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Societal Views on Breastfeeding: Breastfeeding in Public and What Breasts Represent

Imagine that you have a vital force flowing through your body, placed there by a natural phenomenon. It is free of contaminants and flows uninterrupted in a subconscious process. It is enveloped by a protective layer and grows outward until it becomes the entirety of your body; a sacred vessel. It all started with that vital force - your milk. It is your power and it is your right to embody all that the milk represents. 


While the media interpretation of breastfeeding in the United States often pushes women to veil themselves in private spaces or under the cover of a blanket or shawl, it is not represented like that in many countries around the world.


Although there are a plethora of reasons that this is the case - from oversexualizing breasts to assuming the predisposed behavior in the role of a mother - it is important to recognize that the United States’ method of thinking about breastfeeding is certainly not the only way to view breastfeeding.


In fact, I would advocate that thinking of breasts as a powerful necessity first and foremost are healthier for the mom, baby, and society as a whole. 



Let’s take a moment to think about nourishment. Not only are eating, drinking, and exercising done in public, it is often encouraged. Sharing a meal with a friend or your family can allow you the opportunity to eat slower and enjoy the abundance of a harvest that is offered before you. Eating with others honors that abundance in some cultures. In other cultures, it is simply a way to enjoy the company of others. 


Exercising in public allows others to admire your tenacity and physique, allowing you to get fresh air and oftentimes be in nature in the process. Exercising with a friend helps you keep to your fitness goals and feel united in something. 


Now, we should apply that same modality of thinking to breastfeeding. Milk is a free form of abundance that nourishes your baby’s need for hunger, comfort, and health. Moreover it bonds your child with you, creating a mother-baby unit that allows for a shared experience. There is a hidden gift in that unity, oftentimes strengthening a bond that will grow over the course of many years. 


Going back to the example of exercising to create an optimal physique along with health, breasts can be viewed in the same light. Breasts are sexual - and that is not a bad thing. It becomes an issue when it is oversexualized. 


The sexuality of breasts stem from their ability to create milk. Being attracted to breasts means being attracted to the fertility of a woman and the ability to bear and nourish children. While fuller breasts do not indicate the amount of milk production (any size breasts may produce any amount of milk), fuller breasts may highlight the portion of a woman related to that nourishment. 


As another example, body curves are an aspect of femininity that is admired sexually, but it is admired on the basis that wider hips allow for an easier time child-bearing. 


It is an instinctual reaction to be attracted to attributes that relate to reproduction of the species. It is seen across a wide array of animals and far predates any media portrayal of breasts or modern-day oversexualization.


At the core, the physicality of the breasts point to nourishment. Breasts are mainly composed of fatty tissues which serve as a protective layer to the alveoli (cluster of cells where milk is created) and lactiferous ducts (ducts that carry milk from the alveoli to the nipple). The areola surrounding the nipple serves as a ‘bullseye’ for your newborn to know where to latch. The nipple itself truly releases milk out of your body and into your baby’s mouth. 



I am a firm believer that this form of sustenance and connection with your child does not have to be veiled or shielded. It is a natural form of nourishment and a natural bond that is not built for other people’s entertainment. 


Controversially, but accurately, when a woman is asked to cover up or go elsewhere to breastfeed, it is that person’s projected sexualization of the act of breastfeeding itself. This is where oversexualization of the breast comes into play. 


The reason that women are asked to leave or cover up is because people think it is a private act. Why? Because they think breasts in themselves are private. Once again, why? Because they relate it to sexual activity and nudity. 


Feeding your child is not a sexual act and should not be thought of as such. Your baby suckling for nourishment is not the same as your sexual partner performing foreplay. While this analogy is something I hesitate to write, it is necessary to write because so many people subconsciously relate the two. This may not be something they are aware of, but it is something that is influencing their outward approach toward breastfeeding.


A secondary reason that many may ask mothers to cover up or breastfeed elsewhere is because they believe mothers should be submissive. People perceived to be in power positions (whether that is due to race, career, or societal expectations) will oftentimes believe that their word should be the final word and believe that respect comes in the form of compliance. This is especially, but not exclusively, true to men. 


Some people also believe in the submission of women due to religion. While everyone’s view of what is appropriate is different, especially in religious contexts, it is your right to refuse to be submissive or bend to ideals that are not your own. 


Submission would be leaving the area or not breastfeeding when you want or need to because you others say that you ‘cannot’ or that it is immoral or gross. It is moral to feed your baby. And breastfeeding is not ‘gross’, but an awe-inspiring beauty. 


To mention the legalities associated with breastfeeding, know that you have civil rights. At least thirty-one states exempt breastfeeding from public indeceny laws and at least thirty states protect women at their place of work in regards to pumping breast milk. Many more states have specific laws regarding protection, distribution of milk, and services for breastfeeding mothers.


In California for example, the CIV 43.3, "gives women the right to breastfeed their child in a public place. This protection is needed since women breastfeeding in a public place may be asked to stop, leave or cover up, causing embarrassment and stigmatization. Embarrassment remains a barrier to breastfeeding." This information is available via the Department of Public Health.


In other words, in California, a business such as a restaurant cannot ask you to leave because of breastfeeding. You are also protected in hospitals, in the park, and while taking public transportation. Research your state's specific laws regarding protection for breastfeeding and mention them if you feel it impertinent and you are feeling confident if that situation ever rises. As a breastfeeding mother, you deserve advocacy and the ability to nurse your child in peace.



As an additional point, you cannot completely separate the breast from breastfeeding, just as it is difficult to separate the breast from infant feeding. While infant formula is not the only reason public breastfeeding is shunned upon, it can be a contributing factor. 


Infant formula has dwindled the number of mothers breastfeeding and their efforts to do so. While of course there are valid reasons for using infant formula, it is usually inadvisable to do so as the first option due to the risks of formula feeding and benefits of breastfeeding. However, that is not what the media and advertisements for infant formula companies portrays. 


When infant formula is popularized, it becomes an option for uneducated people to use it against mothers when they do not want them to breastfeed their baby in public. At the end of the day, it is the mother’s decision on whether she wishes to breastfeed or use infant formula.


Lastly, society as a whole would benefit from both the protection of breastfeeding policies and a changed mindset regarding what breastfeeding stands for. It may allow men to respect the fact that these mothers can do something incredible that they cannot do and realize where their thought patterns are coming from. It may allow breastfeeding women to find peace and encouragement. It may also help the baby have more successful outcomes when the mother is more relaxed and he can feed when he feels the need to.


As mentioned in the beginning of this article, the ability to breastfeed is sacred and the mothers that do are a sacred vessel. They deserve more than to succumb to the pressures and misunderstanding of their society. 


Mothers deserve the right to choose where and when they want to breastfeed. That may be in the presence of others, or it may not. They may choose to fully cover up with a blanket or they may choose to fully expose their breast. It is their choice and that choice is ultimately theirs to make alone.



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