Breast feeding in public

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   Rod Raineyposted 11 years ago

   Why is it generally tolerable for men to go topless in public, but not women?  This is a serious question. Why shouldn’t women be comfortable?  And what is with all the consternation on the subject of breast feeding in public? Isn’t it what breasts are for? I tried to post this as a question and for some reason it never showed up.

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      TrawlingForHopeposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Maybe any part of the body used for reproductive purposes has been oversexualized and is now considered lewd.  It's probably the same reason why less women breastfeed. It seems to me, though, that that useless man nipples would be considered lewd, and thus should be covered.

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      Sally's Troveposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      The answer is simple...men are excited about women's breasts, can't control themselves, and thus make breastfeeding in public, or for that matter any women's breast exposure lewd, lascivious, and ultimately taboo.
      
      Can't wait to get a woman POTUS who hasn't been tainted by this type of misogyny.

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         MelissaBarrettposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         There are plenty of women that are just as bad... as a matter of fact it's been the women that have been the most insulting to me personally. The men either look and look away or avoid even looking in my direction in the first place.
         
         It's the women who have been nasty to me. This conversation actually happened... pretty much verbatim. We were at IHOP.
         
         Old church lady who I've never met in my life: "Wouldn't you be more comfortable in the restroom?"
         
         Me: "Yes, you are right!  A public toilet is both much more physically comfortable and hygienic!  Thank you. Would you like to accompany me to the rest room?  You can remove the giant stick from your a** in the comfort of your own stall."

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            Rod Raineyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            (Chuckles) Nice! You're at a restaurant; everyone else is eating, but the baby should have to wait? Nonsense!

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2. 59

   taburkettposted 11 years ago

   Because mankind make the rules.  The actions of the wicked has created a negative perception of this act of love.  Maybe that is why there is more children in the world today that despise their parents.  People who believe that public breastfeeding is bad should not be permitted to eat or drink in public because doing so indicates they are doing the same thing as the young mother and child.  The nutrition of love can never be a bad thing regardless of what others might think.

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      Rod Raineyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I whole heartedly agree taburkett. Let em eat in the bathroom.

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3. 61

   Mark Ewbieposted 11 years ago

   

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      Motown2Chitownposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Mark, you're awesome.  I have a song in my head for virtually everything.  You have a stick figure.  It's amazing.
      
      

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         Mark Ewbieposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Hey thanks Motown.  Some topics give me an excuse to go and try drawing something.

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4. 83

   rebekahELLEposted 11 years ago

   It is rather strange, isn't it?  I think a lot of it has to do with very conservative views about the human body and sexuality in general.  Breasts are for producing milk to nurture an infant, and they give pleasure to a woman's mate. How is that bad?  A woman can breastfeed discreetly in public. For those who are offended by seeing part of a woman's breast, let them be offended.  The kids see much more on tv.
   Mark, I love the image. 
   
   Kind of reminds me of the irony of conservative views.  You can walk into a Walmart and buy an assault rifle, but they may refuse to stock music merchandise which isn't 'appropriate', which may contain profane lyrics. 

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5. 88

   wildernessposted 11 years ago

   This is mostly rooted far in the past when St. Augustine, a 4th century bishop, began a centuries long church effort to control all aspects of sexuality.  The twisted and perverted minds of church leaders came up with some almost unbelievable rules that had absolutely nothing to do with biblical requirements but that are still carried over today.
   
   As church influence has waned, so has the iron grip it had on sexual mores and actions, and we can see this in topless/nude beaches as well as in dress codes.  Nevertheless that influence still plays a large part in what we consider acceptable in sexual matters, and that certainly includes the exposure of the female breast.  In time, as we continue to discard the perversions of centuries past "saints" we will be hobbled less and less by those depraved minds that required everyone to fit an unnatural mold.

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      Rod Raineyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Ah, how refreshing. Getting to the root sets us free. I appreciate you Mr. wilderness.

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         wildernessposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         

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6. 80

   Escobanaposted 11 years ago

   Depending on where you live, breastfeeding can be an issue.
   
