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Forum nameOkay Activist Archives
Topic subjectwhy is this turning into an issue of
Topic URLhttp://board.okayplayer.com/okp.php?az=show_topic&forum=22&topic_id=8544&mesg_id=8617
8617, why is this turning into an issue of
Posted by knumskul, Wed Apr-03-02 06:10 AM
race/culture? Like, what race of women breastfeed more than the other? That's silly. C'mon now, yall. Yeah, there's a stigma attached and some folks are uncomfortable w/ breastfeeding but those folks come in all shades and from many different backgrounds.
I'm black and I nursed for one year exactly (little teeth and all). It wasn't a problem OR a question for me. We'd decided that nursing would be best so we did what we had to FOR THE BABY. I worked in the evenings for 5 hours per day until my son was 4 months old. His dad worked 8 hours but he worked them around us. We were lucky, somewhat. The pump was futile because most nipples choked my son or he got frustrated w/ them and would cry. He wanted the real deal.

I know MANY black women who nursed as well...w/out a problem. I also know some who looked at me funny and felt uncomfortable around me whenever I nursed but I chalked that up to ignorance, them being uncomfortable with their bodies, laziness, etc.
Ignorance is not just a black thing. Neither is laziness. Right?

>in the us breastfeeding in public
>is illegal (except maybe in
>ny?)

where'd you get this info? I should be in the slammer if this is true. Maybe it's legal in California too? Iono, I just can't see it being illegal and women NOT be in an uproar over it.

>babies
>eat a lot of milk
>at frequent intervals, and oftentimes
>it's a huge inconvenience not
>to be able to breastfeed
>where u are

Exactly. which is why I can't see breastfeeding being illegal. How can it be illegal to nurse/feed your child when they're hungry? Maybe they want us to use those little "mommy & me" bathrooms in the malls instead of the bench all out in the open? What about bus riding mommies? They can't nurse on the busstop?

>also personally, i choose not to
>breastfeed publicly because of the
>attitude the people around me
>take toward breasts. my baby
>likes to spend much of
>her time looking around, which
>makes for a lot of
>exposure time. i am completely
>comfortable being exposed in front
>of comfortable people, but don't
>wanna bare my goods in
>front of people with adolescent
>attitudes

I feel you here. But I could give a damn about those people. Yep, they were around me too but my baby wasn't going to go hungry because of some silly folks feeling uncomfortable. That's not to say that I had my boob all exposed or anything (unless I was around family :-). and even some of them were sheepish). My point is, eff those folks. feed your baby. I did and some of those fuddy-duddy people ended up asking me questions about how to nurse their babies later on down the road. They got over it.

>so i could maybe get away
>with illegally breastfeeding, but i
>choose not to in these
>surroundings

And that's fine, too. the choice is yours. But on a sidenote, I'm sensing frustration from you regarding cultural differences, etc. (remember the black folks and marriage thing? ) It's really none of my business but I don't remember you ever posting this way. You seemed to be such an open minded person and all. *shrug