Replies to '10/07 The Latest Debates'

And frankly the idea that they're upset with the sight of a woman breastfeeding an infant makes me want to tell them to get their minds out of the gutters.    

One time years ago my husband & I stopped for Ice-cream at this country store/garden center that had a petting zoo for children & an ice-cream window .  We'd stood in line for a good minute got our cones & then went back to our car.  My husband & I always share our thoughts & comment when we see things we think are out of the normal & so when we were out of ear shot of others he says to me "did you see that woman on the bench breast feeding that baby?"   the bench was behind me as I stood in line but I had seen or noticed  the woman with the baby in her arms but didn't think anything of it.  She just looked like she was sitting in the shade with a sleeping baby in her arms.  & so that's what I'd said to my husband & I couldn't figure out what he was getting at.  I said "yea I saw her with the baby sleeping & so?"  I couldn't believe my husband was saying what he'd said "don't you think she should have found another place to breast feed her baby?  I mean there's a million kids running through the petting zoo just 25 feet away".  My husband is normally a very open minded person & the first to not judge &/or give the person the benefit of the doubt.  I just couldn't believe what I was hearing coming from his mouth & of course it was my duty to set him straight & so I said "First of all there was a full wall of people in front of her blocking the children from seeing her, 2nd that was the only bench with shade & I believe that is why she picked that one.  Should she have gotten in a car to feed her baby when it's beautiful out?  On top of this you feel that children seeing a woman using her breasts in the way nature had intended her to is somehow a sight not fit for them?  Perhaps you feel it's not a sight for children because YOU are seeing a woman's breast as sexual rather than as nurturing?!  And while we're on the subject of you seeing the womans breast as sexual while I did see the woman, she was descreet enough that I didn't even notice she WAS breast feeding.  I thought she was just holding a sleeping baby, yet you seem to be all worked up over this.  Why were you watching this woman so closely & how is it you see this as sexual? " 

Again my husband is normally a very open minded person & he's also reasonable.  This is all I'd needed to say to get my point across that it wasn't the woman sitting in the shade nursing her baby that was not right but him being the pervert seeing a nursing mother as something sexual.  :)   

And I also agree that years ago the mothers of many of the complainers here probably breast fed them in public.  If not it was certain the generation prior to them did & so it would have been grandma.  My mother told me that when she was a girl (1030's & 1940's) that they didn't have television of course & so women would go to the movies together on Sat. like every week & they'd watch the news reels, movies & other shows & sit there & breast feed as they did.  You're right it was common & they didn't think twice about it nore did anyone who saw them.