Is it legal to breastfeed in public?

[thegfofscrockstar]

There are two reasons why women want to breastfeed in public without using a blanket or towel:

1. extreme insecurity. Women who are mothers feel extremely insecure about themselves because for one they just had a baby and probably gained a ton of weight. There is also the issue of women who are newly mothers feeling that they have the right to do what they want with their child because they are a mother. Being insecure often leads to an attempt for public attention, and this is a good way to get it.

2. they want to be a "sexy mom". Unfortunately, this is a popular new trend amongst young mothers and a terrible reason to have a child in the first place. Chances are, a mother who is 20 is single and wants companionship with a man who she knows will provide for her. Unfortunately, she thinks that the best way to get this is by exposing herself in public, not knowing that she is making a fool of herself. However, there is always the exception and some guy will want to get with her. Young mothers (who are still really little girls) think that they can act like a child even though they have one of their own.

I think it should be illegal to breastfeed in public without a blanket/towel. It is wrong and it is indecent. If a man cannot walk around with his pants pulled down, why can a woman walk around with her shirt off? It is hypocritical.

[TacoTaru]

I think it should be illegal to breastfeed in public without a blanket/towel. It is wrong and it is indecent. If a man cannot walk around with his pants pulled down, why can a woman walk around with her shirt off? It is hypocritical.

Men can walk around with their shirts off, so technically we're already working on a hypocrisy. The difference is we view a woman's breast as sexual while a mans are not.

[Xavier]

Sexist Comments

Well, if that isn't just the most sexist piece of bullshit I've ever read, I don't know what is.

-------------------

FYI, a woman can't walk around with their pants off either, but a man is allowed to walk around shirtless. Hypocrisy my ass.

[Kuya]

Welp, that about does it for the side arguing "against" breast feeding.

[Correction]

You're passing judgment on women without knowing the full story. For all you know, you caught a woman on an extremely bad day where she was rushed, sleep deprived and made a mistake, while the other 99% of the time she has a blanket with her.

So I'm only wrong in my judgment if she was at the mall in the middle of the day for some emergency and for that reason forgot some very basic baby needs?

I can live with that.

[TacoTaru]

Forgot some very basic baby needs?

She forgot her towel, not her tits.

[Xavier]

Somehow I don't think a blanket meant to cover her breast from your eyesight can be categorized as a very basic baby need.

Its an accessory meant to make a third party more comfortable with their surroundings, the baby doesn't need to be nor does it care about their mother being modest.

[Correction]

Forgot some very basic baby needs?

She forgot her towel, not her tits.

Better parents are better prepared in public with their infants. There's nothing exotic or unusual about baby blankets.

Somehow I don't think a blanket meant to cover her breast from your eyesight can be categorized as a very basic baby need.

Blankets have many uses, only one of which is a little privacy at feedings. I can't believe I have to point this out.

[TacoTaru]

Just as if you'd read what you responded to, there's nothing unusual about forgetting things either. The argument that parents are "better" because they never forget their baby blanket above all other necessities for their baby is ridiculous.

[Xavier]

Blankets have many uses, only one of which is a little privacy at feedings. I can't believe I have to point this out.

I can't believe I have to point out that baby clothing can perform the same task as a blanket. One would assume that the mother isn't taking her child out naked too. At that point, it does become negligence, but its far more obvious if you're in a hurry that your child is naked over making the mistake that you thought you had a blanket with you but actually didn't.

Your entire argument is based on the notion that somehow women should be infallible and never forget anything.

[Correction]

Just as if you'd read what you responded to, there's nothing unusual about forgetting things either. The argument that parents are "better" because they never forget their baby blanket above all other necessities for their baby is ridiculous.

Not what I'm saying. What the fuck is wrong with 'Use something you should already always have with you and your baby to provide some privacy during feedings.'

No it's not unusual to forget things. I forget things all the time. But if it's my baby and I know I'm prone to forgetting things I make a goddamn list before heading out and if I forget something then, I'd feel like a shitty parent.

