Eating in public
Transgressive breastfeeding and the rules of the public sphere
Really interesting response to Australia's most recent incident of Schmucks Against Feeding Babies.
Several years back, while rushing to catch the morning metro for work, I was scarfing a banana for breakfast, when a male passerby leered, "Miam miam" with a look that pretty much guaranteed he was not alluding to the yumminess of Chiquitas. It was one among other moments of being blindsided by what some men see while watching some women live. Being "caught" doing something basic, necessary and human, and having it twisted into a sexual act made me self-conscious, or at the very least aware, of how, as a woman, the simple act of putting something into my mouth elicited objectifying commentary.
No surprise, then, that there are STILL men (and women) who get all hot and bothered at the site of a woman feeding a baby with her body.
Here is what I'd like to say to the silly, feeble-minded dorks who complain about women nursing in public: Grow up. Also: newsflash: humans (including babies and women) get hungry. Hunger requires inserting solids or liquids into the oral cavity.
Really interesting response to Australia's most recent incident of Schmucks Against Feeding Babies.
Several years back, while rushing to catch the morning metro for work, I was scarfing a banana for breakfast, when a male passerby leered, "Miam miam" with a look that pretty much guaranteed he was not alluding to the yumminess of Chiquitas. It was one among other moments of being blindsided by what some men see while watching some women live. Being "caught" doing something basic, necessary and human, and having it twisted into a sexual act made me self-conscious, or at the very least aware, of how, as a woman, the simple act of putting something into my mouth elicited objectifying commentary.
No surprise, then, that there are STILL men (and women) who get all hot and bothered at the site of a woman feeding a baby with her body.
Here is what I'd like to say to the silly, feeble-minded dorks who complain about women nursing in public: Grow up. Also: newsflash: humans (including babies and women) get hungry. Hunger requires inserting solids or liquids into the oral cavity.
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