Please don't compare nursing an infant with pissing, even jokingly. They're not related in the least.

Anyone who thinks women should nurse babies in a public restroom should first go eat their meal in one and see how enjoyable the experience is.

And Baba Wawa should do what everyone else near a nursing mother should do: shut the fuck up and look the other way.

Adam, do you have a link to the article you quoted? And where does the quote begin and end -- I think I know but I'm not positive. You need to use the 'blockquote' tag.

Link from NY Times.

I don't know how to do the block quote thingy. It sure looks nice.

It's easy. Log back in to MT to see how it looks. I'll put the link in for you.

Lactivists unite! Seems so silly that this is even necessary. Were Barbara and all these others ALL bottle-fed? They're just jealous, right? ;-)
'Uncomfortable' with a woman loving her baby enough to breastfeed? Pleaseeeeeeee...

A woman is another's worst enemy.

bhw, Baba Wawa sure sounds funny ;)

It was even funnier when Gilda said it. 8-)

I think breastfeeding is the most convenient thing nature gifted us with.

Thankfully even the poor can afford it orelse infants born in families living under the poverty line might perish.

bhw,
Thanks.
Tried the blockquote tag on my own blog, but it told me that the tag wasn't closed, whatever the heck that means.

Ahhhhh ... at the end of the quoted text, you do have to "close" the 'blockquote' tag. You put the word 'blockquote' in brackets, just like when you start the tag, but you also put a / in front of the word blockquote, inside the tags. If you log back in and scroll to the end of the long quote, you'll see the closing tag.

This kind of language is no ok

Oh, sure it is. We're all "growmups," as my son would say.

And yes, it is fear. Just one guess, Mommy problems?

And you're claiming to be heterosexual?

Cerulean, do you mean html or bared tits?

Lactivists - I love it. Thanks for sharing. I can't wait to pass this on to my La Leche League friends. And no, I'm not lactating, but I have a few "mommy" friends who are, maybe even as I post this comment!

I nursed my son for a year, as most pediatricians recommend. I was always very comfortable nursing in public and never encountered any problems. I think my husband had more of a problem with it then I did! I would get ready to "whip it out", so to speak, and he would ask incredulously if I was really going to do that in public. It took him almost 3-4 months to finally get used to it!

I have to admit it makes me very uncomfortable when someone pulls out a boob and flashes it around. I have no problem with those who are somewhat subtle about it, draping a scarf or little baby blanket over their shoulders, but I've encountered a few who just haul everything out and let it hang there while they arrange their purse, the kid, etc. and I gotta say it sure does kill the appetite. I do NOT look on and think 'Ooooo...how natural!' or admire their dedication to feeding their children naturally.

While I'm at it, I object very strongly to women who think it's hunky-dory to change the baby's didies on a restaurant table, park bench, or such places. Maybe you think your kid's shit is ice cream, but feces and urine-soaked diapers making contact with surfaces where others have to eat or sit or have contact is not only unbelievably selfish and stupid, it's illegal. Unfortunately, most of this type of self-absorbed, antisocial behavior (not to mention unhygenic and just plain rude) seems to be associated so far in my experience with women who like to flaunt their lactating. I hope it isn't also a plank of the Lactivist platform that these women feel it's also natural to fling their babies' crap around and the rest of us had "better get used to it"?

Nancy, as someone who breast fed her two children, I'm kind of tuned in to women who are nursing in public. I have honestly NEVER seen the behavior you describe, where someone flashes a breast.

I never needed to use a blanket or towel to cover the baby's head because today's nursing tops and bras are so well designed. It's very easy to be discreet -- anyone who isn't, isn't trying. But these same people aren't inconsiderate because they're lactating: they're the kind of people who are inconsiderate no matter what they're doing or where they are.

Same goes for the people who change diapers on tables. It's unsanitary, and it's not fair to the people around you. But sometimes babies have to be changed, and a park bench is all you have. Again, a considerate parent uses a changing pad, which are standard issue in diaper bags, and is as discreet, sanitary, and fast as possible.

But again, the people who aren't didn't become inconsiderate when they had children. They were already inconsiderate. They just added new behaviors to their repertoire.

Come to think of it, I don't like seeing gays OR straights hanging all over each other in public. If people must grope, paw, and tonsil-touch the object of their affection, they should go home and do it in private.

Or you could avert your eyes and go about your business. Sorry that the rest of the world doesn't conform its behavior to suit your personal tastes.

Let's get our priorities straight.

Screaming babies: offensively annoying

Breast-feeding babies: not so much

If a public breast feeding is going to shut the kid up, it should be MANDATORY.