But that's just me being an adult...y'know, responsible for my own fucking actions. '22 or something' hanging out in the mall without a baby blanket does not somehow add up to the same level of responsibility. I can't help it if I'm judging based on percentages and likelihood, since the OP didn't give me much else to work with.

Your entire argument is based on the notion that somehow women should be infallible and never forget anything.

Wrong. My entire argument is based on the notion that this one woman from the OP isn't carrying something that I've seen every mother I've known since the dawn of my existence carry as a matter of pure habit. God knows where you get I'm expecting infallibility out of her.

[Shade]

The thing is though, there is nothing inherently gross or obscene about the act of a mother feeding her child. Your strong reaction says more about you than it does about her.

It's a simple biological behavior that is non sexual, non-threatening, doesn't do anything physical that people in the area are forced to deal with (farting, pissing on something), and doesn't invade the space of the people around them. Getting caught without a towel on hand to protect the tender eyes of strangers (who are perfectly capable of averting their gaze) is not something they should be losing sleep over.

[Correction]

The thing is though, there is nothing inherently gross or obscene about the act of a mother feeding her child. Your strong reaction says more about you than it does about her.

Show me where I said breastfeeding is gross or obscene.

[Xavier]

Forming an opinion based on broad generalizations is a terrible place to start.

People forget things, its going to happen. No one can remember everything or be perfect all the time.

Telling a parent they are doing a shitty job because of what is potentially one mistake is incredibly ignorant. Generalizing that because a parent is young they must also be irresponsible is also ignorant.

When you form an opinion based on the worst possible scenario and then apply it to all women who might be in a similar situation, I don't know how seriously to take you.

Show me where I said breastfeeding is gross or obscene.

If you don't feel that breastfeeding itself is gross or obscene than a woman forgetting something like a towel shouldn't evoke a response in which you call their action one of self-centered laziness that cannot be tolerated.

[Shade]

Show me where I said breastfeeding is gross or obscene.

You've been arguing that the "privacy" of hiding it under a blanket is extremely important. It is not for the baby's benefit, I'm pretty sure it doesn't mind. If there isn't anything wrong about not hiding it, why does it matter so much if they fail to do so?

[Correction]

You have a gift for putting words in my mouth that is just magical.

1) I don't equate remembering a blanket for your nursing infant with perfection. It's not luck or a coincidence that every mother in my very large Catholic family carried blankets with their babies. Excuse the hell out of me for having developed a sense that this sort of thing is impossible to forget.

2) I'm not generalizing that young parent == irresponsible. I'm saying that a 22 year old mother hanging out at the mall without a damn blanket for her own baby does not fall in a high-probability sorting bucket for being a well-prepared mother. Do I really have to mathematically prove that signs of preparedness are also signs of maturity and good parenting?

3) 'Worst possible scenario' is useless hyperbole. It's not like I'm imagining a single highschool dropout mom on drugs begging for cash at the mall all because of her immodest feeding habits. I'm assuming lazy self-centeredness because I haven't been presented with sufficient evidence that she was at the mall in the middle of the day for enough of an emergency that one can rationally conclude forgetting things like a blanket for your baby is a-ok. Because it's like, an emergency or something.

And yes, an emergency is the only way I can put together 'good, nurturing parent' and 'didn't bring a goddamn baby blanket with her nursing infant.' I'm not seeing the emergency.

If there isn't anything wrong about not hiding it, why does it matter so much if they fail to do so?

Because bringing a blanket with your baby is ludicrously easy. And a mother of a newborn failing to do ludicrously easy things makes me uncomfortable. The issue isn't tits. It's 'are you seriously ready for parenting?'

[Nirokun!]

maybe its the father's fault for taking out a used baby blanket and forgetting to put a fresh one innnnnnnnnnnnnn

im the king of forgetting things and you'll often find me standing outside my car with my hand on the doorhandle thingy with my head hanging and me thinking "what did I forget? i know I'm forgetting something hereeeeeeeeeeeee." I find it well within the limits of probability to not search the baby bag for every "necessary" item everytime you step out of the house for over a year.

