tent too?

  16. maryd
    Posted August 20, 2013 at 9:09 am | Permalink

    Well you won’t see me doing anything so shocking in public anymore…now my own are all grown ;)
    But I am shocked at the virulence of the feminine reaction here. I have to liken it to the mommy wars women start with each other, rather than support each person’s decision to do what they want/need to do in their own lives.

  17. Mr. Y
    Posted August 20, 2013 at 9:15 am | Permalink

    This is kind of a revelation for me. I had no idea that women would be adverse to the idea of public breastfeeding. I honestly thought that only old, conservative men would give a damn, out of fear that the site of a breastfeeding mom would cause them to spontaneously orgasm.

  18. Eel
    Posted August 20, 2013 at 9:18 am | Permalink

    If you’re close enough to hear the sucking, Megan, you might want to take a few steps back.

  19. Posted August 20, 2013 at 9:20 am | Permalink

    I was going to assume the comment from Megan was satirical, but Patti, you’re somebody I take seriously.

    I appreciate your comments that women have “bigger concerns” than breastfeeding in public, and can hear your frustration that people are wasting their energy on “the wrong fight” by caring about public breastfeeding…but I don’t think these are unrelated issues.

    Isn’t, “hey, whip that thing out in private” part of the same syndrome as “the way she was dressed, she was asking for it”? Or if we expect that breastfeeding (or pumping) is something that *must* happen “in private”, to the exclusion of whatever else a woman might be doing, doesn’t that feed the idea that a new mother can’t possibly be as diligent an employee as a man, and that therefore wage or hiring discrimination is justified?

    It’s a subject relevant to my interests: in a month, I’ll be the father of twins, and I understand newborn twins to be enough of a house arrest sentence without mothers being told to hide their breastfeeding from the world. (Though I also have little sympathy for the La Leche shaming of any woman who doesn’t or can’t breastfeed in public.)

  20. Posted August 20, 2013 at 9:31 am | Permalink

    Murph, thank you for saying that. I do see what you are saying and I was thinking about why I might have such a virulent reaction. Lesson time! There is a real thing called tokophobia which is the fear of childbirth/pregnancy. It is a real thing and I have always had it but never knew it had a name. I can’t tell you all of the horrific nightmares (including night terrors with me screaming and running throughout my house) I have had about being pregnant. It sounds ridiculous and screams FIRST WORLD PROBLEM and I realize this but you guys just don’t know how freaked out I am and I am starting to freak out writing about it. (In fact, when I took Jazzercise the pregnant instructor started to talk about that thing where they cut you down there…epipesiotomy? Something? And I had to leave the class and go home because I was freaked out)

    So I’m wondering if my aversion to this whole thing is part of it?

    On another note, MURPH!!! Little Murphs! Running around and planning the city! What an adorable thought :) I think I said it on FB but congrats again. I start babysitting around the time they can fetch me a beer and open it without assistance, just so you know.

  21. Posted August 20, 2013 at 9:38 am | Permalink

    Christ on a bike — I wrote my comment suggesting Megan was being satirical having only seen her first comment. Now that I read the second, I’m starting to suspect narcissistic personality disorder. I worry a bit that she’s going to spot some frazzled mother trying to breastfeed, and mace the poor woman for invading her enormous personal bubble.

  22. maryd
    Posted August 20, 2013 at 9:43 am | Permalink

    Patti after reading your latest response, I think I get your reaction now. I know you have said you didn’t want children. If that is how you feel, it is so normal to fear pregnancy. Most women have had that same fear…of an unwanted pregnancy. I can see finding the whole thing a bit a big mess…cuz it is. But it’s how we all got here and it is all normal. I do not wish an unwanted pregnancy on anyone…any more than I would condemn a woman for feeding her baby when the child is hungry
    Peace

  23. Eel
    Posted August 20, 2013 at 9:44 am | Permalink

    She can hear the slurping from her home!

  24. Posted August 20, 2013 at 9:50 am | Permalink

    Patti — I can imagine a connection. Pregnancy does a lot of totally weird-ass stuff to your body, and if you get the nausea sweats just thinking about it, I can understand why breastfeeding might end up in the same phobia-bucket. (“Doctor to woman, ‘The bad news is, you have a parasite. The good news is, many people learn to become fond of this type of parasite, and even dress them up and teach them to talk.'”)

