Blue Milk directed me to this post at Hoyden About Town regarding the publicity over Salma Hayek breastfeeding her (wait for it….) 13-MONTH OLD!!!! *gasp!!!*
I have nothing much to add to Lauredhel’s comments so go read them.
I will say that the comments she cites made me burst into tears. I cannot believe that people actually think that way about a mother nourishing her baby. At 13 months they are STILL BABIES. It also made me want to invest in a wardrobe full of turtlenecks. My breasts do not belong to you, World, and you may not have them. You may not look at them, demand that they please you, or tell me that I cannot use them for the manner in which they were intended.
These men have mothers and sisters and wives and daughters and here they are leering over Hayek and making lewd comments about wanting to be nursed. I suppose these are the same men that go to strip clubs but would never marry a stripper or want their daughter to become one, right? It’s not funny.
November 15, 2008 at 4:31 am
Not to make you think even worse of where I live but…..
A friend in my cloth diapering mama group was asked today not to nurse her 15 mos old ‘in front of the other toddlers when she picked him up today because it made ’several mothers uncomfortable.’ They are going to provide another space for her at the center but it is bullshit.
November 15, 2008 at 4:31 am
TN only protects a mothers right to breastfeed in public up to 1 year old.
November 15, 2008 at 5:02 am
That would be that last time I attended that group, for sure.
IL has very strict laws protecting mothers. You cannot ask a woman to leave or cover up or anything… A woman has the right to breastfeed anywhere that she would otherwise be allowed, with some exceptions made for private residences and churches.
I can’t believe we even have to talk about what is “allowed” by law. As if anyone but the mother and child should have a say in when and where they nurse or for how long!!!
November 15, 2008 at 4:48 pm
Oh, not from my CD group but from her toddler’s DAYCARE which is almost worse because she has to take him there (or somewhere). The daycare said they would provide her another room but the problem is that she sometimes comes by on her lunch hour (she is in grad school) so that is such a hassle for her.
The CD mamas are all very, very cool….
November 15, 2008 at 4:58 pm
Okay, I thought it was weird that CDers were anti-nursing, but ya never know!
And there is NO protection for her? Sometimes I wonder what century I am in…
November 16, 2008 at 3:26 pm
Damn our twisted world. My first two went to 19 and 18 months respectively, my third is 6.5 months old and I hope will nurse as long. I’ve got nothin’ but disappointment at all the judging.
December 7, 2008 at 11:27 pm
That post completely shocked me. I wouldn’t have believed those comments were even possible had I not seen them myself.
Lauredhel at Hoyden was so brilliant in her response, though.