Some paparazzi took pictures of actress Maggie Gyllenhaal breastfeeding her child in public. Somehow I missed this, when the “scandalous” photos were taken a couple weeks ago. They are posted all over the place at entertainment blogs. I thought I would pick out a few choice comments from sexist pigs for your reading (dis)pleasure.<\/p>\n
Here are some comments from A Socialite’s Life<\/a><\/p>\n Here’s one from Conrad:<\/p>\n I am sure plenty of women find this beautiful, but thats a beauty that needs to be shared between mother and child in a quiet, discreet location. She had to know 1 million plus ASL readers would be viewing this spectacle. I never had much of an opinion of her, but now I know she’s an animal. It reminds of that childhood question – “what’s grosser than gross…”<\/p>\n Another from What Betheny said:<\/p>\n Gross. I like her, but this picture is gross. There are more private ways to breastfeed your baby in this country. We’re not living in Africa. I can’t stand the self-righteous breastfeeding moms who just show absolutely everything without thinking for one minute that just maybe not everyone is comfortable with seeing their body parts and their child sucking off of them. It’s a personal bond between you and your baby, so make if personal.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Now here is the good news: most people on the thread were supportive (at least the last time I read the comments a week ago).<\/p>\n Then, you have this site<\/a>, where they put up a not safe for work warning and blurred out her breast (But apparently the pictures in this post are A-OK<\/a>). Here are a few of the comments (out of 490+).<\/p>\n From eva:<\/p>\n hmmm… imo if you want to breastfeed in public, pump your tits at home, bottle it, and feed them that way.<\/p>\n From combustion8:<\/p>\n shes so ugly… look at that puppy sag.<\/p>\n From Frenchie:<\/p>\n Ewww…not good. She could have covered up a bit with a blanket. I know it’s a natural act but that is pretty tacky. Her tit hanging all over the place is not natural. She should be more conscientious of not offending the general public by being more subtle.<\/p>\n From Rebecca:<\/p>\n Discusting! I’ve seen women do that before but at least they had the decency to cover their breasts. What a freakin peasant! Yes breastfeeding is natural but so is urinating and defecating, does this mean we’ll catch people doing that in public too? This is what I call no self-respect. (Gee where has Rachel heard this one before<\/a>.)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n I couldn’t bare to read through all of the comments. This thread had many breastfeeding defenders even though it wasn’t quite as pro-breastfeeding as the other thread.<\/p>\n The fact that this was covered as a controversy reflects anti-breastfeeding attitudes. A few sites treated it as such, and I found a few that put disclaimers admonishing people to behave. A Hollywood actress is feeding her child in a public place should be a non-issue, and I even hesitated to post this. However, people do need to be reminded that many anti-breastfeeding attitudes are puritanical, sexist, and unhealthy. I think the number of commenters who feel the need to personally attack Gyllenhaal commenting on her appearance, her sexuality, and her morality (or supposed lack there of) is indicative of why breastfeeding is such an important feminist issue.<\/p>\n Shout Out to Jennifer at Black Breastfeeding Blog<\/a>!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Some paparazzi took pictures of actress Maggie Gyllenhaal breastfeeding her child in public. Somehow I missed this, when the “scandalous” photos were taken a couple weeks ago. They are posted all over the place at entertainment blogs. I thought I … Continue reading