Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Breastfeeding: Delicious or Awkward?

Boobs! Now that I have your attention, I'd like to talk about boobs. A recent cover of Time Magazine shows a woman breastfeeding her son and it's about time I chimed in on this. In general I try to keep my own opinions out of this blog, except when I mercilessly mocking something or someone. But this is too good to keep quiet on.
There has been a lot of debate over the past couple years about where breastfeeding is acceptable, with moms coming out in support of public breastfeeding. I personally disagree with this, and here's why. It's awkward for everybody. I'm not supposed to look, but there's a boob hanging out, how does my eye not get drawn to it? I understand that there's nothing sexual about it, but it seems analogous to me whipping out my right ball because I have a condition that requires me to air it out in public.
I'm all for breastfeeding. It's a natural thing that humans have been doing for thousands of years. I just think it's something that should be at least a little private. I'm willing to compromise by tossing a blanket over the aforementioned boob if it's a public place. But a full-on exposed boob with a baby on the end is not something I want to see unless I'm the baby, or the babies father. Now lets take a minute to examine the cover itself.
Let's start with the text. Are you mom enough? The way it's written combined with the picture implies that if you don't breastfeed your child their whole life, you're a bad mom. My mom breastfed me (I think) but she stopped at an appropriate age. She also wasn't 21 when she had me. This cover impugns the mothering of millions of women who are helping their children grow up instead of keeping them, literally, at their breast.
Now for the picture itself. Do you like the dead yet smug look on the mothers face? Do you like how her face seems to say "Yeah I'm still breastfeeding my kid, that's why I'm better than you. Do you like my still perky breasts that don't require a bra? Well even if they did, I wouldn't wear one cause it'll keep my little angel from his favorite meal".
Then there's the kid. He looks like he shaved before taking the photo. Seriously, how old is this kid? The cover says he's 3, which in my mind is too old to be breastfeeding. Once the kid can walk, it's time he walked his ass to the fridge if he wants milk. When I look at the kid in this picture I can't help but be reminded of this:

Or maybe this:

What is going to happen to this kid? Is she trying to train a future Norman Bates? I think the extreme feelings of attachment are coming from the mom more than the kid. If anything, it's going to stunt the kids mental and emotional growth. He will forever be insanely attached to his mom, going so far as to keep her skeleton in a rocking chair in the basement.
So to any mothers out there, stop breastfeeding your kid in public and especially stop once they are out of diapers and can walk.

No comments:

Post a Comment