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I believe "a really fat guy wearing a speedo" and a mother feeding her hungry infant are two completely different scenarios that cannot be even remotely compared. What has happened to our society to make some feel something this natural and vital to our children's health and welfare should be viewed in a vulgar way? There are numerous studies that support how important breastfeeding is. Some advantages of breastfeeding include protection from infection, illness, and allergies. Breastfeeding enhances development and intelligence, which we all should agree our society could use much more of. The attractiveness or lack of a woman or her breast should not have any weight on whether or not she should breastfeed in public. The ability of a mother to provide her infant nourishment is a gift that she should embrace.
They are not different scenarios. Its about propriety. A really fat woman can breast feed in public in a way that is not disgusting. She can cover up a bit. I am talking about propriety in how it is done and not in the act itself. I would not want to see a big fat woman in a string bikini on the beach breast feeding her infant. I wouldn't mind it if she did it while appropriately dressed.
I have not said anything about breast feeding not being important so you bringing this up is a red herring. It is not germane to what I wrote. I know it is important for the child. That's obvious. Saying that public breast feeding can, and I emphasize can, be done in an inappropriate manner does not in any way suggest that breast feeding isn't important.
Breast feeding is natural and so is nudity. I don't support seeing every fat person walking around naked. Do you?
Again, there is nothing wrong with breast feeding and nothing wrong with doing it in public in an appropriate way. It can be done in a way that is inappropriate.
So just to make sure I understand you completely, you are saying that breastfeeding is appropriate unless you are "a big fat woman in a string bikini on the beach"? So if she were a fit thin woman in a string bikini on the beach all would be fine? Is it the act of her breastfeeding that you feel is inappropriate or her choice of attire? If it is the latter, I feel you are in the wrong debate, and that your argument is completely invalid.
I agree that breastfeeding is natural as well as nudity, but you do not need to be nude in order to survive, an infant must have nourishment.
You do not understand what I wrote. This is clear. I believe that public breast feeding can be done in a way that is inappropriate. Almost all human activities can be done in a way that is inappropriate. Listening to music in public is fine, for the most part. Of course there are inconsiderate people who play their music at intolerably high levels and this is not appropriate. Similarly, I have seen women breast feed in public with an in-your-face attitude and it was inappropriate. The only thing I have said is that it should be done with a sense of propriety.
There are so many things that can be done the wrong way. For instance, eating.... dead animals and ripping/flinging their bodies all over the place, or pouring a bucket of chili onto their faces in hope that something will land in their mouths. Driving through neighborhoods @85mph while masturbating and screaming the "Fuck" word via a loud speaker.
What you're talking about is common sense + social etiquette... So basically, if you're saying that breast feeding is not alright because you think that people may be obnoxious while doing it, then you should wonder if everything else in the world should be protested as well.
If you read what I have written on the topic you would know that I am not opposed to breast feeding in public except when it is done in inappropriate ways. All that I have said on the topic is that it can be done inappropriately and when it is done inappropriately I oppose it. There were no arguments in the No section and so I just wrote this to see what would happen.
What happened is that people didn't read what was written and went off on how children need to be fed. As you state just about everything can be done in an inappropriate way. This is clear and obvious and no one should think otherwise. All that I have done is to say that public breast feeding can be done in an inappropriate way that when it is done thusly I oppose it. This should should not be a controversial statement.
I am not blind to what you've said, I have read all of it. I am saying, anything can be done "inappropriately", and of course you would be unhappy if you witnessed this being done in an inappropriate manor, isn't that how it always goes? What real contribution have you added here?
What I mean is, your opinion is entirely too obvious, to the point of having no value whatsoever. All you are saying is "If it's not inappropriate, it's acceptable"... which a priori, is true no matter what you're talking about.
A child is hungry. The child will cry and possibly experience health problems if not fed on-time. What possible benefit to society is there by depriving the child of food? The concept that founded social modesty rules and nudity laws was that it should be to protect society somehow. But starving a child protects no one. If breastfeeding causes you to stare or become embarrassed, it is YOU that needs to be kept away from society--at least until you talk to a good shrink and work through your fixation. Maybe you suffer because your mom never breastfed you?
Why are so many people opposed to feeding children? If a child is hungry, it needs to be fed. There should not be limitations on when and where breast-feeding should take place.
That being said, why would you go through all of the troubles of childbirth only to have your child neglected because of societal convention, and then to have your child grow up to be weaker and more expensive to maintain? So what if someone sees a baby sucking on a mothers tit, it's completely natural and quite necessary.
It's the most natural thing in the world to nurse your baby. Numerous benefits have been shown. Sometimes babies get hungry on the road, so you have to feed them.
If some people are too sensitive to a little breast, that is their problem (What did those grow up on?). You can't even see the nipple, because that is where the baby is latching, so it is no different from wearing a bikini!
Agreed, there isn't much reason to get upset about this, particularly when most women have no desire to show of their boob in the first place and have a blanket handy to cover themselves up.
yeah you all learned about it in health class i mean i did if you are a nurse you learned about it too and plus it is good for babies to drink their mothers milk
There is nothing wrong with breast feeding in public. I mean people just don't look for Christ's sake. It is usually pretty obvious when a women is about to breast feed, on top of that it is natural for a woman to feed her child when her child is hungry is it not?
I think women should be able to feed their babies anywhere the public is allowed to eat. Once society gets used to seeing it it won't be a big deal. I think the women who choose to feed their babies openly help to reduce the shock value. I grew up around women who breastfed. My mother did it, her friends did it. I remember when I was a boy we visited one of her friends who was not shy about nursing in front of us. Her daughter would walk up an nurse and then walk away and play and nurse and the whole time this woman was exposed. She nursed the same way sitting on her stoop with people walking up and down the street. It wasn't a big deal after ahwile, it was what she did. When I see women nursing their babies it's not shocking or disgusting. I wish more women would have the courage to do it in public. If for some reason a person can't handle it, they need to leave and let the mother feed her baby in peace.
I am not outright opposed to public breastfeeding but there are times when it is done in an inappropriate way. Some women don't use a towel to cover up their boob when they really should. It's kind of similar to speedos - some men just shouldn't wear them. Use some common sense and we'll all be just fine with it.
Well, obviously I am not talking about a second long exposure. Have you ever seen a really fat guy wearing a Speedo? Think about it for a second and then imagine the female equivalent exposing her breasts to breast feed. I've seen it and it was not a pleasant site. As I said in my original post, I am not opposed to breast feeding in public per se but am in certain circumstances - like the one just described.
It's for the good of our next generation... it's something that mothers of all people have to deal with, as if they don't have enough to deal with already, men are telling women to go away, to put a towel over the breast? That is completely disrespectful for anyone to suggest.
The sight of a mothers tit should be acceptable to anyone and if it's not perhaps they should be forced to stair at it until they realize no evil is coming from it.