Breastfeeding in a Pornified Culture

"I just don't think it's proper for women to show their breasts out in public unless they're on the beach."

So said some middle-aged guy who happened upon a group of mothers taking part in a "nurse-in" in Lincoln Square Plaza last Friday in support of a fellow breastfeeding mom who was harassed (sadly, by another mom) earlier in the week.

On the one hand, this guy's comments are boorish, obnoxious, and stupid.

But on the other hand, I have to give him credit for being so up-front about his "issue" with nursing. I've heard not a few times from my beloved wife that people have told her they're "uncomfortable" with her nursing in public, but invariably the objectors fail to subsequently explain why, precisely, it disrupts their comfort level.

I'm of the opinion that nursing in public is often perceived to be indecent because it is (and has been for quite some time) done relatively rarely, due in no small part to the recommendations of a Herd of Indepdendent Thinkers who decided in the middle of the last century that the idea that babies should be fed formula somehow marked a crowning achievement for human civilization.

I say "relatively rarely" in reference to the portrayal of women's breasts as sexual, which is surely the norm in our pornified culture.

In essence, then, to the modern mind, whose perspective our boorish commenter articulates to a T, the "real" — i.e., the belief that women's breasts are primarily for nursing her children — has been replaced by the "counterfeit" — i.e., the belief that women's breasts are primarily, if not exclusively, sexual.

(As an aside: Much the same can be said of contraception and its impact on people's attitudes toward sex. To the modern mind, the "real"—i. e., the belief that openness to having a child is an essential component of sex—has been replaced by the "counterfeit"—i. e., the belief that contraceptive sex is the norm.)

It follows that those of us who believe the opposite—that the real is actually the counterfeit and vice versa—are often considered daft.

My sense is that were public nursing to be done ubiquitously, this wacky popular notion that it is indecent would wane.

[HT: R.M. Schultz via Carrie W.]

We Get the Elected Officials We Deserve

Given the events of today, I find it fitting, given the uber-corrupt nature of politics in our state, that Barack Obama's Senate replacement will be named by a man who's now in federal custody.

Just a few minutes ago, I happened to recall a related post I originally put up on the Generations for Life blog on 10/30/06 under the title "Shameless".

Said post follows:


A couple weeks ago, my wife and I received some mail from:

The Executive Mansion
410 E Jackson
Springfield, IL 62701-1719

It was addressed "To the Parents of Maria Jansen."

"What could this be?" we both thought.

Upon opening it, we found a card saying "Welcome, Little One" with a collection of stuffed animals looking out the window at an approaching stork carrying a bundle in its beak.


Opening it up, the right flap said, "The world is one baby sweeter now."

The main part of the card reads:

Congratulations on the birth of your new baby! Childbirth is an exciting event for every family, and we are proud to share in your joy.

A healthy child is a happy child. Therefore, it is important that your baby receive proper immunizations by two months of age. It will help to ensure protection against future illnesses.

Best wishes to your whole family on this very special occasion.

Rod Blagojevich

At this point, we had to chuckle. Honestly, we don't know which of our girls' births this card was intended to recognize, as all three of our daughters are named Maria. (We call each of them by their middle names).

Presumably, it was sent in response to the birth of our youngest daughter, Maria Lucia, who was born in September 2005. Which means the card is at least a year late (“…it is important that your baby receive proper immunizations by two months of age”).

I guess when your office is as scandal-plagued as Governor Blagojevich's is, these sorts of things get put on the back burner.

Pro-Nursing Dad

I just posted this on the Catholic Dads Blog:

I was very happy to see an article in today's Chicago Tribune—on the front page, no less—about Henry Hale, a young dad whose newfound raison d'être is to do whatever he can to encourage breastfeeding.

This snippet gave me a chuckle:

Not long ago, he overheard two women in a store comparing formulas and he just couldn't help himself.

"Have you ever considered breast milk?" he asked.

Within moments, he launched into his monologue on mother's milk: how it reduces the risk of infection. And for nocturnal feedings, nursing releases hormones that make it easier to fall back asleep.

"One woman ended up dragging her friend over and saying, 'Girl, this man knows so much about breasts,' " he said.

For his finale, the proud father usually whips out a photo of his daughter.

I want to meet this guy, just so I can shake his hand.

On Breastfeeding in Public

Taking a cue from CourageMan, today I begin what may (or may not, I suppose) become a regular feature on Lunch Break: posting entries that originally were comments of mine on (in?) other blogs' comboxes.

Yesterday at Catholic Dads, Matthew from Play the Dad? No, Be the Dad! posted an entry on breastfeeding in public titled "Obscene? Indecent? Scandalous? Nope!" that I think was very much on target.

I posted this comment:

Some very good points here, Matthew.

I may be shooting from the hip on this one, but I'm of the opinion that nursing in public is often perceived to be indecent because it is (and has been for quite some time) done relatively rarely, thanks to the recommendations of the Herd of Indepdendent Thinkers who decided in the middle of the last century that the idea that babies should be fed formula somehow marked a crowning achievement for human civilization.

I say "relatively rarely" in reference to the portrayal of women's breasts exclusively as sexual, which is surely the norm in our pornified culture.

In essence, then, to the modern mind, the "real"—i. e., the belief that women's breasts are primarily for nursing her children—has been replaced by the "counterfeit"—i. e., the belief that women's breasts are primarily, if not exclusively, sexual.

(As an aside: Much the same can be said of contraception and its impact on people's attitudes toward sex. To the modern mind, the "real"—i. e., the belief that openness to having a child is an essential component of sex—has been replaced by the "counterfeit"—i. e., the belief that contraceptive sex is the norm.)

It follows that those of us who believe the opposite—that the real is actually the counterfeit and vice versa—are often considered daft.

My sense is that were public nursing to be done ubiquitously, this wacky popular notion that it is indecent would wane.

Breastfeeding and Jury Duty

Last week, my beloved wife Jocelyn got a notice in the mail with what are perhaps -- when juxtaposed -- the two most dreaded words in the English language:

JURY SUMMONS

No problem, I thought: Surely a nursing mother of a two-month old baby can't be made to serve jury duty.

Imagine my surprise, then, after learning -- assuming the information I found is accurate -- that only five U. S. states currently have laws exempting nursing mothers from jury duty.

And, as luck would have it, Illinois isn't one of them.

I thought to myself: What kind of soviet are we living in?

Apparently, there is currently a nursing mothers exemption law "pending" here in the Land of Lincoln, but given the Ent-like speed with which pending legislation becomes actual legislation, the 17-year cicadas might be back again before we see a law on the books.

We had already had a doctor's appointment scheduled for our newborn this past Saturday, so Jocelyn asked our doctor what she should do. He made some comment that it's "ridiculous" to expect a nursing mother to serve jury duty, and gave her a note -- which, per the cliché about doctors and handwriting, neither of us can manage to decipher! -- to pass on to the powers-that-be excusing her from serving.

All that said, my guess -- and it is only a guess; mind you, I have exactly no legal training -- is this:

Even if a state doesn't have a law exempting nursing mothers from jury duty, it's extremely unlikely that a nursing mother -- even if she did not have a letter from her doctor -- would, in actuality, be compelled to be separated from her child and report for jury duty.

In other words, my guess is that even if a state doesn't have such an exemption law, the courts in said state aren't likely to bother going through the hassle of compelling a nursing mother to serve.

I'll admit I'm very much shooting from the hip here, so if I'm all wet on this, please feel free to enlighten me.

(Cross-posted at Catholic Dads)