Friday, March 1, 2013

When Did Boobs Become Such a Big Deal?

My decision to write this blog is because I have seen a lot of debates recently about whether or not women should be able to breastfeed their babies in public without a cover.

If you’re still confused on this issue, you might want to familiarize yourself with the LAW ladies and gentleman.  You might want to check out this website and learn them.  My favorite one states, “Forty-five states, the District of Columbia, and the Virgin Islands have laws that specifically allow women to breastfeed in any public or private locations (Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming).”

And for those five that aren’t listed (Idaho, Michigan, South Dakota, Virginia, and West Virginia):
Michigan:  laws state that public nudity laws do not apply to a woman breastfeeding a child.
South Dakota:  laws exempt mothers who are breastfeeding from indecency laws.
Virginia:  laws state a woman has the right to breastfeed her child on any property owned, leased, or controlled by the state and exempts mothers engaged in breastfeeding from indecent exposure laws.
It just seems like Idaho and West Virginia have yet to jump on the bandwagon—yeah, I’m talking to you guys in those states, get on that legislation!

So here’s the deal, I’m not a mother but I don’t get what the big deal about boobs are.  They’re not a new phenomenon, we’ve always had them.  In the United States, we are so over-sexualized that the sight of a breast now has people crying offense.  To me, a boob is a big flab of fat; so really, I don’t understand what’s so “sexy” about that.  But in all reality, these are mothers…mothers that are feeding their children!  I believe that they have the right to breastfeed whenever and wherever their baby decides it needs to eat.  If you were hungry, how would you like it if someone said you had to go sit in your car or go to a public bathroom to eat?  Not very appetizing is it?  What if someone made you eat under a blanket, especially in extreme heat, to eat?  That doesn’t sound fun either, does it?  Why do we want to place all these rules and restrictions on newborns when all they want to do it eat!

And look, I get it.  Some people are more comfortable with a cover for personal reasons.  I’m not saying that you should never cover.  But just as the woman who feels more comfortable covering, a woman who feels more comfortable not covering should be just as respected.  And, for those of you who are uncomfortable with the idea; I’m not saying breastfeeding mothers should run around topless so when their child cries they can just latch on.  However, unless you are going to make every mother who is bottle feeding a baby cover up, than you shouldn’t ask a breastfeeding mother to do the same.

Furthermore, how much boob so you actually see when a mother is breastfeeding?  I see more boobs on TV, in movies, and on magazine covers waiting in line at the grocery store.  Unless you are going to ask every woman wearing a low-cut revealing shirt to cover up, than leave breastfeeding mothers alone.

Really, my frustration at this issue is that people are making such a big deal out of it.  In most cases, laws state that a woman has the right to breastfeed her babies whenever.  It’s just a boob people—a boob that you barely see when they’re breastfeeding.  If seeing a woman breastfeed is offensive to you, than maybe you need to look at yourself and figure out why you think it’s such a big deal.  Obviously, if breastfeeding was an unnatural occurrence, breasts wouldn’t produce milk.

Aren’t there more important things that we should be worrying about in this country?  Like the economy and national debt and wars and global issues?  Are we really going to concentrate all our energy on boobs?  C’mon guys, just get over it.

I’ll keep you posted xo

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