I recently read an article shaming women for breastfeeding in public and was shocked by what I read. The woman who wrote the article basically tries to defend her stance by slut-shaming other women. The author states she would call a woman wearing a low-cut shirt a slut, so why is it okay for women to whip out their boob and breastfeed in public? I will answer that question for her.
The biological reason women have boobs is to be able to feed their offspring.
I'm unsure where this gets lost in translation for people. Breasts have become so oversexualized in society, people tend to forget what they're actually there for. You use your hands and fingers to pick things up, you use your legs to walk and run, so why is it that women are being shamed for using their boobs for exactly what they're there for? Had society not completely altered how people view boobs, we would not have this problem.
This is not to mention the slut-shaming I mentioned previously. I don't believe that calling a woman a slut for the way she dresses or her sexual decisions is EVER okay, but especially not in this case. A woman is allowed to do whatever she pleases with her body. Whether it be wearing a turtle neck or a tank top, a super push-up bra or bare-nipples, it's no one's choice but hers. Breastfeeding, in no way, should be looked at as inappropriate or sexual considering its biological nature.
As for being "disgusted" by a woman feeding her child, get over it. I'm not sure what could be so gross about a woman's body and the gift of reproduction but it sounds like a personal issue. As far as I'm concerned, women being able to feed their children with their own bodies is amazing, truly badass, and something to admire them for. The author of the article mentioned she wouldn't like to see someone's bare feet while she's eating, so she doesn't want to see anyone's boobs either. Would someone putting their bare feet on the table while they're eating help feed their child? Would their feet have anything to do with eating? No. That's why it would be inappropriate.
A woman sitting in a restaurant feeding her child during lunch or dinner is not inappropriate, but your view of it is.
The problem with women breastfeeding in public is the way people like the writer of that article are viewing it. She's not pulling her boob out to try and impress anyone, she's not doing it for attention, she's simply doing it because her child needs to eat and that's the way it has to get done. If you're finding a way to shame women or sexualize breastfeeding, the problem comes from within. After all, it's really as simple as using your neck for what it's there for, just as she is using her boob for what it's there for, and turn the other way while she's feeding.
