Lactivists Give Delta a Piece of Their Minds

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Thursday, November 16, 2006

I wrote yesterday about the New Mexico mother that was removed from a flight for refusing to cover up with a blanket while nursing her daughter during boarding. I shared the letter that I wrote to Delta and Freedom Airlines to express my feelings about the incident. Thankfully, some moms in Burlington (where the incident happened) took it upon themselves to let their actions speak louder than their words yesterday.

From the Burlington Free Press:

About 30 mothers and fathers — and dozens of their young children — gathered in front of the Delta Air Lines check-in desk at Burlington International Airport this morning, staging a "nurse-in" to say they were upset that a woman was kicked off a plane for breast-feeding.

The incident has also sparked comments from all over the web. Here are a few of my favorites...

MamaMidwife included this observation in her letter to Delta...

If your flight attendants had a problem with the sight of a nursing mother then perhaps it is they who should have covered their head with a blanket, or simply looked away.

Cranky Mama makes her points with just the right amount of snarky humor...

Take a moment to think about that. A woman. Kicked off a plane. For feeding her child. Why should that sentence be any different with the word “breast” in it?

And if it’s a breast issue, what exactly do we intend to do about women in low-cut blouses? Are they given blankets? (I’m entertained to no end by this idea, but that’s neither here nor there.) Even the most eagle-eyed fellow passenger, craning his or her neck to ogle the breastfeeding mother, can see no more exposed breast than is visible in your average tank top.

Jennine at "My Ovaries Made me Do It" has some good insight as well...

It is the new taboo in our society to utilize our breasts for anything other than the socially acceptable peep show geared towards men's (and maybe Rosie O'Donnell's) viewing pleasure.

Amy at BlogSchmog hits on one of my favorite points about this whole stupid "you are offending me" line of thinking.

If you’re bothered, look away. I find golf clothes bothersome and distracting. I don’t get to tell people not to wear them though.

And finally, the award for the biggest leap in logic goes to "Curious George" who posted alongside the article in the Burlington Free Press...

...if we teach our little children that some body parts are private, and our actions show otherwise, we send a very confusing message to our children. If your little girl sees YOU doing something it tells her it is OK to do it. Get the picture? Your action could inadvertently tempt a predator or worse because your child thinks it's okay to bare the chest.

Yep, you read that right folks. Women breastfeeding in public will teach little girls to expose their breasts to others which then leaves them open to being molested by a pedophile.

That same poster went on to say:

Do you want your husband to be forced to look at other women's breasts?

Isn't it funny how one nursing mom can exercise her amazing super powers to force a man's head to lock into position with his eyes burning holes in her chest? I always thought husbands could look anywhere they wanted...including AWAY from other women's breasts...silly me.

Anyone else feel like beating their head against the wall?

Labels: Lactivism, Nursing in Public

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