Progress: Breastfeeding in Public Is Now Legal Nationwide
On July 13, Christian Science Monitor published some exciting and empowering news: breastfeeding in public has now become legal in all fifty states, plus Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Stragglers Idaho and Utah were the final two states to approve the law. This legislation comes as a sigh of relief to the multitude of parents who have faced fines, alleged public indecency violations, and harassment from restaurant patrons, owners, and others for just feeding their infants. Macy Hornung reports feeling traumatized after being told to leave a North Dakota Chick-fil-A after she refused to cover up while breastfeeding her daughter. Stephanie Buchanan and her sister-in-law, Mary Davis, were asked to leave a Minnesota pool because their breastfeeding made others uncomfortable. A municipal employee called the police on Michelle Ayala for breastfeeding her daughter on a New Jersey beach. These new pieces of legislation area fight sexism and injustice and poses a win for everyday feminism and equity.
Some of us may be scratching our heads thinking, “Breastfeeding in public nationally just became legal now? In July 2018? Wasn’t it always legal? Shouldn’t it have always been legal?” Unfortunately, the answer is no. When it comes to women’s use of their bodies, public opinion always seems to eclipse personal autonomy.
One of the typical arguments against public breastfeeding is it makes people, namely adult men and supposedly, young, innocent children “uncomfortable.” Some ignorant critics call it disgusting, indecent, selfish, and disrespectful. It must also be pointed out that some of the most candid opponents of public breastfeeding are other women. One of the main “concessions” about breastfeeding is mothers should just “cover up.” This is a humiliating solution, as women are again held responsible for others’ reactions to our bodies and are striped of freedom. Whenever women’s bodies are involved, there will always be instances where internalized misogyny and competition for the male gaze prevail. Women cannot do anything related to our bodies without being subject to ridicule and controversy. Why is it that women are held accountable for being the victims of sexual assault but those who overs sexualize and stigmatize women are not? If breastfeeding is so appalling and detrimental to your fragile well-being, then, here’s a solution: just look away. Female breasts were created with a function: lactate and feed the young. They were not intended to be ogled or sexualized. A breastfeeding mother is not exposing her boob to seduce you, she is providing nutrition. That is it. Whenever a woman exposes herself in a way that is not intended for patriarchal sexual domination or objectification, fragile masculinity is threatened. There should be no shame associated with a mother feeding a child, and women were not created to bear the burden of society’s fetishes. Legalizing breastfeeding in all fifty states is a small step towards destructing harmful social stereotypes about female bodies and female autonomy. Progress is being forged, but we still have quite a way to go.
