Breastfeeding moms protest at H&M
Categories: Newborns, Just for moms, Babies, Eating & nutrition, In the news
Last week, a group of breastfeeding mothers and their supporters gathered in an H&M clothing store in downtown Vancouver for a nurse-in. The protest was prompted by the experience of Manuela Valle, who recently attempted to breastfeed her two-week-old child in that store, only to be told that she could not. The store clerk told Valle it was their policy to prevent customers from being offended and suggested that Valle feed her baby in a special fitting room, out of the sight of others. Valle was not happy. "I told them I would publicly campaign against their policy because it is wrong and discriminatory. It punished me for breastfeeding by putting me in seclusion and thus confirmed the idea that public breastfeeding is offensive and shameful."
Valle kept her word and on Thursday, a group of women, children and fathers packed the store to draw attention to the situation. One of the organizers of the event, Veronica Polanska, says the protest wasn't specifically aimed at H&M, but at any business that would suggest that nursing a child in public is shameful and should be hidden.
"It's about every business, whether it's an airline or whether it's a restaurant, whether it's a pool ... it doesn't matter where it happens, it's not acceptable.
Considering that an estimated 90 to 95 percent of Canadian mothers breastfeed their babies, it is no wonder that the issue has been officially addressed by the British Columbia Human Rights Commission. In 2000, they issued a policy and procedure manual that says public facilities are to accommodate lactating women and specifies that mothers are allowed to breastfeed or express milk in public places.
I guess it is going to take a more than a policy and procedure manual to convince certain people that breastfeeding is not sexual, offensive or in any way inappropriate. Just what will it take?
Valle kept her word and on Thursday, a group of women, children and fathers packed the store to draw attention to the situation. One of the organizers of the event, Veronica Polanska, says the protest wasn't specifically aimed at H&M, but at any business that would suggest that nursing a child in public is shameful and should be hidden.
"It's about every business, whether it's an airline or whether it's a restaurant, whether it's a pool ... it doesn't matter where it happens, it's not acceptable.
Considering that an estimated 90 to 95 percent of Canadian mothers breastfeed their babies, it is no wonder that the issue has been officially addressed by the British Columbia Human Rights Commission. In 2000, they issued a policy and procedure manual that says public facilities are to accommodate lactating women and specifies that mothers are allowed to breastfeed or express milk in public places.
I guess it is going to take a more than a policy and procedure manual to convince certain people that breastfeeding is not sexual, offensive or in any way inappropriate. Just what will it take?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Jill 8-11-2008 @ 5:06PM
I am a mom who chose not to breastfeed. When I take my baby out shopping, I finish my transactions in a store, go and find a place to sit, and mix up a bottle for my hungry baby. Just because a woman can whip out a boob at will DOESN'T MEAN SHE SHOULD! I have found that most babies, bottle- or breast-fed, prefer a quiet place to feed. Doing it while on the go, while sometimes necessary, doesn't mean it should be done JUST BECAUSE you can.
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Sheri 8-11-2008 @ 5:42PM
you're ignorant
Jackie 8-12-2008 @ 11:08AM
I agree with Jill.
Lucia 9-29-2008 @ 6:59AM
To Jill, Cali and alike minded "humans", it is in fact terribly painful to face the truth that people like you are atall given the Bless from God.. to actually give birth. No words could possibly describe how horrendous the magnitude of yourmalicious thoughts about the DIVINE gift of give to a mammal offspringthe first and most simbolic and sacrate of all benefits. May God andHim only forgive people like you and all your supporters.
R.I.P. when you are finally gone Lucia
sandi 8-11-2008 @ 5:08PM
"To the pure, all is pure." Shame on the PERVERTS who think breastfeeding should be kept in the shadows! There is nothing so beautiful as a mother feeding her child, the way God intended he be fed!
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irishal93 8-11-2008 @ 5:11PM
i think that H&M had every right to ask her to go to a dressing room. I think its disturbing to watch a mom pull down her shirt and watch her child suck on it. I go to clothing stores to buy clothing to cover up so I dont have to walk around naked the mother should not be walking around naked either. Use a bathroom or go to a dressing room were you can sit and be more comfortable and not everyone has to see youre boobs!