    And I can sympathize with the freak-out side. I’ve been known to pass out at the mere thought of having blood drawn or submitting to minor out-patient procedures, even though I can calmly patch up sizable accidental injuries to myself with rubbing alcohol, paper towel, and duct tape…

    But, yeah, baby murphs! In pairs! Doing our part to hack the Census over here.

  25. Posted August 20, 2013 at 9:59 am | Permalink

    I’m a few years past my breastfeeding days, but I noticed and noted the tent. My thought was that it was a horrible location for what was a good idea. Like Bee, I had one of those kids who enjoyed socializing while he ate. I fully expect women to nurse babies where- and whenever they need/want to. For those who need a quiet space, however… how about some real shade and ventilation? A fully enclosed tent in the sun on an August afternoon???? I’d rather be sitting with an infant in my lap in the middle seat of plane with Patti on one side and Megan on the other! Let’s put up Mark’s suggested sign and move it to a deeply shaded spot next to the river, leaving at least two sides of the tent open to the breeze.

  26. Posted August 20, 2013 at 10:08 am | Permalink

    You wouldn’t want me next to you on a plane, Zoe. Trust me. I grab the hand of the person next to me and cry when we hit turbulence :) :)

  27. Kristin
    Posted August 20, 2013 at 10:11 am | Permalink

    Huh. I breastfed and wouldn’t have thought twice about that tent. I don’t know if I would have used it or not, but I really don’t see it as shaming. It’ not like they prohibited breastfeeding elsewhere. But I celebrate your umbrage. Maybe some take umbrage so the rest of us can live free.

  28. John Galt
    Posted August 20, 2013 at 11:18 am | Permalink

    Women and babies should stay home. Festivals should be for men. Just the sight of this tent and the idea of what must be going on inside caused something evil to happen in my pants, ruining the festival for me.

  29. Posted August 20, 2013 at 11:25 am | Permalink

    A simple solution: a sign on the tent reading “For women who want to breastfeed without Mark Maynard staring at them.”

  30. Posted August 20, 2013 at 11:25 am | Permalink

    I’ve never thought twice about people breastfeeding their babies in public. I fail to understand the controversy.

    This Megan person has some serious problems. I feel kind of bad for her.

  31. Tommy
    Posted August 20, 2013 at 11:46 am | Permalink

    Thank you Bee, Megan, and Patti for your responses. I have thoughts close to yours, but being a man, I didn’t feel right making a comment about such things.

    I had a conversation with my wife just last week about this very subject after watching a women at Meijer with a baby, her husband and two other little ones start nursing while in the checkout line. My first tought was – why the hell are you doing that while standing in line? Couldn’t you wait for two minutes or perhaps walk over to a bench somewhere, sit down, and quietly go about your business? My wife (wonderful feminist lefty that she is) asked me why it a problem. I had no good answer other than to say privacy and bonding seem to me to be part of the equation. If any female poster tells me to shut up, I will, gladly.

    Hey Mark – stop taking pictures of shit like this, you will at some point be ‘talked to’ by a cop.

  32. site admin
    Posted August 20, 2013 at 11:55 am | Permalink

    “Her husband and two little ones start breast feeding.”

    Do tell!

  33. site admin
    Posted August 20, 2013 at 11:56 am | Permalink

    Also is taking photos of tents illegal now? Is that a Homeland Defense thing?

  34. Tommy
    Posted August 20, 2013 at 12:01 pm | Permalink

    The baby! If anything different I would have taken a picture! Speaking of taking pictures, what does anyone think the reaction would be if some random stranger walked up to a breastfeeding mother, got out his phone or camera and started taking pictures? It would be an icredible invasion of privacy – oh wait, it isn’t private because you are out in public feeding a kid. Just something to contemplate on this slow news day.

  35. tom
    Posted August 20, 2013 at 12:03 pm | Permalink

    Imagine Megans rage if she ever came across topless activists.