Stopping the screaming was always my first priority when my kids were babies. Nothing works better than a boob.

A little bit of respect for other people goes a long way. Some effort to be discreet about nursing seems like a good thing (and by that I don't mean that nursing women should hide in bathrooms), and just ignoring the sight of nursing if it bothers you would go a long way, too.

The people that weird me out are the ones who, um, like the sight of nursing. Not in a "Oh, good, a baby being cared for" way, but in a "I wanna sneak a peek" way. That's just strange.

Well, "sneaking a peek" is pretty low-class, but I have to say I like to see that there's a bit of humanity left in a mechanized, button-down, time-clock punching world.

In order to nurse a baby, the mother must have adequate nutrition.

Until the 18th century, most children who died in infancy died of starvation. Mal-nourished women cannot provide nutrition to an infant.

Rich people hired wet nurses. Poor women couldn't.

People who want nursing mothers to hide in bathrooms may just be afraid they might fail to restrain their own temptation to stare, in much the same way as the people Phillip mentions.

Sometimes I get slightly embarrassed because I will see something unusual out of the corner of my eye, focus for a moment to figure out what's going on over there, and then when I realize it's a mother nursing a baby, look away as quickly as possible, out of worry that I could look like one of those weird staring people.

But all that is entirely my own problem, and no reason to impose any guilt trips on nursing mothers.

I think most women can tell the difference between curiousity and leering, but I suppose I could be wrong.

When I was a kid, I used to stare hard at nursing mothers. Maybe I was a pervert when I was a kid.

When you were a kid I seriously doubt you ever saw a nursing mother.

Nursing is only now making a comeback and while I proudly nursed my daughter until she was about three, with the new conversative tide ever encrouching, I have to admit, I take the poor 18-month-old into a bathroom these days - and that is indeed no place for a little man to eat.

I grew up in South Africa. Nursing moms were everywhere. It's only in the US where they get hung up on shit like this: everywhere else women go topless on beaches without anyone batting an eye. Just one example.

Just a comment on breastfeeding in public....We STILL live in a very Victorian society here in the U.S...compared to the Eurpopean nations where women not only breastfeed in public, but often go topless with nothing on but a light-weight skirt. They almost NEVER wear panties, either, as they are considered to be detrimental to a woman's health...promoting yeast infections, etc. Geez...here we go into nice restaurants and are forced to look at men (and some women) who are COVERED with hideous (MY opinion!) tattoos, rings through the nose (and..um..."nose excreta" attached..YUK), rings through the lips, exposed bellies, and yet we are PREJUDICED against a woman who breastfeeds in public...a normal and natural part of nature??? REALLY...Gimme a break!! And yes, I have breastfed my babies in the past in the car, in a public place with my hubby's hands covering any exposed breast as well as at home. I've never worn a bra anyway as to me, they are like some kind of "harness"...hurting my back, shoulders and covering a normal part of my anatomy. Hey...we don't ASK that men put THEIR personal part in some kind of weird sling!! I've never worn panties, either, but prefer a dress which covers all the parts thought of as "dirty" here in the U.S., but also allows me to remove it quickly as soon as I'm home (I live on a remote 200 acres with my wonderful hubby and kids) or to lift it to my waist while riding alone in the car with my hubby. What a shame we are so very prudish in this country as the entire female body is so very beautiful...breasts and all.

Underwear is worn mainly for reasons of keeping more expensive outer clothes clean, not for reasons of morality...at least that's how it started out. Underwear wasn't regularly worn until around the time of the US Civil War. Bras are also intended not for covering but for trying to arrest or at least retard the effects of gravity. Of course the clothing/lingerie industry has created all kinds of other rationales for wearing undies, besides the obvious of getting their mitts on our money.

Ladies please don't think I'm sick or perverted for saying this but take it from one mans point of view: It is a very sexy turn on for me to see a pregnant women!! Yes I love the way your tits look!! it's not the case of being big or small it's the nipple that's the sexist!! I guess I've always wanted to see what breastmilk tastes like!! When my wife was pregnant with our first child, she thought I was sick and didn't want any part of it. So I say if a women wants to show her tit in public....the more the marrier!! But please don't get mad if us guys want a peek just smile at us and let us know that you caught us looking...Keep up the good work!!

I am a breastfeeding mother of an almost 12 month old. I truly do not get what all the fuss is about. My husband is morbidly embarrassed by my brestfeeding in public. I think he thinks every person out there is staring at me/us/him with Martin (previous comment) like thoughts. Who cares?! I am feeding my child - I'm not auditioning for Girls Gone Wild! I could give a rats ass if people are gawking. This country is so f-ng uptight about the human body.