Victoria's Secret Nurse-in

Disclaimer: I'm a guy and I can't help but make "nudge, nudge, wink, wink, say no more" type comments whenever we pass a Victoria's Secret store. It simply blows my mind that someone working at Victoria's Secret -- inventor of the WonderBra! -- would think that a customer might find a woman's breast offensive. I mean, after all, pretty much everyone in there is either planning to show off their breasts or is hoping to see some, right?

Well, on June 21, Rebecca Cook of Quincy, Massachusetts was at a Victoria's Secret when her daughter wanted to nurse. She first tried to use a dressing room, but none were available. She asked to sit out of the way so she could nurse, but was told by an employee that she was not allowed to and would have to use a bathroom. She did eventually get access to a dressing room, but employees stood outside talking loudly about getting customers in and out of the dressing rooms quickly, so she left, still nursing her baby.

When she called to complain to a manager, she was told -- and here is the most incredible part of all this -- that the she had been asked "to nurse in the restroom because the sight of her breasts might offend a customer." Remember, this wasn't the Vatican gift shop, it was Victoria's Secret, inventor of the WonderBra!As if that weren't enough, Jesse Chandler visited another Victoria's Secret store on June 22 intending to feed her daughter and do some shopping. When she asked to use a changing room, she was instead directed to a bathroom outside the store. When she refused to nurse in the bathroom, she was told that "it was unsanitary for her to nurse in the dressing room because people change in them." Unsanitary for the baby? More so than a bathroom? Or for the customers coming in to try on those WonderBras?

Admittedly, when Mrs. Chandler called to complain, the manager apologized. Upon hearing of Mrs. Cook's experience, she called the corporate office and was told that these were isolated incidents and that she would be sent a letter of apology.

These incidents, however, highlighted the need for state and federal protection for nursing mothers. As the press release points out, "The federal government has invested a lot of time and money into advertising about breastfeeding being the best nutrition for babies... ...we have to protect and educate; protect a mother's right to nurse in public, and educate those that work with the public on the proper way to handle nursing in public and those that might complain about it."

With this in mind, the pair are organizing a nurse-in at all Victoria's Secret stores, Saturday, July 1 at 1pm. (Yes, that's tomorrow -- sorry for the late notice, but we just got the tip.) The Nurse-in is not about Victoria's Secret enforcing their policies, but about raising awareness and getting laws on the books to make sure babies can nurse whereever they want. If you're a nursing mother, show up and make a statement that the rights of mothers -- and babies -- need to be protected legally, not just by corporate policy.

Update: Turns out I'm not the expert on women's underwear y'all thought I was. The Wonderbra was not invented by Victoria's Secret, but by a Canadian woman in 1964; it was not introduced to the US until thirty years later.