[hilac] FW: [New post] Nursing in Public: When Did It Become So Controversial?
- From: "Eric M. Kapono" <kapono@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <hilac@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 17 Jan 2013 11:34:12 -1000
FYI, with my apologies for any cross-postings.
Eric M. Kapono
ADVANCEMENT SERVICES
FOR NATIVE NONPROFITS
Hilo, HI
808.969.3991
www.advancementservices.org
From: Patricia Bilyk [mailto:patbilyk@xxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Thursday, January 17, 2013 9:58 AM
To: Deb Trankel; Deborah Franklin; Janel Takasaki; Jane Felix; Brenda
Willey; Sylvia Pager; Laura Morihara; Sally Greene; Krista Olson; Christen
Imig; Christina Simmons; Samee Albano; Audrey Inaba; Patty Ane; Elizabeth
Brauher; Crystal Cooper; Maggie Davidson; Eiko Cusick; Eric Kapono; Maria
Felix-Neal; Loretta Fuddy; Summer Faria; Jodi Goodwin; Gwen Judd; GERRI
CHOCK; Tiffany Hamilton; Holli Shiro; Hansen-Smith, Heidi; Ann Marie Savage;
Nicky Lawnsby; Dr. Balaraman
Subject: Fwd: [New post] Nursing in Public: When Did It Become So
Controversial?
FYI. Please carry around our Hawaii breastfeeding law to share with moms in
your specific settings. Possibly include the laws in bf packets you give to
Moms. Other ideas?
Pat
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From: WordPress.com <comment-reply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, Jan 17, 2013 at 5:02 AM
Subject: [New post] Nursing in Public: When Did It Become So Controversial?
To: patbilyk@xxxxxxxxx
lactationmatters posted: "Written by Robin Kaplan, M.Ed., IBCLC When I look
back at 2012 and recall the variety of breastfeeding stories that were
covered by American media, I can't help, but grimace and wonder, "When did
breastfeeding become so controversial?" News story aft"
Respond to this post by replying above this line
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<http://lactationmatters.org/2013/01/17/nursing-in-public-when-did-it-become
-so-controversial/> Nursing in Public: When Did It Become So Controversial?
by lactationmatters <http://lactationmatters.org/author/lactationmatters/>
Written by Robin Kaplan, M.Ed., IBCLC
When I look back at 2012 and recall the variety of breastfeeding stories
that were covered by American media, I can't help, but grimace and wonder,
"When did breastfeeding become so controversial?"
News story after news story depicts a breastfeeding mother being harassed
for breastfeeding in public:
<http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/breastfeeding-mom-causes-uproar-at-wat
er-park> Charlotte Dirkes was asked to stop, cover up, or go somewhere else
when she breastfed her 10-month old at a water park in Englewood, Colorado.
<http://www.kmbc.com/news/kansas-city/Mom-fights-Sedalia-breastfeeding-brouh
aha/-/11664182/15497598/-/1a4khk/-/index.html> Tiffany Morgan was asked to
stop breastfeeding her 6-month old, cover up, or leave Denny's in Sedalia,
Missouri.
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/18/dawn-holland-breastfeeding_n_18936
81.html> Dawn Holland was asked to finish breastfeeding her 20-month old son
in the bathroom of Applebee's in Georgia.
<http://lactationmatters.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/735819_1020031654585896
8_517349279_o.jpg> Photo via Nurse-In @ Hollister Facebook Page
Photo via Nurse-In @ Hollister Facebook Page
Most recently, <http://www.kvue.com/news/185084671.html> Brittany Warfield
was screamed at and forced to leave a Hollister store in the Galleria Mall
in Houston, Texas, when she breastfed her 7-month old, sparking a nurse-in
across the United States and Canada of over 1,000 breastfeeding mothers,
children, and friends on Jan 5th, 2013.
What ensued during this most recent nurse-in was
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/07/hollister-nurse-in_n_2425541.html?
icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl13%7Csec1_lnk3&pLid=254180#slide=more273388>
truly shocking.
Three women participating in the Hollister nurse-in at Wilmington,
Delaware's Concord Mall were asked to remove their signs (written about
normalizing nursing in public) and move to another part of the mall. After
taking down their signs, they continued to nurse in front of the Hollister
store. The mall's security guards called the local police, who ended up not
taking any action with the mothers once they showed them a copy of
Delaware's law that protects a woman breastfeeding in public. The security
officers took it upon themselves to continue to harass the mothers by
threatening them with removal from the mall and then followed the mothers
throughout the mall.
<http://lactationmatters.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/wilmingtonde.jpg>
Photo via Nurse-In @ Hollister Facebook Page
Photo via Nurse-In @ Hollister Facebook Page
When other mothers heard about what happened at the mall, they posted on the
Concord Mall's Facebook page that they should be ashamed for calling the
police when mothers were just feeding their babies. In response, the
<http://www.bestforbabes.org/concord-mall-equates-breastfeeding-babies-to-su
cking-on-wifes-breasts-in-public-attempts-cover-up> Concord Mall responded
that the breastfeeding was an 'eyesore' and that they 'hope you guys don't
mind if I suck on my wife's breasts in public.'
Since this Facebook exchange, The Concord Mall has disabled their Facebook
Page (and denies that it ever had a Facebook page).
<http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/business/2013/01/breast-feeding-moms-unhappy-wi
th-malls-apology/> They also have apologized to the three mothers, yet the
apology never admitted wrongdoing or that the women were treated improperly.
By the way, all of these harassment stories took place in
<http://breastfeedinglaw.com/> states where breastfeeding women are
protected by law to breastfeed in a public space.