  36. Linda Diane Feldt
    Posted August 20, 2013 at 12:04 pm | Permalink

    I work with moms who are having trouble breastfeeding. I have for about thirty years. A lot of them have never seen babies breastfeed. Really. It helps women accept and excel at breastfeeding if they see other people do it. Mom’s milk is great, and also breastfeeding. And it is often a lot harder than it looks! Especially if you are fumbling around doing something you’ve seen only rarely, or not at all.
    If I was in charge of laws, new moms would be given every break possible – parking, door holding, maternity leave, meals, all of it. Providing every feeding option possible and necessary (breast, bottle, combination of the two) is a small part of what we can do to support women who are pregnant and caring for an infant.
    Based on talking to a few thousand moms having trouble breastfeeding, I’ve come to believe that public breastfeeding is one critical part of making it more likely women will be able to breastfeed their babies. They need our support to make this work.
    And yeah, one of the things that sucks is we both make it hard to successfully breastfeed and then judge women who have trouble and stop. Does that really make sense?
    How to support a breastfeeding mom: offer her a place where she and baby are comfortable, a few pillows, a stool for her feet, and a glass of water. Minimum. Next challenge – how can we join the rest of the Western world and provide some decent maternity leave?

  37. Posted August 20, 2013 at 1:05 pm | Permalink

    Hey thanks everyone for not making fun of my admission of tokophobia. My family basically said I was crazy (dude I’m half Eastern European Jew, half Irish Catholic…I’m a bevy of neuroses and a walking stand up comedy routine) so it’s nice that that Maynard family is more accepting :) Seriously. I really appreciate it.

    Hey LDF! Just got back from walking the dogs! I showed them the elementary school where they would go if they were human.

    Btw, if you click on my name you hopefully will go to the website teacherpatti.com. Fuck yes I registered that domain! Boo-ya.

  38. Georgina
    Posted August 20, 2013 at 1:12 pm | Permalink

    Patti, what you seem to be saying is that it is not an issue for you, so it is not valid? And, Mary, this is NOT (just) an issue of women fighting women. There are still some very real laws in some places that allow breastfeeding to be defined as public indecency as well as a lack of laws protecting women’s rights to be in public while breastfeeding. Michigan at least has a (1994) law that exempts breastfeeding from public indecency. Michigan does not, however, have any laws specifically allowing women to breastfeed in public (45 other states do according to the National Conference of State Legislatures).

  39. maryd
    Posted August 20, 2013 at 1:42 pm | Permalink

    Oh Georgina, I just am continually amazed at the lack of support women show for new mothers. I realize the seriousness of the issue. I never had any legal problems with feeding my children, but I have read of incidents occasionally. I have never heard of a prosecution, but that isn’t to say it hasn’t/wouldn’t happen.

  40. EOS
    Posted August 20, 2013 at 1:56 pm | Permalink

    I don’t see any problem with a woman breastfeeding her baby anywhere she wants. All it takes is a small towel or blanket to enable the mother to be discreet. However, when the baby is more than 2 years old, it is likely to be a spectacle in public, and probably best to do so in private.

  41. Dan Richardson
    Posted August 20, 2013 at 1:57 pm | Permalink

    I liked the part in the piece where mark Mark Maynard said he “turned out all right”.

  42. Lynne
    Posted August 20, 2013 at 2:10 pm | Permalink

    I had to miss the Heritage Festival this year because I was out of town. However, while I find it perfectly acceptable to provide a tent for those who would find it more comfortable to have a nice place to breast feed, I also think it is perfectly ok for women to breast feed right out in public if they want to. Well, anyplace where it is appropriate to eat food. I actually think it is gross when women breastfeed in bathrooms although I can appreciate why some women might want to. I wouldn’t want to eat my lunch in the bathroom though.

    Had I seen this tent first hand, I would have had to fight an impulse to run home and print off a sign that said “Nursing Mother’s Bench: A public place for mom’s to breastfeed” to put on that bench right there ;)

  43. Mr. X
    Posted August 20, 2013 at 2:27 pm | Permalink

    I love that Lynne! It could start with a bench and evolve in to a full-on Tit City.

  44. Posted August 20, 2013 at 2:42 pm | Permalink

    Tom is on to something. Maybe it is time for a little ‘top freedom’ action in Ypsi! And just in time…. International Go Topless Day is coming up on Sunday, August 25! http://gotopless.org/

  45. Implication
    Posted August 20, 2013 at 2:52 pm | Permalink

    The implication when you look at the photo honestly is that trash goes in the box, and nursing mothers go in the tent.

