WEEK 2: Women’s Amazing Bodies: How they work, and what happens when they don’t.
This week’s lecture focused on the amazing capabilities of women’s bodies and their functions. Therefore, since it is currently World Breastfeeding Week (August 1 – August 7) I want to focus on the issue of breastfeeding in public.
Why do we still have an issue with breasts in 2017?
I think one of the main reason behind this is society’s perception of ‘decency’, and that people see breasts more of a sexual thing than what it is. It appears as though breasts are only acceptable when they are sexualised in some form. So, when breasts are used for its function, it suddenly becomes an outrageous thing to see and suddenly we get these men and even women shaming women who are breastfeeding for doing a perfectly natural thing.
In my culture, it is perfectly acceptable to breastfeed in public and nobody complains or shame these women for doing so because to us breasts are seen as more of a thing for feeding babies than something sexual. So, to come from that society to this one which makes breastfeeding in public a big issue is, for a lack of better words, strange to me.
It is ridiculous that in order to not offend people, women who are breastfeeding are told to cover up or stay at home.
It seems that people are forgetting why women are breastfeeding in public. They are not breastfeeding as an excuse to show their breasts to everyone. They certainly do not do so to evoke any sexual response of any kind. It is simply to feed their hungry children.
WEEK 2: Women’s Amazing Bodies: How they work, and what happens when they don’t.
This week’s lecture focused on the amazing capabilities of women’s bodies and their functions. Therefore, since it is currently World Breastfeeding Week (August 1 – August 7) I want to focus on the issue of breastfeeding in public.
Why do we still have an issue with breasts in 2017?
I think one of the main reason behind this is society’s perception of ‘decency’, and that people see breasts more of a sexual thing than what it is. It appears as though breasts are only acceptable when they are sexualised in some form. So, when breasts are used for its function, it suddenly becomes an outrageous thing to see and suddenly we get these men and even women shaming women who are breastfeeding for doing a perfectly natural thing.
In my culture, it is perfectly acceptable to breastfeed in public and nobody complains or shame these women for doing so because to us breasts are seen as more of a thing for feeding babies than something sexual. So, to come from that society to this one which makes breastfeeding in public a big issue is, for a lack of better words, strange to me.
It is ridiculous that in order to not offend people, women who are breastfeeding are told to cover up or stay at home.
It seems that people are forgetting why women are breastfeeding in public. They are not breastfeeding as an excuse to show their breasts to everyone. They certainly do not do so to evoke any sexual response of any kind. It is simply to feed their hungry children.
As simple as that.