   I lived in Holland for many years and women breastfeed their babies in public without any problem. Holland is a country with mostly open minded people and many religious groups live side by side.
   
   In Spain however, breastfeeding in public is very taboo! Spain is still one of the countries with a major amount of people going to church. As 'wilderness' states in his reply....the influence of the church is huge.
   
   If women breastfeed on a terrace here in Valencia, mostly they are tourists or foreigners living here. They come from places where breastfeeding is no issue at all. Personally, I don't mind any woman breastfeeding in public.
   
   But Spain has to evolve and it will, though it will take another generation to do so...

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7. 78

   psycheskinnerposted 11 years ago

   I don't know about general toplessness, but I have no problem with a mother breastfeeding wherever they are most comfortable.

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   wildove5posted 11 years ago

   If woman went topless in public as men do there would be mayhem!  Men would be running their cars off the road, walking into poles, and stumbling off cliffs.  Unfortunately, because of their fascination with our girls and their maturity level, us woman will never be able to take our shirts off on a hot summers day!   Maybe if we didn't hide them all the time the fascination to see them wouldn't be so great either.   So, to all the ladies out there breastfeeding, whip it out and stare back at the on-lookers with the biggest cheesiest grin you can muster and enjoy the freedom of using your breast for the purpose God intended them for!!!

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9. 91

   Tracy Lynn Conwayposted 11 years ago

   The negative perception that people have towards breast feeding in public seems to be a learned behavior. The activity of breast feeding is one of the most natural and beautiful things. Thank you, Wilderness, for sharing the history as to why our society has learned this negative connotation towards something that would otherwise be so natural. I think one other consideration is that with the wide spread availability of infant formula in the 1950's came about when women were convinced that something out of a can was better and most women stopped breastfeeding all together. After the counterculture movement of the 60's and 70's women again began breastfeeding but our culture had become unaccustomed to it .

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      Rod Raineyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      The negative perception of nudity is a learned behavior.

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         Tracy Lynn Conwayposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Yes, but in a practical sense, it is breastfeeding women that must deal with  the negative perception. It is necessary to breastfeed, but not necessary to be nude.

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    Healthy Pursuitsposted 11 years ago

    follow the link to see an hysterical breast feeding baby hat. (I don't know how to put the image into the post.)
    
    http://www.google.com/search?q=knitted+ … mp;bih=681
    
    Feel free to put the image in the post if you know how. It's a great baby hat!

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       Rod Raineyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Beautiful!

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    paradigmsearchposted 11 years ago

    Well, I've been seeing this thread title for awhile. Figure I'll stick in my 2 cents...
    
    Last time I was on a plane (1990's), sure enough I'm sitting there and a woman with a baby sits down next to me. "Great", I thought, a screaming baby for the next hour...
    
    We start talking about this and that (with the woman, not the baby).
    
    About halfway through the flight she pops that kid right on there (she had this little boob-flap thing on her shirt).
    
    Nobody cared.
    
    We continued to talk about everything under the sun. When we landed, I walked her to her connecting flight.
    
    And the kid never made a sound.

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       Rod Raineyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       I started this to discuss nudity in general. Based on what I have read of indigenous cultures who don't wear clothes, they do not get aroused at the sight of nudity, there is no prostitution, no perverted fetishes, no interest in pornography and no rape.
       
       I can understand wearing clothes to guard against the elements or to absorb embarrassing leakage, but aside from that, what's the point?

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          Escobanaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

          Then I think you shouldn't have given this post the title...Breastfeeding in public. If you want to discuss nudity in general I would start another thread.
          
          This is a good thread anyway but if it's not what you meant, I'd name the other one differently:-)

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             Rod Raineyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

             I agree and thank you, but I did try several times to post the question "Why is it generally tolerable for men to go topless in public, but not women?". For some strange reason it wouldn't post. I like to think it was just a glitch but, was it an inappropriate question?

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                Escobanaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                I assume it was banned because of the word topless. Hubpages is very strict (prude) on this so that might be the case. This worked however!
                
                Even though it's not quite what you expected:-)

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