I'd been thinking about the recent uproar over the nursing anthropology professor at American University. It's hard not to; the story is plastered over just about every media outlet that is and is not related to breastfeeding. I also listened to a short conversation on the NPR show Tell Me More, where three women along with the host, gave their opinions on the topic -- a couple varied, but they all seem to support the idea of breastfeeding.
I got the images in this post from a Lactation Consultant who has done work in Ecuador, where they were taken -- a place where educators frequently bring their babies to class, just like the one you see here being worn and carried around by its mother. When this baby gets hungry or fussy during a lesson, it will be breastfed -- yet instead of the instructor receiving incessant requests from the press wanting to discuss the 'incident,' being 'told on' on twitter for her child receiving milk in front of the classroom, having students drop the course or having to go on the defensive, no one says a thing. Why? It is part of normal activity there and in many other places outside of the U.S. Nursing a baby anytime, anywhere, is only inappropriate in anti-breastfeeding cultures. Take note, America.
If you missed church on Sunday, not to worry. The reverend angelsnupnup72012 has brought the service from the comfort of his home to yours. Actually, this is not a reverend who is preaching, nor is this church but it is a much needed voice on de-stigmatizing breastfeeding, and he did bring it -- "it" being the kind of inspiration and defense we need towards for women everywhere -- and especially in public places, which is what sparked this sermon.
Exploiting women's bodies, and making breasts objects only accessible to men, silences women. He also made a great point -- is the veneer we put on on a daily basis the result of being disconnected from natural breastfeeding relationships intended by nature? I wonder. And since "When did it become vulgar for a woman to breastfeed her child? What is wrong with the public?" Preach!
It never would have crossed my mind that trying to raise awareness around breastfeeding by calling into an internet radio talk show, would turn into an hot zone for confrontation -- or that it would be a place where I'd find myself being called a 'dyke' or 'ho' in the middle of just about every other word from the room. I previously wrote in to the host and recommended a topic, since she always suggested we do so, and because I thought it would be a great opportunity to get more people to recognize the importance of breastfeeding, how it affects us all and just as crucially how we can find ways to support each other and get more people to pitch in. She decided it was a good topic, and I was very impressed when I found out she did some research of her own before beginning the program, and she and I talked for a while, while others listened in and used the chat room to talk more about the subject. And the show was going well. But of all the things that keep me awake at night, this one held me down with a special weight, and after a decent amount of crying from the intensity from everything that happened on Sunday, I fell asleep and had a nightmare, which is rare for me.
The tragedy here is that while talking about breastfeeding -- the benefits to mother, child and overall society -- things were going so well. I really enjoyed speaking about why Black people need to make ourselves count in supporting breastfeeding women. And how just by doing so raises awareness and contributes to the overall health of our community -- and empowers all of us. We also talked about other practical aspects, too, like colostrum, and fore and hind milk, infant formula and a number of other related topics. Things were fine! But that was all before the show went off the air and another listener called in to explain to us the reasons behind the ban on women who nurse in public, which she staunchly believed is because men -- "gay men are controlling the strings in society and hate women's bodies so much that they've stigmatized the act"-- and the host agreed!But not only did these two women agree that gay men are the root cause of the issue, but also that "we live in a homosexual-based culture, and this is what society needs to see in order to get to the bottom of it all!" And they told me I needed to recognize that also.
I won't argue that men are at the root of public breastfeeding discrimination. That they have taken women's bodies and continue to commodify and exploit them for sexual pleasure, is indisputable. That stance has been adopted by the majority of society to not see breasts as a site of nourishment for a baby, but for pleasure, and that we have, even as women, adopted that as truth. I won't deny it. But I don't really know how to take this -- the gay thing. I don't know how to put it in front of me and dissect it at all, except look at it for what it is -- at face value.