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Sheri 8-11-2008 @ 5:50PM
you don't like to see boobs, then don't look at them when a mother is feeding her baby...they dont have to cover up, the baby's mouth covers most of the breast anyway. most mothers i know put a diaper or blanket over their breast. some mothers are discreet, others aren't so discreet. society has made the breasts a sexual symbol, toys for men. but God made them to feed babies. anyway, the problem is in YOUR mind. AND, showing a little breast is NOT being NAKED. get real....
Sheri 8-11-2008 @ 5:49PM
and, good for you..that's what you choose to do...so do it...
but for those mothers who would like to feed right then and there, well, you're right, its because they CAN....breastfeeding is natural. nothing wrong with it. its what breasts were made for. so grow up, Jill....you have your opinion and your choices, don't condemn those mothers who are feeding their babies the way God intended.
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Lilly 8-16-2008 @ 10:02PM
you say that the baby's mouth covers most of the breast...if that's true then that's a REALLY big baby,all they cover is the nipple and I for one want the whole thing covered up and put away. I respect your personal space by keeping myself covered and I expect you to do the same. It's quite simple actually.Something I learned to do as a small child.
renee 8-11-2008 @ 6:11PM
Prime example of how petty women and their causes have become in this country. There are about a hundred more important issues these women cold focus on and instead of campaigning for battered women or equal rights they are stomping their little feet about this. Score for the Women's Movement.
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jen 8-11-2008 @ 6:44PM
it seems to me that the men who have a problem with women breast-feeding in public, are the same men who don't seem to have a problem with "mild" nudity or extreme cleavage. only when it isn't for their viewing pleasure. and the women who have a problem with it seem to be the ones who chose NOT to breast-feed... guilt, maybe?? as previously stated, the problem seems to be in the brain-washed-by-society mind of the individual who, maybe, unknowingly is identifying it as nudity or sexual. there are countries in latin america and africa where women don't even wear anything to cover their breasts and it's perfectly normal and most certainly not viewed as sexual or inappropriate. seems to me like the problem is OUR culture. and to the individual who identified the breast-feeding "movement" as petty - feeding a child, an infant no less, should never be considered petty. definitely not anymore so than taking a toddler to mcdonald's.
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Karen 8-11-2008 @ 8:34PM
Well, I breastfed both of my children for a year each. I fed them in public when it was convenient for THEM.
However, unlike these women who insist on whipping out a boob because it is natural, I had enough respect for others than I was discreet, took advantage of privacy when available or offered.
It isn't a nudity issue. Quite frankly, I'd go topless all the time if it was acceptable in our society. It is a COMMON COURTESY issue.
Yes, breast is best, but a lot of breast-feeding moms come off as militant lunatics without the slightest bit of common courtesy for those that are uncomfortable.
I'm not offended by the above picture, but I also think it was unnecessary to use that image. You know that some people freak out, so why not be courteous AND feed your child.
Why does it have to be one way or the other? H&M had every right as a business to protect its business. I think offering a dressing room and privacy is a reasonable accommodation that should satisfy all parties. And it would if the breast feeding nutjobs weren't so irrational.
tricia 8-12-2008 @ 10:30AM
amen! I was a breastfeeding mother for all the right reasons... the health of my baby and i never did it in public because of rude people. there for i started to feel like i was stuck at home(sucks) when you are on a two hour feeding time frame. I feel if you dont like it dont look. very easy!! and yes why is it ok for mom to feed bottles or fast food any place they see fit? I would rather see breastfeeding than a two year old eating mcdonalds. and no this is not a petty problem and if you think it is you my friend are a sad excuse for a human. good day!
cali 8-17-2008 @ 4:00AM
karen.... thank you for explaining what i have been trying to say on these boards for so long. we don't care if you breastfeed your child. that's your torture, i mean choice. we DO CARE when it's out in public. either cover up or get a room.
