f1rstlife

Und was denkst du?

  • Startseite
  • Über uns
    • Redaktion
    • Stiftung
      • Machen Sie mit!
      • Spenden Sie!
  • Mitmachen
  • Newsletter
  • Spenden
  • Kontakt
  • Workshops
  • Engagement
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Religion
  • Unterwegs
  • Meine Zukunft
  • Politik
  • Job & Geld
  • Kultur
  • Liebe & Sexualität
Aktuelle Seite: Startseite / Politik / Chin up, chest out!

Chin up, chest out!

2. Januar 2015 von Ehemaliger Autor Kommentar verfassen

At Claridge’s, a luxury London hotel at the beginning of December: Lou Burns, a young mother is sitting in the café and starts breastfeeding her young daughter. Nothing that special you might think. But what follows is a huge discussion and debate on how young mothers should be treated in public and whether breastfeeding is a social nightmare or one of the most natural things in the world.

chest_out_katharina_becker-jpg
Lou Burns breastfeeding her baby Isadora. © twitter

Mrs. Burns is breastfeeding her daughter Isadora, as a staff member of Clardige’s requests her to cover her baby and her chest with a napkin, because it might cause offence to other guests. Burns is totally upset and cannot understand all the fuss. Later, she gives vent to her anger on twitter. The young mother tweets a picture as she breastfeeds her baby and writes: „so much more obvious with it than without!“ The ball gets rolling and many people, not only women and mothers, show their sympathy for Lou Burns. According to the „Equality Act 2010“ it is illegal to discriminate against breastfeeding mothers in the UK. Fortunately the hotel apologised to Mrs. Burns. So what are the reasons for being offended by breastfeeding? And most importantly, who is actually offended?

Embarrassed?

In summer of 2013 the poet Hollie McNish uploaded a video called „Embarrassed“ on her YouTube account and finally spoke about the elephant in the room. McNish is a mother as well and shares her experience regarding breastfeeding in public. She writes: “ But after six months of her life sat sitting on lids, sipping on milk, nostrils sniffing on piss, trying not to bang her head on toilet roll dispensers, I wonder whether these public loo feeds offend her.“ McNish used to fed her little baby in public toilets in order not to offend anybody. Furthermore she writes: „It took me eight weeks to get the confidence to go into town. Now the comments around me cut like a knife as I rush into toilet cubicles feeling nothing like nice.“ Everybody can imagine a public toilet and also the uncomfortable feeling you get when you are in this invidious situation. Anyway, it creates by no means the atmosphere you wish for while breastfeeding your baby. McNish complains about the effect that breastfeeding obviously has on some people and she cannot understand the reasons why. So this brings up the question of who actually is offended? The people in a café for example or the mother and her baby? Is it not totally degrading if a young mother has to feed her baby in a public toilet just because some people feel importuned? If it is the fact of seeing the uncovered breast, McNish argues that you see uncovered breasts everywhere, whether in the media, on TV or in commercials. So how far have we come that a natural thing as breastfeeding offends some people?

Formula milk

The alternative to breastfeeding is apparently formula milk. But as McNish says, why should young mothers pay for something that has always been free? So we are not talking about the women who just prefer to use bottles, but about the women who use bottles, because they are too ashamed and embarrassed of breastfeeding their baby. It is well-known that breastfeeding is healthier than formula milk, although feeding formula is the best alternative. Breastfeeding a baby helps to prevent allergies and defends against infections and provides natural antibodies for instance. Hollie McNish ends her poem by putting it in a nutshell: „Because in this country of billboards, covered in tits, I think we should try to get used to this.“

 

You don´t understand a few words? Now you might know them better:
to breastfeed – when a woman breastfeeds, she feeds her baby with milk from her breasts
to request – the action of asking for something formally and politely
napkin – a piece of cloth or paper used at meals for protecting your clothes and cleaning your lips and fingers
to cause offence – Ärgernis erregen
fuss – unnecessary excitement, worry or activity
to give vent to one’s anger – seinem Ärger Luft machen
embarrassed – shy, awkward or ashamed, especially in a social situation
degrading – treating somebody as if they have no value
importuned – to ask somebody for something many times and in a way that is annoying


Hat Dir der Artikel gefallen? Dann hilf uns, gute Inhalte und jungen Journalismus zu unterstützen!
  • Bio
  • Latest Posts
Ehemaliger Autor

Ehemaliger Autor

Die Wege führen weiter. Nicht jeder schreibt ein Leben lang für f1rstlife. Trotzdem sind viele Inhalte zu schade, um einfach vergessen zu werden. Deshalb gibt es hier alle Beiträge unserer ehemaligen Autoren zu lesen.
Ehemaliger Autor

Latest posts by Ehemaliger Autor (see all)

  • Wissenswertes zur Kurzarbeit während der Pandemie - 10. März 2021
  • CBD: Hilfe bei Stress und Depressionen - 9. März 2021
  • Top Fintech-Prognosen für 2021 von Finanzexperten - 22. Februar 2021
  • Trump und Corona: Alleine in die Krise - 14. April 2020
  • Seoul bei Nacht – Teil 2 - 1. November 2019
Twittern
Pin
Teilen6
6 Shares

Verwandte Artikel

  • Malu Dreyer: Die Ministerpräsidentin von Rheinland-Pfalz im Gespräch
  • Kirche in bester pluralistischer Gesellschaft
  • Fortune favours the brave
Twittern
Pin
Teilen6
6 Shares

Kategorie: Politik Stichworte: Baby, breastfeeding, Lou Burns, Stillen

Newsletter

Ehemaliger Autor

Über Ehemaliger Autor

Die Wege führen weiter. Nicht jeder schreibt ein Leben lang für f1rstlife. Trotzdem sind viele Inhalte zu schade, um einfach vergessen zu werden. Deshalb gibt es hier alle Beiträge unserer ehemaligen Autoren zu lesen.

Schreibe einen Kommentar Antworten abbrechen

Deine E-Mail-Adresse wird nicht veröffentlicht. Erforderliche Felder sind mit * markiert.

Über uns

firstlife-Redaktion
Gutes bewegen in der Realität. [Weiterlesen]

Newsletter

Jetzt unseren Newsletter abonnieren
Unser Newsletter enthält Informationen zu unseren Produkten, Angeboten, Aktionen und unserem Verein. Hinweise zum Datenschutz, Widerruf, Protokollierung sowie der von der Einwilligung umfassten Erfolgsmessung, erhalten Sie in unserer Datenschutzerklärung.

Folge uns

Facebook

Like

Instagram

Follow

Twitter

Follow

Home | Über uns | Redaktion | Mitmachen | Die Stiftung | Kontakt | Impressum | Datenschutz