I read a blog post yesterday written by Jason Good. The post was his take on the recent TIME Magazine cover of the spandex-clad mother nursing her young camo-clad child who is standing on a chair. I had heard about the cover, but up to that point I hadn't seen it for myself. Jason's blog prompted me to Google the magazine cover. (I liked Jason's perspective, by the way) In my mind the magazine cover would have perhaps a shadowy profile of the woman's face with her baby tenderly nursing close to her, and the baby's face wouldn't be very visible, either. So, as you can imagine when I saw this cover the shock value was pretty high! And... I LOVED IT!!!
Regardless of all the reasons why I loved this cover, the main reason is because creates a conversation about breastfeeding. For attempting to be such a progressive country, we are very behind with regard to the very first human need: feeding our children.
I am not a member of La Leche League, but I do empathize with their mission, which is "to help mothers worldwide to breastfeed through mother-to-mother support, encouragement, information, and education, and to promote a better understanding of breastfeeding as an important element in the healthy development of the baby and mother." I believe that many of us shy away from the subject because we are unsure of where "the line" is for appropriateness. I'll say this: you are the only one who knows your own intentions. However, some people want others to believe they have good intentions, but their regular behavior says otherwise. If you are a person who truly has good intentions, that will be evident, and people won't feel as uncomfortable having conversations with you that can be awkward at times. It's kind of like going to visit the "lady doctor". I wouldn't feel comfortable if Howard Stern was my gynecologist because he just seems inappropriate. Now, I don't truly know his intentions, because I'm not living in his brain, but I do know the way he behaves on his show and I just wouldn't trust him anywhere near my vulnerable naked lower-half. At the same time, I have a male doctor (who is a fabulous doctor!), and I feel that he is not a weirdo and that this is just his job to him.
All that to ask the question: What do you believe to be the intentions of the mother on the cover of the recent TIME Magazine? My best friend and I had a conversation about it yesterday, and she brought up some good points. I think I brought up some good points, too, but that's just my opinion and neither here nor there.
Signing off.
BkB
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jason-good/dad-opinion-time-cover_b_1510352.html?ref=comedy&ir=Comedy
First of all, it was done to sell magazines. It was made deliberately outrageous. It worked. Next, I feel like this has also set that little boy up to be harassed for the rest of his life. They didn't need to dress her so "sexy" and if it is supposed to be about bonding, why are they looking directly at the camera?
ReplyDeleteAttachment parenting doesn't necessarily mean nursing until 4, either, so it was just for shock value.
Feed your child however works for you and your child and move on. Do we really need another mother fight? No.