you know how uncomfortable it is to be around a couple that are making out? like really badly to the point where they're almost having sex? public breast feeding is like that. you can say don't look, but like bad car accidents, it just happens. as a common courtesy to others, cover up or get a room. we don't want to see your boobs, we don't want our boyfriends/husbands to see your boobs and we sure as hell don't want our kids to see them.
and YES IT IS A PETTY PROBLEM! you say you are being discriminated against because you can't take your tits out in public. it would be so much better for "feminists" (lesbians) to feel so strongly about honor killings, where the men can kill the women just over this very thing. or discrimination in the workplace, various forms of abuse. but no, those things happen everyday no big deal. but WE MUST SHOW OUR BOOBS TO ALL MANKIND!
yeah, real mature.
mar 8-16-2008 @ 7:58PM
GUILT is definately a factor, especially if someone CHOOSES to NOT breastfeed. Why would you CHOOSE NOT to give your baby the BEST FOOD????? Anything else is INFERIOR and NOT ACCEPTABLE. Get over your complex. There are only 2 ways to feed a baby. The left side and the right side. PERIOD!!!!!!
rebecca Biernesser 8-16-2008 @ 9:51PM
I would think as women and fellow moms, that you would support any mom that is trying her best to raise healthy well behave children.
I"m sure that guilt is some of the reason that some moms complain...wouldn't you be feeling guilty if you wanted very badly to breastfeed and could not? BUT FOR THE MOST CASE, it's not women with children that have complained....it's men, women without children, older people that were taught a certain way that complain.
Feeding a child in public is about common courtnesy, whether you are bottle feeding or breast feeding....And you should have enough respect for yourself and the place you are at.
For the most part, moms feed their children and most people do not know they are feeding their children and how they are feeding their children.
But i would say for stores and resturants, it might be best if you gave classes in regards to mothers and feeding their children. AND provide a nice comfortable CLEAN (did i say CLEAN) place for women (and men) to changer diapers, feed their children, etc....You would be surprise at how busy your stores would become...
CLM 8-11-2008 @ 8:23PM
We seem to have forgotten we are mammals and breasts are teats. Anyone who is offended by public breastfeeding needs to go talk to their grandparents or go look at some "old-time" pictures. It really was not considered a big deal. And really, you do have control over your eyes. If you don't want to view breastfeeding in public, then stop looking.
Oh, and as to the "it's an unimportant right" argument relative to to domestic battery, etc. Not true - it's right there on the continuum of the objectification of women. Think about it, something as natural as breastfeeding is seen as abnormal because breasts are for men (i.e., for sex). It's all about ownership, and it has been a millennium (or longer) fight for women to be recognized as persons.
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Rosslynn Carpenter 8-11-2008 @ 9:18PM
Ok heres the thing.....Just because we as women can breastfeed where and when we want to does not mean that we should. It is about common courtesy. I could care less if you want to whip out your tit and feed your kid, all I ask is that you cover up. The baby does not need to be exposed to all of the noise and attention that goes along with breastfeeding in public. I breast fed and bottle fed each of my daughters and I know from experience that they perferred to eat in a calming quiet area. There are numerous establishments that offer areas for breastfeeding moms. This has nothing to do with sex or discrimination and for all of you that think it does you are just plain dumb.....just because you have a certain rights does not mean you must excersice those rights. And to those people who would stage a sit in way to go (sarcasim) lets not worry about things that really matter, ie poverty, abuse, homelessness, plunging economy, hunger, education, health care, war, murder......you know little things......lets worry and make issue with the ability to whip your tit out where and when you want because you are to freakin lazy to find a quiet place to take care of your child.
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Captain Obvious 8-11-2008 @ 11:14PM
I think the proper response to this is to just stare at the mom that whips out the breast in public. And, we can use the same reasoning - i.e. it's "natural" for a man to stare at a boob. If enough of us stare, I think they'll be a little more discreet.
Huzzah!
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Lilly 8-16-2008 @ 9:59PM
I totally agree with that!