Even though there's a very big part of me that wishes I would have just left early on -- that instead of sticking around and trying to change the perspective of these people by telling them that their so-called objective views on homosexuality are only perpetuating the division, neo-colonialist and puritanical views this room full of Pan Africanists oppose every Sunday afternoon I should have just folded. And even though I've been trying to get better about choosing exactly which battles I'll fight, wonder what that would that have meant for me -- as far as being compliant and supporting this viewpoint I feel so strongly against? But I just couldn't wrap my brain around what they said. The society I live in denounces same-sex domestic partnerships, and just about everything else. It seems like on a daily I'm reading about another teen who has taken his own life, or how some legislature has been shot down prohibiting people who love each other form sharing a legal union, or that someone is fired, ostracized or killed. Maybe I missed something.
The reality is by taking such a stance, the women on the line and the others in the chat room are not doing anything that contributes towards a more just environment nor helping to increase the health of future generations. It is not raising awareness, it is not getting more Black women to breastfeed and it is not helping to end disparities -- especially the ones that affect those of us in the room the most. But the only thing I can hope for is that even in the midst of it all, there has to have been some kind of progress made -- in breastfeeding and perspectives. And I do agree one one thing she said -- that "Not being able to feed your baby in public is a form of oppression."
And this, my readers, is my 100th blog post.
After a great deal of reluctance, I have embedded the episode from that day. What is so unfortunate is the conversation went so well, until the show ended and we began to stream and another listener called in. On the link below, I call in at around the 63 minute mark and the other listener at 114 minutes, but shortly after that my cell phone signal dropped. Keep in mind this is not the entire episode, since once the show ends on Blog Talk Radio we move to the 'After Party,' a different forum where we are able to continue chatting through the online chat service as well as through webcam. It was insanity.
Disclaimer: Queen Ifama always uses very strong language during each show. If you are sensitive to profanity, you may consider skipping over listening in.
When the world heard the devastating news of Whitney Houston's death a few short weeks ago, our ears perked and eyes widened as we dug deep into our mental reserve to reminisced on anything we could that would lend memory about the singer. My mind rummaged through memories from Jr. High, and conjured up images of my twin sister, who could frequently be found somewhere in our home, and with a brush in her hand or her thumb used as a microphone, singing "The Greatest Love Of All," were again in my head. And when I heard the story of 20 five-year-olds from my nieces kindergarten class two years ago, with their homemade graduation caps, who walked around the classroom singing this same song, as they were ready to advance to first grade, I didn't know how relevant this would be in my breastfeeding advocacy. And, as I heard this song played again and again on various stations and saw clips of Whitney's life in music across many wires, it didn't occur to me the significance, or how it's message would be relevant right here on a site dedicated to breastfeeding and human lactation. In fact, it wasn't until recently is when I saw the connection.
Of the many points made by people everywhere, one thing that always surfaces is for everyone's hope for Black celebrity representation -- for someone famous to occupy a visible space where the world would see them breastfeeding -- to debunk the myth that Black women do not breastfeed, to encourage more to do so and to combat the stigma against Black culture, bodies, lifestyle. I, too, often see this in people's desire for celebrity role models and examples; it has happened time and time again. I couldn't overlook it after the influx of conversations yesterday when countless individuals and groups seemed to endlessly tweet and speak of the news that appeared to finally satisfy the fervid desire among people everywhere; famous singer and entertainer, Beyonce, (allegedly) breastfed in public.
I won't sit here and say I have not had inspirations in my life, or that I have not looked to people who I believe have made an impact towards the greater good of humanity -- that continuously influence me on a daily basis in my own work towards a more just society. That would be untrue. I also won't argue that hearing about a Black woman of Beyonce's social rank offer her milk to her baby in a public space not only seems to advance the cause promoting mother's milk among African American women, but I'll never object to any public displays of infant feeding. She has many Black women and Black lactation activists that admire her. But I believe that often looking of these role models and victors -- especially those whose lifestyles and circumstances are far removed from our everyday ones, poses a concern that I feel does not largely aide in closing the gap in the way we hope for -- primarily and especially because of our stratified society, along with a few other things. But here is my one of my main concerns:
We are always taught to look outside of ourselves for quality and guidance. Historically, people who society has deemed prominent -- those who have fame and fortune, and have promoted the social division of class, were staunch proponents of mother's milk. When breastfeeding became taboo this natural act was turned into a stigma. These figures were positioned in society where everyone from doctors to nurses to many around us advocated substitutes, forsaking mother's milk, which was initially seen as something saved for the elite. The message that our bodies were ill-equipped and non-sufficient was promoted at each opportunity, and this is something that continues to happen now.