And maybe as she sat there, crying baby a-wailin' away, she just thinks "breastfeeding is beautiful and natural, this is ok (AND OH MY GOD MY BREASTS ARE HARD)" and just opens her shirt. Really, who cares?

(dont make me find more situations where this can happen )

[Xavier]

1) I don't equate remembering a blanket for your nursing infant with perfection. It's not luck or a coincidence that every mother in my very large Catholic family carried blankets with their babies. Excuse the hell out of me for having developed a sense that this sort of thing is impossible to forget.

Hello contradiction. You admit that people are capable of forgetting things, yet because your own family is apparently a near statistical improbability that never once forgot a blanket, no one else could possibly forget theirs?

2) I'm not generalizing that young parent == irresponsible. I'm saying that a 22 year old mother hanging out at the mall without a damn blanket for her own baby does not fall in a high-probability sorting bucket for being a well-prepared mother. Do I really have to mathematically prove that signs of preparedness are also signs of maturity and good parenting?

Hello generalization. I'm sorry, but that is exactly what you are doing, associating youth with immaturity. Do you happen to have an all-seeing eye that tells you that this wasn't an isolated incident before you pass judgment? You're making an assumption that because the person was young and at the mall that they are very likely not a well prepared mother, when in fact that could very well be one of the most thoughtful mothers in the world who simply forgot a non-vital accessory. Its not as if they forgot, you know, their baby.

3) I'm assuming lazy self-centeredness because I haven't been presented with sufficient evidence that she was at the mall in the middle of the day for enough of an emergency that one can rationally conclude forgetting things like a blanket for your baby is a-ok. Because it's like, an emergency or something.

And yes, an emergency is the only way I can put together 'good, nurturing parent' and 'didn't bring a goddamn baby blanket with her nursing infant.' I'm not seeing the emergency.

And you -have- been presented with sufficient evidence that the mother was at the mall in the middle of the day to pass the time? You're passing judgment based on nothing more than assumptions and prejudice.

Without knowing, you know, the full story behind the mother, I don't see how you could come out so strongly against her actions.

Because bringing a blanket with your baby is ludicrously easy. And a mother of a newborn failing to do ludicrously easy things makes me uncomfortable. The issue isn't tits. It's 'are you seriously ready for parenting?'

Jesus fucking Christ are you incapable of rational thought? People are not infallible. Just because you apparently hold parents up to a ridiculously high standard where the failure to remember to bring a blanket to cover their breasts while feeding amounts to self-centered laziness does not in fact mean that the mother is lazy nor self-centered.

People make mistakes, they -will- happen. The fact that you describe bringing a blanket at all outings as ludicrously easy does not in fact make it ludicrously easy for every single mother to remember every single time they leave the house, they have a million things on their mind and a mistake is bound to slip in once in a while.

[Darus Grey]

Some of you people are just straight up whack.

[BRP]

And once again, dropping your pants to take a piss isn't directly comparable to allowing your child to breastfeed, as taking a piss is something you can control, whereas, as I said, your baby wants what it wants when it wants it. Women have to take care of their children. I'd rather have a child being breastfed than crying any day anyway.

A women can't control where she breast feeds a child? Will it explode in 30 seconds? So now we can forget the "natural" argument and only focus on the control? Because that's the point I find really stupid and no one should be saying it. A lot things are natural and human society prides itself on making them illegal or taboo.


If a mom is at a mall and she forgets a towel, why isn't she just buying a towel? If a mom is at a mall and she forgets a towel, why isn't she going into a dark corner and facing the wall? If a mom is at the mall and she forgets a towel, why isn't she going back into her car to get another one she prepared? Or outside in general?

Sorry, but you have to provide evidence against common sense. The mom didn't give a shit and was rude. I don't care if she had to struggle 9-months to make it, that's no excuse to be flat out lazy.