Breastfeeding Art Banned In Lubbock, Texas.
In Lubbock, Texas, artist Lahib Jaddo found her exhibit banned from a city owned building. The Buddy Holly Center has long had a policy of ?no nudes? in any of the art that was displayed, but this recent controversy has found the town scrambling to rethink it?s stance on the art shown there.
http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=4079181&page=1
As a mother who has nursed all four of her children, I found this story to be quite interesting. Many times I have nursed in public, though I used a thin blanket to cover myself and give my baby a bit of privacy. When I had my first child, in 1994, there were no areas in public restrooms that offered a place for women to nurse their babies. So often I have had to find an empty stall just to nurse in if I wanted to do so with a bit of quiet.
Even after the introduction of nursing areas, many public stores still did not have them with my younger children. Once an employee noticed I had walked into the restroom nearly twenty minutes before and came to ?check? on me. I had made myself comfortable in a corner the best I could, as all of the stalls were taken. Instead of offering me a chair or perhaps a seat in the employee break room, I was told to ?hurry up, I looked silly on the floor.?
You had better believe the manager received an earful, later on.
My youngest child is now fifteen months old and weaned. I still become irritated when I read of the hurdles women face when they want to pump breast milk at work or nurse their babies in a public area. Then, to bring the banning of such a lovingly crafted drawing into the mix, it is nearly unfathomable. Is the glimpse of a breast really that harmful? Especially when it is a glimpse of a mother feeding her child, not some sexually flagrant act of exposure?
Perhaps the towns, buildings, and other businesses should do a little more research into the world view on breastfeeding before taking such a stance.
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MrsH says...
The problem is that in the U.S. most people view nudity as something sexual. This is not the case in other parts of the world. The breasts in the U.S. is a sex object, period, and people cannot make the distinction that it is also a source of nutrition. Then again, so many are ignorant to the facts surrounding breastfeeding.
More power to the nursing mothers!
momof2babes says...
I ran into the same problems you did while I was breastfeeding my daughter. I had to breastfeed her in an unairconditioned bathroom stall once – talk about miserable for both me and my daughter! I didn’t realize that there are so few places designated for breastfeeding in public stores, etc. until I was a breastfeeding mother myself. I agree that things DEFINITELY need to change!