Figures in the spotlight that many refer to as heroes are strategically positioned and promoted to market the current time's trends. Racism, sexism and other system of oppression are the backdrop, and their statuses teeter, based on the agenda on the institution and how well we allow ourselves to adhere to this, as we are endlessly subjected to countless marketing tactics that tell us what and who should be at our center. We follow the trends, and go with the flow. What happens when someone of such social status uses bottles in public forums?
If you ask me if I'm excited about Beyonce's nursing in public, feeding her baby whenever andwherever she needs this, my answer right now and forever will always be a very loud and resounding "Yes!!" -- on all accounts! And I am also just as excited when I see any woman -- especially Black women, normalizing breastfeeding in any arena and contributing to the health of our community. But the fact is that mounting these figures as 'heroes' would fail to sustain us in the ongoing quest for the foundational and structural changes needed to increase our rates and decrease disparities. We must seek change within our communities. I believe it will be only be through our continuous encouragement of each other, pushing towards the quest for more knowledge, wisdom, and critical social and self awareness, is what will create a lasting legacy that will increase and stabilize our breastfeeding traditions and transcend generations -- and in these cases, popularity. We've got a lot of work to do. And at a time when the world is listening, how appropriate is "The Greatest Love Of All" -- the rarity of a song with lyrics that point us within -- for guidance, direction and truth:
"Everybody searching for a hero; people need someone to look up to. I never found anyone who fulfilled my needs. A lonely place to be, and so I learned to depend on me."
The Seattle Breastfeeding Examiner recently published an article titled Would You Like A Mobile Breastfeeding Vehicle On Call In Seattle? -- a write-up about a breastfeeding truck that will soon be rolling around the streets of Pittsburgh, PA. The truck's founder, Jill Miller, explains it as a "Mobile breastfeeding unit that enables women to feed their babies anywhere and anytime." It is a fancy decorated ice-cream truck, with "cozy chairs and shaded canopy" that is also complete with a giant boob on top!
How does this work, you ask? Well, let's say a nursing mother is inside of a restaurant or other establishment and has baby along and baby gets hungry. Let's say baby starts to fuss, or whatever babies do to signal they want to eat and mother says "Hey, my baby is hungry. . . better feed it!" Then, let's say mother initiates breastfeeding in the establishment and the owner or other worker sees someone with the gall to feed a hungry baby and decides it is unacceptable and begins to harass mother, saying something along the lines of "Hey, put that away. Shape up or ship out!" Well, then mother says something along the lines of "I don't have to take this. I'm calling the Milk truck!" So mother sends a text message, which summons the Milk truck and a group of supporters who rush to the distressed two (or more) who reconvene feeding, bonding, and living happily ever after. Sounds like a dream; a heroic act, right? Who needs Superman. . . or, Superwoman, right? What's the problem? Well, I wouldn't necessarily call it a problem, per se. And to say this is a bad idea may be just a bit harsh. Perhaps though, maybe I am a bit concerned with exactly how forward-moving this is, and I'm going tell you why.
The most recent nurse-in in Michigan took place after a mother was harassed by a bus driver while feeding her two-week-old son. The bus driver's attitude, to say the least, was atrocious, as she demanded the woman stop breastfeeding or exit the bus. The nursing mother refused (thankfully), and informed the driver what she was doing was completely natural and that she had the laws of the state of Michigan on her side. But the bus driver decided this was still unacceptable and that hungry babies should not be fed on command, but instead go hungry and called the authorities. The rest is nurse-in history.
