Wednesday, July 27, 2011

To Cover or Not to Cover?

There's this HUGE controversy over on a blog I read because a mother posted a pic of her breast-feeding baby as a contest submission. I don't normally speak out on the issue for my own mixed feelings, and I started to comment with my feelings only to realize it was better suited for a blog. So while no one will read this, here we go ;)

"I didn't notice anything until everyone started going on about it, and you shouldn't BECAUSE it's natural. I take pics like this for myself to remember. I don't post them anywhere because I don't want someone I can't even see ogling me & turning what isn't normally INTO something sexual, but she gets to if she is not so self-conscious. I HATE that I am & wasn't one bit in the beginning (this is my third). My hospital experience made me feel it was natural. It was jerks who changed that for me. If you want us to inconvenience our children because you're immature, then make us more private places where it doesn't matter. We shouldn't have to have our kids scream in hunger for a long time before we can find a proper place (or get stuck in dirty bathrooms- which is more likely!), resort to bottle-feeding when we don't want to, or subject summer babies to the heat of having to be covered to eat because of absolute strangers who can't keep their eyes & opinions to themselves. Breast-feeding can be difficult for many mothers enough as it is! My child would have never seen a bottle if a) he didn't have complications that kept him away from me in the hospital & b) my step-daughters would actually be educated about the process by someone a lot closer to them(I am too scared to take on that role when I don't feel allowed to take on any other maternal sort of role & as a result tend to hide what I am doing to stave off their curiosity/questions). As for those who REALLY feel ONLY babies & loveys should be in pics, extend censorship to pacifiers, bottles & any equipment/effects that would remove focus on the objects in question as well!"