  46. Georgina
    Posted August 20, 2013 at 2:53 pm | Permalink

    Maryd, I am always cautious here… the “women fighting women” narrative is too often played up by the media and used by opponents to discredit the larger movement, as in “hey, if women can’t even agree, then there isn’t a right answer and we don’t need to change anything.”

    And EOS, the covering with a blanket sounds good, but please know that it often doesn’t work. One of my kids was a champ at discrete nursing…until the moment you tried to cover her. She’d fling it off, pulling off my breast, and likely causing me to shoot milk across the room/park/whatever.

  47. Elf
    Posted August 20, 2013 at 3:01 pm | Permalink

    I can’t believe I’m the first to share this.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1alISOTGfE

  48. Posted August 20, 2013 at 3:14 pm | Permalink

    Georgina, it’s not valid to me, no. I’m a non-mom by choice. So why the hell am I on here talking about it? TP OUT

  49. Holly
    Posted August 20, 2013 at 3:25 pm | Permalink

    I find men’s bald spots to be erotic. All men should wear blankets on their heads because I cannot control myself.

  50. EOS
    Posted August 20, 2013 at 3:54 pm | Permalink

    http://gossiponthis.com/2012/05/10/time-magazine-cover-shows-mom-breastfeeding-her-almost-4-year-old-son/

  51. kjc
    Posted August 20, 2013 at 4:05 pm | Permalink

    for the record, this lesbian has no pseudo-boner reaction to women breastfeeding. i feel nothing (if i even notice). maybe it’s the thin veneer of civilization. i’m also not attracted to ALL women! if you hate women breastfeeding in public, or thoughtlessly project your neuroses onto others, then you are deathly unattractive to me. you could take your top off right now and i’d feel nothing. maybe less than nothing.

    also, Tommy, shut up.

  52. tommy
    Posted August 20, 2013 at 4:44 pm | Permalink

    kjc – thanks. Point taken. I would not have minded if you even said, shut the fuck up!

  53. koosh
    Posted August 20, 2013 at 5:00 pm | Permalink

    fuck that cool city shit. i’m with lynne on this. ypsilanti needs to attract young mothers with big bosoms to move here so titty city becomes a reality.

  54. Posted August 20, 2013 at 8:12 pm | Permalink

    I just have a few things to add.

    1. I’d been pushing for Ypsi to be “Beer City” for while, but “Tit City” has a better ring to it.

    2 I appreciate your admission, Patti, that your opinion on this subject is influenced by your irrational fear of all things child-related.

    3. I never said that I was against the breastfeeding tent. I said it was a good thing. I just wished that wording surrounding it had been different.

    4. I appreciate your comment, Andy, and I like knowing that Heritage Fest administration is tit-friendly.

    5. To those who say that we should focus on more important stuff, I’d argue that this is as important as it gets. Kids are barely out of the womb and companies are looking to separate them from their mothers for monetary gain, making them less healthy in the process. That’s some shit that people, in my opinion, should be in the streets about.

    But thank you all for this rousing conversation. It was super interesting.

  55. Posted August 20, 2013 at 8:16 pm | Permalink

    And it sounds as though we’ve come to consensus the fact that no one finds breastfeeding even remotely erotic, except for maybe uptight conservative men, like John Galt.

  56. Teat
    Posted August 21, 2013 at 9:54 am | Permalink

    Tits are for men. Not babies. Science made it so.

  57. Sparklemotion
    Posted August 21, 2013 at 2:38 pm | Permalink

    I’ve always thought a good campaign for breastfeeding would be a commercial with just different babies looking up and smiling as the shadow of a boob envelops their face, and then a voiceover – “Tits. It’s what’s for dinner.”.

  58. Posted August 21, 2013 at 5:16 pm | Permalink

    A booth selling Iced Breastmilk Lattes at next year’s Heritage Festival would change public opinion, imho.

  59. Jules
    Posted August 22, 2013 at 8:51 am | Permalink

    Two things. I had the same reaction to the nursing tent as you, Mark. It’s a great idea but I wonder if it might not invite some nitwit (say someone like Patti or Megan) to tell a mom who is nursing outside the tent, to take it inside.