While I am in no way advocating confrontation, I am advocating consciousness. I don't see how waiting. . . and waiting. . . and waiting to resume feeding a hungry infant while a truck fights traffic in a major city is a reasonable approach -- and that's just the first of my concerns among several, which also include placing favor on those who have cell phones (rare these days, not impossible). Advocating for human rights must recognize those in various circumstances. Can we really expect people to take breastfeeding seriously if don't stand for what we know is right and just? Will owners and workers really feel guilty for ousting a nursing mother who could potentially become rescued by a truck, or does it reinforce the 'Out of sight. Out of mind' idea? The Milk truck seems more sensational than practical, and appears as if instead of challenging the stigma surrounding public breastfeeding it almost encourages its intolerance.
What would have happened if the protagonist of this most recent nurse in, Afrykhan Moon (who BMBFA has recently called a modern day Rosa Parks), would have summoned a mobile breastfeeding unit instead of using the information she knows to defend infant feeding? Would we have had such a conscious-raising event where many have suggested breastfeeding education and sensitivity training of all SMART bus drivers -- something that has no doubt influenced other individuals and businesses that we don't know of? More than likely the mobile breastfeeding unit would have arrived, encouraging the nursing mother to acquiesce to the ordeal, and the attitude of the bus driver would burgeon, causing rifts and providing free passes to others to continue practicing this type of discrimination.
The National Conference of State Legislature (NCSL), says this about breastfeeding in Pennsylvania: Pa. Cons. Stat. tit. 35 § 636.1 et seq. (2007) allows mothers to breastfeed in public without penalty. Breastfeeding may not be considered a nuisance, obscenity or indecent exposure under this law. Pennsylvania Senate Bill #34 (SB 34) states: A mother SHALL BE PERMITTEDTO breastfeed her child in any location public or private, where mother or child are otherwise authorized to be present irrespective of whether or not the mother's breast is covered during or incidental to the breastfeeding. This means breastfeeding is allowed anywhere and it does not matter if you are covered or not -- wherever you are you can nurse your baby. It is not indecent! You can find out about more breastfeeding laws by each state here.
I understand that just because a law is in place it does not guarantee an outing free of harassment, since this has clearly not been the case in many instances involving breastfeeding and many other areas. Businesses refuse service to those they feel are in violation of their business code (No Shoes. No Shirt. No Service), and unfortunately breastfeeding is too often categorized as one of these.
I am also not writing to try and place a negative view on something many believe is filled with good intentions since the opposite is true. I understand we all need allies and people and organizations in our corner, and the few examples provided above are the reasons why I believe if we don't look at these types of situations through a more thorough lens the outcome may be one we feel is progressive, but instead may potentially be regressive -- stepping backwards, as we readily and easily give up our rights.
The Milk truck and its team's belief is that "Hungry babies should be able to eat anywhere, at anytime!" A statement I completely agree with -- so much so that I believe this should happen within the boundaries of any establishment. I believe instead of making it too easy to harass and potentially oust a nursing mother, we use our collective voices and means to work towards more cultural and critical awareness of breastfeeding, on de-stigmatizing public breastfeeding, and on utilizing our rights in this matter. In this way, not only will we be able to remain aware of our personal authority and speak truth to power, just like Afrykhan Moon, but we will also be able to make it so that no one need fear being removed from any establishment, we won't need to hide in a bathroom, and most importantly, we can make it so that hungry babies can and will be able to eat anytime, and anywhere.
What do you think of the Milk truck's idea? What are your concerns? What are the benefits? Would the Milk truck be more effective implementing additional techniques? Please share your thoughts.
Sign the petition to ask SMART to add "Breastfeeding Welcome Here" signs to all buses.
I got the images in this post from a Lactation Consultant who has done work in Ecuador, where they were taken -- a place where educators frequently bring their babies to class, just like the one you see here being worn and carried around by its mother. When this baby gets hungry or fussy during a lesson, it will be breastfed -- yet instead of the instructor receiving incessant requests from the press wanting to discuss the 'incident,' being 'told on' on twitter for her child receiving milk in front of the classroom, having students drop the course or having to go on the defensive, no one says a thing. Why? It is part of normal activity there and in many other places outside of the U.S. Nursing a baby anytime, anywhere, is only inappropriate in anti-breastfeeding cultures. Take note, America.
