Attention starved elementary schoolers aren't the only people getting in a huff over mothers breast feeding in public. Recently a Michigan woman was breastfeeding her baby in a courtroom when the judge allegedly called her out on her "inappropriate" behavior. In her Breasts chapter, Rosemarie Garland-Thomas talks about the controversies surrounding public breast feeding. She thinks that perhaps those in opposition of the practice are motivated by their wanting to protect potential starers. Stares in these circumstances are provoked by the maternal breast appearing where starers expect the sexualized breast to be. "The social violation that provokes most anxiety, then, may not be breast feeding in public but rather staring at it" (p. 143). Perhaps the Michigan judge wanted the breast feeding mother to cease and desist not as a way of denouncing the act of breast feeding, but as a way of controlling the practice of staring in his courtroom. The mother being the person eliciting both the stares and aversions of his courtroom may have imposed on his power.
Back in that Discovery Zone birthday room, I was the judge. Like the other kids in the room, I felt the magnetism of what I was seeing and it made me terribly anxious, even ashamed. I could feel what I understood to be my curiosity getting the best of me. At that point I, and many of my peers, did not understand the erotic breast nor the maternal breast. So, the act of breastfeeding elicited curiosity for a multitude of reasons. It was a mix of shame and confusion that fueled my post-presents frenzy. The fascination that the breast feeding elicited was at odds with what I knew about being a good kid. In that moment there were so many questions I wanted answered. Particularly, why was this such a magnetic sight?
I am surprised that "anatomy" classes/texts hasn't cited the female body as magical, considering the things it can do. Breasts can feed babies! What! This is a bewildering thought, since humans are so visually driven, and so much is technologically done, seeing a child being breast fed is a rare occurrence. Staring is a part of our human impulses, and yet staring at a child being breast fed is considered rude; I wonder if its because nipples are so taboo/sexual? There is nothing inherently wrong with staring or breasts, but thinking makes it so. Society makes it so.
ReplyDeleteI too remember seeing a woman breast feeding in a public area once and feeling guilty for having seen what I considered a personal moment. Since so much of my upbringing included "close your legs, make sure your shirt doesn't ride too low", I assumed exposing your "bits" is a bad thing, hence, breastfeeding is bad. This ideology causes anxiety. Staring is almost required when we see something we never expected. It's a magnetic sight because it is so personal.
Should breastfeeding be taboo?
Is it possible to de-sexualize/personalize breasts?
First off, I just wanted to mention that while I was reading the chapter on Breasts in Staring I was reminded of an episode of "What Would You Do?" on ABC that I had seen a while back. "What Would You Do?" is a hidden camera show that tries to discern how individiduals out in public spaces respond to witnessing certain scenes. In one particular episode they had an actress dining in a cafe start to breastfeed her baby that induces the owner of the restaurant to berate her and tell her to stop. I found the link to this part of the episode posted on youtube here:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWihxpKTaJo
I too have felt uncomfortable at the sight of breastfeeding women. I automatically turn my head because I feel like I'd be invading their privacy by looking at them. So breastfeeding can be a anxiety ridden experience for other people. But does that justify the rebukes women are getting because of their choice to feed their children in public? I think not.
Garland-Thomas was absolutely spot-on when she claimed that maternal breasts are supposed to be "hidden breasts" in today's society (142). Breasts have become too sexualized and considered as being there was the viewing pleasure of others [i.e. men]. By thinking it is acceptable to simply ask a woman to retire to a private area (like the bathroom) or to stop altogether what she is doing shows that the belief people have is that they have a certain control over the breasts of others. The issue of breastfeeding in public comes up in order to "protect the starers from the lure of starees" (142). Women that expose their breasts for any reason, even to feed their child, are thought to be either desiring attention or at least knowledgeable that they are going to elicit staring. Thus the people that complain that women shouldn't breast feed their babies in public want "to be shielded from...own impulse to stare" (143).
But why do people feel uncomfortable with breastage exposure? Is it because we are merely told that breasts are to be covered and nipples hidden? Cause breasts are sexual objects that should only come out in private instances? Are people really afraid of becoming sexually aroused by the sight of a breastfeeding woman?