Breastfeeding Moms "Nurse-In" at 100+ Target Stores
Thursday, December 29, 2011 In November, Michelle Hickman was harassed and humiliated by Target staff for breastfeeding her baby in one of their stores in Houston, Texas. Yesterday, breastfeeding moms across the United States (and even a few in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada), headed out to Target stores for a nurse-in. In the end, there were moms at more than 100 different Target locations and the participation ranged from one mom and baby pair, all the way up to 40+ moms with babies. Some were nursing one baby, some were tandem nursing an infant and a toddler, and some were former nursing moms or partners of nursing moms who came out to support them.
Here is a video that I put together with photos from some of the nurse-in locations set to music from Moorea Malatt's "Whip It Out: Songs for Breastfeeding".
Here are some pictures of some of my blogging friends at the nurse-ins. On the left is Heather from The Bee In Your Bonnet tandem nursing and on the right is Amanda from Mommies Are Light nursing her newborn.
Was the nurse-in a success? That depends. It did bring out a lot of moms and babies and got a lot of media coverage about the rights of breastfeeding mothers. That is certainly positive. However, Target's breastfeeding policy still leaves a lot to be desired. In particular, the requirement for moms to be "discreet" (Why? By whose definition? What about the not-so-discreet pictures of women in their underwear hanging up in the stores?), when we know that whether and how much to cover should be up to each mom. Read Heather's great post on the problems with the policy for more detail. Also, Target still hasn't apologized directly to Hickman for the treatment that she received.
Ultimately, I think that we need more moms and babies breastfeeding in public, including at Target, every single day. We also need more moms breastfeeding on television, in movies, in magazines, and on websites. Once that happens, breastfeeding in public won't be a big deal or something that people need to be educated about, because it will simply be regarded as normal.
Congratulations to all the Target Nurse-In moms for taking a stand and being part of the positive normalization of breastfeeding.
P.S. To those who are wondering what happened to the Carnival of Toddlers, it will be continuing soon with posts on sleep, discipline, fun and more.
Reader Comments (58)
Hi Annie,
Would I be able to post your video (crediting and linking you, of course) on my blog as part of a post about the nurse-in? I attended my local one but was all alone and had no one to take a good pic to post.
If breasts are sexual, than what about mouths and hands? Hmm, sucking on a nipple during sex seems less dirty/gross than oral foreplay or whatever the imagination can do with hands. I say, people better cover up their mouths and hands in public! Get those immodest body parts away from my innocent children! Eat in the bathroom! So no, this is not about exposing flesh, but about exposing specific flesh, which means she is sexualizing/objectifying the breasts of females.
Breasts are at the most a secondary, erogenous aspect to sexual foreplay. They do not play a necessary or absolute part in conception. Some women do not even want their breasts touched during sexual behaviors.
But let's look at some other parts of the body.
The mouth is frequently used for sexual purposes. The mouth is used for kissing, for genital stimulation and even oral sex. No one covers their mouths in public, at least in this country. Most people use their mouths during any pre-sexual or sexual encounter.
The hands are frequently used for sexual purposes. Hands are used to caress, for stimulation and even for digital sex. No one covers their hands in public, at least in this country. Most people use their hands during any pre-sexual or sexual encounter. In fact, hands are arguably a necessary part of most sexual behaviors, as it would be exceedingly difficult to perform sex acts without them.
So I find it amusing that a woman wants to stop other women from a non-sexual use of their body part: breastfeeding. But is not consistent in other areas. I say, cover up your nasty, obscene mouths, sucking on genitals, then talking to my children in broad daylight? Disgusting! Doing who knows what with your dirty hands, then shaking my daughter's hand or rubbing my son's head? Absolutely offensive. Cover up. Stop being immodest.
Stop being hypocrites and deal with your own issues. Leave others alone to care for their children.""
(and of course, I hope everyone knows I am being tongue in cheek here. I have no issue with the concept of our bodies performing multiple purposes).
ALSO..
Women should cover up their bottles when they are feeding their babies...
I wasn't exposed to bottle-feeding much growing up and seeing it makes me very uncomfortable. I mean if you think about it, a bottle is a substitute for the breast, and since breasts are sexual, doesn't that make a bottle kind of like a dildo?! Eww, gross.