While this type of harassment ruffles my IBCLC-feathers, it truly upsets me
as an avid advocate for a breastfeeding mother's right to meet her personal
breastfeeding goals. How can we expect mothers to breastfeed for any decent
amount of time if they are relegated to their homes, cars, and public
restrooms whenever their babies are hungry, just to avoid degradation and
humiliation?
How can we, as mothers and IBCLCs, create the necessary change in our
society where women will be able to feed their babies as nature intended?
I asked these questions to a group of mothers at my breastfeeding support
group today, as well as of the followers on
<https://www.facebook.com/SanDiegoBreastfeedingCenter?fref=ts> my business
Facebook page, and their answers were honest and insightful. Here's what
they had to say:
. More women need to breastfeed in public so that people become
desensitized to it, just like 'we' (Americans, in general) are desensitized
to the sexualization of the breast and to violence on TV.
. More breastfeeding on television shows and in movies, rather than
always bottle feeding.
. Public service announcements about how breastfeeding protects the
health of the baby and of mom.
. Have easier access to the laws that protect breastfeeding mothers,
to use as a defense when asked to stop breastfeeding in public, cover up, or
leave a public place.
. In addition to the laws that protect a woman's right to breastfeed
in public, there is a need for laws that involve recourse for those who
harass a woman for breastfeeding in public.
Fortunately, breastfeeding advocates are already thinking these same ideas!
Thanks to the <http://breastfeedinglaw.com/> Breastfeeding Law website,
breastfeeding mothers can find all of the laws in the United States that
protect their rights to breastfeed in public.
<http://www.calwic.org/policy-center/state> In California, on September 28,
2012, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law AB2386, which states that it is
unlawful to engage in specified discriminatory practices in employment or
housing accommodations on the basis of breastfeeding or medical conditions
related to breastfeeding. What this means for breastfeeding moms. they are
now considered a 'protected class' of citizens and will receive a full
spectrum of workplace discrimination protection.
In October, 2012,
<http://www.bestforbabes.org/announcing-1-855-nip-free-the-best-for-babes-nu
rsing-in-public-harassment-hotline> Best for Babes announced the launch of
their Nursing in Public Harassment Hotline. Now, breastfeeding mothers can
report incidents of nursing in public harassment, document them, and receive
guidance on how to deal with the situation and approach the offending
institution. The goal. to have enough documentation to influence policy
makers to create laws that require enforcement of existing breastfeeding in
public laws, the creation of laws that cover harassment and discrimination
against breastfeeding in public, and educational and sensitivity trainings
for employees.
Even MTV is changing their stance on breastfeeding. While season 2 of Teen
Mom removed scenes showing Kailyn Lowry breastfeeding, season 3 star,
<http://www.cafemom.com/group/3019/forums/read/17784268/Teen_Mom_3s_Katie_Ye
ager_Reveals_She_Will_Breastfeed_On_Air> Katie Yeager, stated on Facebook
and twitter that the show "will show me breastfeeding for a year. I'm
breaking the stigma and normalizing it again." That's quite a commitment
for a 16 year old!
For me, I plan to hand out a business card-sized copy of the California
state laws that protect breastfeeding in public and prohibit discrimination
in the workplace and housing to every breastfeeding mother I work with.
Hopefully having it in her wallet will provide some comfort that the law is
on her side. I also plan to submit an editorial to my local newspaper every
time I hear a story about a mother being harassed for nursing in public. I
figure, it's my job to educate my community about a mother's right to feed
her baby in public, without fear of persecution. Lastly, I plan to promote
Best for Babes Nursing in Public Harassment Hotline. The more documentation
they can collect, the better chance we have of creating a REAL change in our
communities to help mothers meet their personal breastfeeding goals!
What plans do YOU have to create change in your communities for protecting a
mother's right to breastfeed in public?
<http://lactationmatters.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/orange-bg-headshot.jpg>
RobinRobin Kaplan received training to be a
<http://www.breastfeeding-education.com/> Certified Lactation Educator and
an <http://www.iblce.org/> International Board Certified Lactation
Consultant from UCSD. She holds a Masters in Education from UCLA, a
multiple-subjects teacher credential from UCLA, and a BA in Psychology from
Washington University in St. Louis, MO. In 2009, Robin started her own
business, the <http://www.sdbfc.com/> San Diego Breastfeeding Center, where
she offers in-home breastfeeding consultations, free weekly support groups,
breastfeeding classes, and online support through her
<http://sdbfc.com/blog> business blog. In addition to her private practice,
Robin was the founding Co-editor of the <http://www.ilca.org/> International
Lactation Consultant Association's (ILCA)blog,
<http://www.lactationmatters.org/> Lactation Matters, and a regular
contributor to <http://www.ilca.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3326> ILCA's
E-Globe newsletter. She also is the host/producer of
<http://www.theboobgroup.com/> The Boob Group online radio show and the
Director of Marketing for <http://www.naturalkidz.com/> NaturalKidz.com.
Robin lives in her native San Diego, where she enjoys cooking, hiking,
trying new trendy restaurants, and traveling with her family.
<http://lactationmatters.org/author/lactationmatters/> lactationmatters |
January 17, 2013 at 10:00 am | Tags:
<http://lactationmatters.org/?tag=breastfeeding> breastfeeding,
<http://lactationmatters.org/?tag=breastfeeding-in-public> Breastfeeding in
Public, <http://lactationmatters.org/?tag=controversy> Controversy,
<http://lactationmatters.org/?tag=current-events> Current Events,
<http://lactationmatters.org/?tag=facebook> Facebook,
<http://lactationmatters.org/?tag=robin-kaplan> Robin Kaplan | Categories:
<http://lactationmatters.org/?cat=1304> Current Events | URL:
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