Monday, January 21, 2013

Dear Breastfeeding Warriors



Meh, it’s been eons since I’ve blogged so I thought I may as well crack open the lid on 2013 and weigh in on the current breastfeeding chaos.  It flares up every so often, usually because some person somewhere makes a comment that a breastfeeding woman should cover up / move inside / feed elsewhere / etc.   Then breastfeeding advocates everywhere start screaming about how they’re going to FIGHT for their right to feed wherever and whenever they damn well want to, they’re going to organise ‘nurse-in’s’ and breastfeeding rallies and the likes. Well guess what – you already have that legal right. Seriously. It is LAW. You CAN feed wherever you want to and whenever baby wants. Just shut the fuck up and do it. When you constantly FIGHT for the right to do something that you already have legal right to do, that’s exactly what YOU create – a fight. Sure, there are drongos out there who say stupid and nasty things to and about breastfeeding women – guess what, there are drongos out there that say stupid and nasty things to formula feeding women too, and women with crying babies, and women with screaming toddlers and the list goes on. It is going to happen, it happens to everyone, everywhere. Rise above it and just get on with it and do what you need to do.

Now, FIGHTING for a right that you do not currently legally hold, that is a different story. I will stand with the Gay & Lesbian groups who have to fight for the LEGAL right to be equal to the heterosexual population. But when you continue to wave your “we’re so hard done by” banner and “we have to continue to FIGHT” mantras you are completely spitting in the face of causes that truly HAVE to fight to be legally recognised.  You do not HAVE to fight, you CHOOSE to fight – and because of this simple fact that is exactly what you get each and every time – A FIGHT. Why do you like to fight so much? I just don’t get it. I’ll say it again, you ALREADY have the LEGAL right to feed anywhere and anytime – so just do it, stop fighting about it and just fucking do it. Society will probably never be 100% supportive of public feeding, who the fuck cares? They will never be 100% ok with anything – because we’re all individuals and we all have different views. If you worry about the fact that there are new mothers out there who are not breastfeeding in public or even breastfeeding at all because of society’s views perhaps you should just step back a little and look at the chaos all of your ‘fighting’ causes – I wouldn’t like to be a new mother trying to nurse in public while not yet fully confident while you’re screaming and ranting and raving and throwing unwanted attention at me. I am not your puppet or your mascot, I am a mother feeding my child, stop dragging me into your constant fight – a fight that you already LEGALLY conquered. Instead how about you all just get on with feeding in public, whenever and wherever you damn well choose and eventually people will get sick of complaining about it if their complaints fall on deaf ears. Stop fuelling their fire and stop spitting in the face of causes that truly HAVE to fight.