When I see a mom bottle-feeding, I don't know where to look. I can't look directly at the bottle or the baby because the idea of feeding a baby formula makes me sick to my stomach. It's just gross. And the way babies sound when they eat??? They slurp and suck and dribble formula everywhere! It's just nasty and it *smells*! I shouldn't have to see that! And what about my young son? How am I supposed to explain to him why a woman is bottle-feeding? I mean, he's too young to understand how different parts of the body function. It's going to be hard to explain to him that women actually choose not to nurse, or can't for one reason or another. It'll probably upset him to know that lots of babies don't get "nurse-nurse" like he does. I don't want to have to deal with him being emotionally scarred by seeing bottles. And imagine the therapy bills I'll have to pay for when he's older!
So bottle-feeding moms should either go into a bathroom, re-lactate so they can use their breasts in public, or cover up with a blanket. Sure, I know the excuses....bathrooms are dirty and no one should have to eat in there. But women could still re-lactate. Oh, yeah I know how hard it would be, but ya know, we DO have nice pumps available nowadays. She could get a good supply going for the sole purpose of feeding in public. If she would just use her breasts, we wouldn't have to see those indecent bottles all the time. And if she has a hard time re-lactating, she could always just cover up with a blanket when she has to use a bottle. Oh I know some babies aren't comfortable under a blanket. Re-breathing their own carbon dioxide for 20+ minutes must come at a price, but who cares? At least I wouldn't have to see bottles.
And if a woman doesn't want to go through all that trouble, she could just schedule outings around the baby's feedings. A bottle-fed baby only has to eat, what? Every 3-4 hours? She can just bottle-feed at home, go out, and rush back with a screaming baby if he needs to eat sooner than the schedule allows.
I'll admit that I'm uncomfortable with bottle-feeding in public. And as an American, I have a right to not have to be exposed to that sort of thing. Women should be aware of everyone else and accomodating to all others. After all, our right not to be offended is more important than a baby's right to eat, right?
response to a critical reply:
"I turned it around so people could see how ridiculus is is for ANY woman to hide to feed her child. It sounds a bit ridiculous when I say women should cover up their bottles, huh? I hope it makes you think."
Disclaimer...
Ok, so forgive me for assuming people would see the sarcasm in the post below. I don't *actually* think women should cover up their bottles. I used all the arguments against nursing in public and turned them around to bottle-feeders in an attempt to show people just how idiotic it is to ask women to hide while feeding their baby.
The point is, breasts are not lewd or indecent. If you see a little nipple, get over it. Breasts are for feeding babies, first and foremost. The day you hide your bottles is the day I hide my breasts.
Also...
I realize the dildo reference may make some people's jaws drop in disbelief, but that was possibly the most important part of the post. It seems the main reason people freak out about nursing in public is because breasts are also sexual, therefore should be covered all the times. Well, a nipple on a bottle was designed to replace the original thing, just like a dildo is meant to replace a penis. Sorry, but it's true. If it sounds outlandish to you, then maybe you should reconsider just how sexual the breast is. It's not sexual to feed a child at the breast any more than it is to feed a child with a bottle.
IF (and that's a big "if") nursing WERE sexual, then I would assume people would have the same reaction to a bottle as they would to a dildo. But they don't. It's something to think about anyways.
Awesome. Absolutely awesome.
[...] had mixed reactions to the amazing national Target Nurse-In. Some argue that events like that help people get used to the sight of nursing moms, others argue [...]
No, you ARE asking us to give up our rights, plain and simple. I have the right to be in public. If I can't breastfeed in public, that means I can't go out.
Bring a bottle, you say? I have had 4 babies, and NONE of them would take a bottle from me. Not one.
Here in British Columbia, it is against the law for ANYONE to ask a breastfeeding mother to stop, leave, move or cover up in any place she has the legal right to be. Here, Target would be paying an enormous fine for this.
P.S. I think anyone who would harass a mother BFing her baby has no common decency and consideration. NONE.
PPS. Well, considering women died in Afghanistan for showing their ankles or going out in public -- yes, we ARE Rosa Parks for women oppressed in other parts of the wold.
[...] month ago tomorrow, women gathered in over one hundred Target stores to stage a nurse-in in solidarity with Michelle Hickman, the Texas mama who faced breastfeeding discrimination when [...]
[...] are left up. Just like Target’s recent nurse-in, moms are standing up for their rights to breastfeed in public, and they should. People need to see breastfeeding as something that is normal, natural and best [...]
Way to go mommies! I love the video and the message it wants to deliver to the world. I'm sure all mommies can relate to this. It's not easy to care for a child but being a mom I believe is the most noble and fulfilling job a woman can have.
Jamie
www.nursing360.com