    Patti, we agree on a lot of things but this is not one of them. I see that you made a weak attempt to ameliorate your disgusting attack on moms who nurse in public but it ain’t enough. You should apologize for pathologizing nursing mothers. Your fear of childbirth doesn’t excuse what you wrote. Do you honestly need to be told the difference between breast milk and PEE, fer chrissakes? You think nursing women are “making a show of it”? I suggest the next time you see a nursing woman, you get the fuck out of your own neuroses filled head and take a moment to empathize with that lady. You think she should go in the bathroom? Just from a practical matter, where the fuck is she supposed to nurse in that bathroom? In a stall, perched on a toilet? Or is she supposed to stand against the wall and nurse? I’m picturing the bathroom at the Corner, which you mentioned. There’s two stalls and nowhere to sit. Not atypical of public restroom. So, she should take up one of the available stalls to give life-giving sustenance to her baby, just so you don’t have to be exposed to a little of her flesh? Describing the look on a nursing mom’s face as smarmy? YOU get over yourself. You have no idea what’s going through her head. Comparing your “lovely boobs” to what’s going on with a nursing woman… Grow up. Guess what? There’s nothing erotic going on there. That’s in YOUR head. Having a baby suckling at your tit is not an erotic feeling, just so ya know.

    But the worst part of your rant is your belittling this issue in comparison to other so-called women’s issues. So much for sisterhood.

  60. Jules
    Posted August 22, 2013 at 9:14 am | Permalink

    I also find it disheartening to read slams against La Leche League. After experiencing a great nursing relationship with my daughter, I was thrown completely off of my game when trying to nurse my son. Long story. I needed help and was afraid to contact LLL because of the extremism that people accuse them of. I finally said fuck it, contacted them and they were of considerable help to me, not extreme in the least. I thought that they’d be all, you gotta nurse no matter what but they were the ones that prepared me for the possibility that it might not work out and that I may need to go to formula, eventually. Rock on, La Leche!

  61. Bob
    Posted August 22, 2013 at 10:32 am | Permalink

    Slow news day, I guess.

  62. anonymous
    Posted August 22, 2013 at 12:04 pm | Permalink

    Absolutely, Bob. The health and well being of American children isn’t newsworthy. Same goes for women’s rights.

  63. karen
    Posted August 22, 2013 at 1:16 pm | Permalink

    it’s comments like these that really make me feel sorry for sam.

  64. Bob
    Posted August 22, 2013 at 2:40 pm | Permalink

    I meant that the importance and acceptance of breast feeding is pretty well acknowledged here, if not everywhere. This really is the dumbest thread of comments in quite some time. I hope the Corner Brewery makes a lactation IPA.

  65. Be Quiet Karen
    Posted August 22, 2013 at 3:38 pm | Permalink

    Sam will turn out fine. I’d be more concerned about your kids. Once their friends find your comments about Mark’s penis, it’s going to be all over for them.

  66. alan2102
    Posted August 26, 2013 at 7:14 am | Permalink

    Breast milk is not necessarily “exponentially better” than formula. It depends on the nutritional status of the mother. See:
    http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/31/3/492.full.pdf

  67. Elf
    Posted August 28, 2013 at 9:01 am | Permalink

    I now know how to properly respond to Megan’s posts thanks to Patrick Stewart’s master class on acting.

    http://gawker.com/a-stoned-sir-patrick-stewart-teaches-his-girlfriend-how-1213919634

  68. Meme Watcher
    Posted August 28, 2013 at 9:29 am | Permalink

    This Patrick Stewart meme may have legs.

    http://i.imgur.com/EeIatXy.gif

  69. Meta
    Posted September 16, 2013 at 11:56 am | Permalink

    From poet Hollie McNish, a poem about the shaming of breastfeeding mothers, and having to breastfeed in public restrooms:

    http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/07/05/hollie-mcnish-breastfeeding_n_3552062.html

  70. Isabel Marant
    Posted September 24, 2013 at 1:30 am | Permalink

    Technically babies do not “eat” tits. If they did, it would not serve them well, as they would have no more milk. It may have happened at some point that a prehistoric baby ate its mother’s tits, but it would not have lived to pass on its tit-eating traits. Evolution is fascinating that way.

One Trackback

  1. By The state of breastfeeding in Washtenaw County on July 16, 2014 at 10:58 pm

    […] [Those of you who want to go deeper on the politics of breastfeeding should check out my last post on this topic, titled Let Them Eat Tits.] […]

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