Are you offended by breast feeding?

Tags: Parenting, Breast Feeding, Social Expectations
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Hello again, Rachel. Smile

Is this what's expected of women who breast-feed their babies in public in China?
Different cultures have different attitudes to such things, I know.

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@msolga,

Hi, Msolga.
Actually, it is just my opinion. I think this is mothers' conditional response to babies in nature. When babies are hungry, mothers may ignore people around and there is only baby in her eyes. I can understand that. Mothers are great. It is just very embarrassing to see that in public place.

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@Rachel Muse,

Rachel Muse wrote:

It is just very embarrassing to see that in public place.

Why? This is the part I don't understand. How can people be embarrassed about a mother feeding her child?

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@Wilso,

I mean it's embarrassed to see the breasts in public place. The scene of breast feeding is very warm in heart.

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@Rachel Muse,

... but why?

How can something be beautiful unseen and not when seen?

I think it stems originally from jealousy, from women who fear how the sight of anothers nakedness is received by their man. I certainly explains why women sem more strongly against it. Just a theory.

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@Eorl,

Quote:

I think it stems originally from jealousy, from women who fear how the sight of anothers nakedness is received by their man. I certainly explains why women sem more strongly against it. Just a theory.

I rather doubt that, Eorl Wink

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@msolga,

So do I.

There's another theory which claims that exposure of the breasts in public results in a blase attitude towards them. In certain less advanced countries the breasts are always shown and there looks to be an indifference towards them. This indifference is also apparent in nudist colonies and topless beaches.

When they are habitually covered their revelation in private is considered a privilege and arousing.

On those considerations women would be opposed to public displays of breasts on the grounds that it reduces their power over men and hence they jealously guard such secrets.

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@spendius,

I'm of the opinion that the breast feeding of babies is pretty much everything to do with food & sustenance, spendius. However, customs vary from country to country. Which I respect.

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@spendius,

spendius wrote:

So do I.

There's another theory which claims that exposure of the breasts in public results in a blase attitude towards them. In certain less advanced countries the breasts are always shown and there looks to be an indifference towards them. This indifference is also apparent in nudist colonies and topless beaches.

When they are habitually covered their revelation in private is considered a privilege and arousing.

On those considerations women would be opposed to public displays of breasts on the grounds that it reduces their power over men and hence they jealously guard such secrets.

damn, I agree.

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@Eorl,

It's possible...

I think also women feel freer to react, at all, whereas men don't want to indicate that they've noticed.

I do get what people are saying about the brand of activists who will haul out a boob and then stare challengingly around -- it feels almost like performance art, like it's meant to get a response, and then it's frustrating when you know that you can't respond/ will get in trouble for responding. (I actually get their perspective too, but that's not my point right now.)

But I still think there is something deeply wrong about how tortuous it was for me to navigate in public with a breastfeeding baby. I tried to do everything right, I had no intention of offending anyone, but my choices were a) put up with extremely uncomfortable and unsanitary conditions to feed my baby, b) stay home until she was weaned, c) let her scream until I got home, however long that may take (and no matter what I was doing when she got hungry), or d) go ahead and feed her as discreetly as possible -- and feel the righteous wrath of onlookers. C'mon, people. Is it really that important? (Daily feeling of righteous wrath for months and months can be rather horrible...) (Well not daily, because some days I would stay inside specifically to avoid it...)

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@sozobe,

Babies are way more important than nonsense about breast-feeding.

Since if you can do it it is beneficial in so many ways, it's in the long-term interests of all societies to make it as easy as possible for women and babies to do it.

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@spendius,

spendius wrote:

When they are habitually covered their revelation in private is considered a privilege and arousing.

On those considerations women would be opposed to public displays of breasts on the grounds that it reduces their power over men and hence they jealously guard such secrets.

Sure, and that explains why a woman may be reluctant but not why another woman would react in a hostile way towards women who do it. If anything, you are supporting my theory.

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@sozobe,

Yeah agreed.

When I say it may originally have developed out of jealousy, I'm thinking pre-historically. I don't imagine for a second that it really applies as the prime motivator today, we've just integrated it into our modern bizarre collection of hang-ups.

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@Eorl,

Quote:

Sure, and that explains why a woman may be reluctant but not why another woman would react in a hostile way towards women who do it. If anything, you are supporting my theory.

I'm not sure I am. Your woman and your other woman are culturally conditioned and the latter might object because that conditioning, which gives power to breasts in general, is being challenged. Your woman might simply be a member of the awkward squad.

You are discussing individuals. I wasn't.

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@godblessamerica,

god bless, Since when is breast feeding "flaunting bare breasts." I would question the stability/ego of anyone who thinks a nursing mom is flaunting her breasts in front of him or her.

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@Miklos7,

Well I will speak from experience - I breast fed just for this reason - so I could flaunt my boobies without getting in trouble.

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@Linkat,

pre-internet days, huh? Razz

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@Linkat,

Linkat wrote:

Well I will speak from experience - I breast fed just for this reason - so I could flaunt my boobies without getting in trouble.

Must be nice boobies!

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@Wilso,

Not really - that's what makes it so much more fun!

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@sozobe,

sozobe wrote:

I do get what people are saying about the brand of activists who will haul out a boob and then stare challengingly around -- it feels almost like performance art, like it's meant to get a response, and then it's frustrating when you know that you can't respond/ will get in trouble for responding. (I actually get their perspective too, but that's not my point right now.)

this group gets me crazy. sometimes crazy enough to say something.

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Are you offended by breast feeding?

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