knitster wrote:Well none of my babies tolerated blankets being over their heads. They just thrashed around and ripped them off and I usually ended up flashing people in the process. However, I (always!) have a camisole on under my shirt, which covers my back and belly, then I pull my shirt down so that it covers everything from the baby's mouth up to my neck, so there is literally not one inch of flesh showing. I don't feel the need to use a blanket to cover because, at that point, the only thing it would cover would be the baby's head, and what's the point in that?
I'm forced to have conversations with my kids all the time that I don't want to have. Yesterday a neighbor kid called another kid "gay wad" and I had to discuss hate speech with my 9 and 5 year old. A few weeks ago we drove by a bill board with a half naked woman on it and I had to discuss that with my 5 year old who asked why people want to look at woman in her underwear. It happens. It's life. I can't keep my kids in a bubble and by putting them out there in the world, I'm guaranteed that they will hear or see things that force me to talk to them about subjects that I'd rather not discuss at that time. And I will never understand why people think that kids shouldn't know about breastfeeding. I don't get it - at all. Why should a child not know that women - like every other mammal - produce milk for their young? It's not sexual, it's biological.
You are making an attempt at covering, that's completely different than those whom I've seen who literally just pull it out and flash the world (and sometimes with children who are way too old to be breastfeeding, but that's a whole other topic).
And yes, I realize that forced conversations happen all the time and I feel that in the case of other children forcing those conversations onto you are the case of bad parenting. The problem with not covering while breastfeeding and that conversation being forced on someone is that too many people view it as sexual. I realize it's not and it shouldn't be, but for too many people in this world, it becomes a sexual conversation. And honestly, sometimes it'll forced to be a sexual conversation because of the world we live in. They probably have a lot less problems with this kinda thing in other countries where sex isn't a bad word.
PatchOBlack wrote:I am not arguing that breast-feeding isn't a "natural process". It is. However, it is irrelevant, as there are several other "natural processes" that the law does not allow one to engage in in public normally. That the mother is not attempting something sexual in nature is, also, irrelevant. Many nudist would also say that being sans clothing should not be taken as being something sexual in nature. They are still subject to laws dealing with indecent exposure.
It is all well and good to talk about the virtues of breast-feeding, and how it is a wonderful act of a mother with a long historical tradition. However, while I don't think there should be anything like a ban on it, I think the laws that were quoted go too far in there attempt to protect breast-feeding mothers. For example, I do believe a business has a right to ask a breast-feeding mother to be considerate of their other customers and be discrete when feeding their child. If it is a question of it being difficult to find places where one can breast-feed a child while out-and-about, perhaps we need to have laws similar to ones that require that businesses of a certain size provide certain facilities such as bathrooms.
I don't think a person who is uncomfortable with someone public breast-feeding is necessarily a "prude", any more than the mother should be labeled an "exhibitionist".
I think that you've hit the nail right on the head. And I think the level of discretion with it does vary depending on the place you're at.