Breast Feeding is excellent for humanity
The world is so misogynistic I feel like my head is going to explode. Women in the Western world may not be as subjugated as Middle Eastern women but they are not free to be themselves either.
Take nursing mothers for instance. Does it not gall you that nursing mothers have to go into a restroom to nourish their infants? People don’t eat in restrooms. Restrooms are for urinating and defecating. How did feeding babies come to be relegated to the restroom? It’s because of the disturbance breasts cause to the sensibilities of modern society. (Of course there’s my own theory about how that came to be, but we’ll leave that for later). Breasts are for nourishing infant humans and responding to sexual stimulation. Breasts are sublime! But breasts are so confounding to society that even the process of assigning them a category is obscure; apparently breasts are sometimes considered to be organs and sometimes considered to be a “distinctive region of skin and subcutaneous tissue”*1. However on researching which category cow’s udders are assigned, there seems no doubt about their categorization as “organ”. Why the disparity of categorizing breasts and udders? My theory is that men traditionally have felt destabilized by women, and since it was men who defined and determined traditional teachings, things of a womanly nature were undermined and often even demeaned. They’ve been demeaned because men are scared of breasts — they are too wonderful, too powerful for men to not be over-dazzled. These messages of disparagement have filtered through and lodged themselves deeply and loudly into a woman’s psyche making them feel self-conscious about natural mothering while in the company of others. Unfortunately women have unconsciously absorbed these messages and allowed others to define their prohibitions.
Underlying all societal structures is the fact that laws and social codes have been formulated by men almost exclusively. I say “almost” because it’s only of recent history that women have been allowed to vote, let alone hold office. They didn’t write scripture. Even today, in our technological age, the percentage of men in all spheres of power, overwhelmingly outnumber women. The ratio of women to men is still lopsided. I mention the following as a “disclaimer” to reveal to the reader my point of reference, a point which seems markedly different from prevailing thought. And it is this: men still call the shots and women must be aware of this as it infiltrates much of our daily living. It has to be exposed now instead of remaining unmentioned and under the covers. Women have to realize that often the fault is not with them but with the wrong-mindedness that is a legacy of all matters from the past having been designed, dominated and ruled solely from the perspective of males only. It is neither mens’ nor womens’ fault anymore but it is up to each gender to cast off the afflictions of the past and acclaim new freedoms for both genders.
Inhibition
We’ve heard news stories about women discarding their inhibitions to nurse their babies while in restaurants and other public places and the fracas that can cause. But why should mothers seek a “discreet” location away from prying eyes in an effort to not pique the sensibilities of possible onlookers? What message does this send, to mothers and to that sponge of information at her breast? What does it say to young boys and girls when breasts are hidden while in the process of their function for nourishing and then splashed gaudily across the media while in the process of their ornamentation? We must remember that the young are watching and learning.
There is much confusion over breasts and not just in the categorizing of them. Breasts are powerful because they are irresistible. This power has traditionally been systemically curbed lest women recognize their special advantage. Men by nature are competitive and fear the power of breasts because it puts them at a competitive disadvantage. Men have over centuries dominated the earth and passed down a code of decency designed to dishearten women’s natural tendencies, in a sort of “keep them in their place” credo. That then lessens the competitive edge for them. This “raining on the parade” of beautiful womanliness is as pervasive as gravity and goes just as unnoticed. Mothers, being the peaceful creatures that they are, often succumb to this externally-constructed albatross.
But it is time now to compose another message to society, one that says mother and baby in the act of breast feeding is one of the healthiest and most cherishing acts that humans can engage in. Not only does breastfeeding pass on crucial antibodies to the child’s newly-independent immune system, but as an early experience, it builds the human bonding necessary for a healthy psychological foundation throughout life. It must of course always be a woman’s choice whether to breastfeed or not — a healthy baby grows best when its mother is happy. Women must feel free to breastfeed wherever they happen to be — and a restaurant is a perfect place to do this because it is where people go to eat. Why should anyone be offended by a baby being fed naturally? And those who are offended by it, why should their code of decency be the one to triumph? It is surely more offensive watching nursing mothers having to hide and scurry to restrooms in order to pander to someone’s distorted sense of decency than simply seeing them happily feeding their child.
It is especially galling to hear women up in arms over women who do breastfeed their babies openly and without shame. What are these women, sadomasochists? They prefer to see their own gender — and hence themselves — condescendingly made to feel that their natural inclinations are obscene and must be concealed? It is important that women support each other if they are to live up to their intrinsic merit as the caregivers and nurturers of newly minted people. This boils down to a willingness to come to the aid of women who need moral and logistic support in openly breastfeeding their infants in public if the mother so desires. Sometimes even a friendly smile can help a lot. And when obstructionists try to make a federal case out of public breastfeeding, accusing mothers of offending their sense of propriety, women especially, must firmly come to the defense of the mother.
We have moved far from our natural inclinations which have proved successful over millions of years of evolution. Breastfeeding has been tried and tested in the natural world and it has passed the test of survival. Some of our societal norms get in the way of that function and we don’t want to discover after the fact, that we have made major mistakes by ignoring them. We must place the healthy development of a new human’s early neural circuitry above the misplaced aversion of irritable, sexually-distorted people. More appropriate would be to make pathways lined with rose petals for mothers in our society who take on the role of nurturing those early seedlings of beauty and genius, despite the sniggering of society. We ought to treat them with the exaltation they deserve for bringing in the next generation of healthy and happy humans. The happiness and confidence of mothers must be of utmost value. The ripple effect of that happiness cannot be overstated.
