Is breast-feeding obscene?

Before getting into it, take a look at the cover of the August edition of Babytalk, a free magazine for new moms:


What's your first reaction? Beautiful? Offensive? Not a big deal either way? Would you have qualms if your kids were to see it?

Turns out, this cover has caused a lot of controversy. Babytalk received 700 irate letters (far more than they ever had). In a poll of 4,000 of their readers, about 1/4 felt the cover was "inappropriate"( "gross," "obscene," "offensive") .

**************************************

Two blogs ago ("Breast-feed or else") I raised the concern that American attitudes towards public breast-feeding and lack of support in the workplace are two reasons for the disappointing numbers of nursing mothers in the U.S. After reading about this brouhaha, I've done a little more research. Here's what I found in a recent study* of the attitudes of 5,000 U.S. adults to the following statements:

• Women should have the right to breastfeed their infants in public. (43% agree)
• It is appropriate to show a woman breastfeeding her baby on TV. (28% agree)
• Employers should provide flexible work schedules, such as additional break time, for breastfeeding mothers. (50% agree)
• Employers should provide extended maternity leave to make breastfeeding easier. (47% agree)
• Employers should provide a private room for breastfeeding mothers to pump milk at work. (43% agree)
• Public buildings need to have a room where women can breastfeed or pump milk. (41% agree)
• Shopping malls should provide a private place to help women breastfeed their babies. (52% agree)
• Breastfeeding education should be available as part of a high school health education curriculum. (33% agree)
• I would support tax incentives for employers who make special accommodations to make breastfeeding easier. (27% agree)
  

**************************************

Dr. P comments

The numbers (none more than 50%) speak volumes about our tepid support for breastfeeding moms. The authors did note that support of breast-feeding was higher in younger, better educated, and minority groups. Perhaps if the more culturally diverse younger generation is any smarter (OK, maybe I'm dreaming here), that support will rise over the next years.

But what seems especially unfathomable to me is the inability - indeed, the unacceptability - for a women's breast to be seen as anything other than a sexual object. For men, perhaps it's the "madonna or whore" complex - combined with a Playboy obsession with the female breast - being played out. After all, we men aren't great at multi-tasking. For some women, perhaps it's the desire to keep the breast mysterious and alluring, lest it lose its hold over men and be seen as just another working part of the ordinary eternal machinery.

Whatever the reasons, it seems to be perfectly acceptable to show titilating (sorry, couldn't resist) pictures of actresses with very revealing dresses on the cover of magazines. That we get. That we can accept. But show a picture of a breast being used, as it has for millions of years, to nourish an infant...

You got to admit, as John Prine sings, it's a big old goofy world.

****************************************

**Article cited

"Public beliefs about breastfeeding policies in various settings."

Li R, et al. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 104: 1162-1168, 2004.

Related Topics: Breastfed Babies Less Stressed Later?, Breastfeeding in Public: A Mother's Rights

Technorati Tags: BabyTalk, breastfeeding