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Public Breastfeeding Is Natural. Why Is This Still A Debate?

Breasts are sexualised at every turn. They bounce up and down reality television shows and pageants (granted, more often than not, the ones we see don't move), adorn magazine covers, sell lingerie to make bedroom fantasies come true and yet are still publicly rejected, shamed, and bullied when openly exposed in their most natural of states. I often wonder how we made it to the overly advertised earth of the 21st century and still can't publicly display our babies' favourite place to grab a quick snack.
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West New York, NJ
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West New York, NJ

This has been a remarkable month for breastfeeding Mamas. Just two weeks ago I wrote an open letter in the Huffington Post entitled 'Pink nursing her son is everything that is right with the world' to the singer who shared an instagram photo boobing her baby.

Then a few days later, Queensland Senator Larissa Waters made headlines by breastfeeding her baby girl Alia Joy during a vote in Australian Parliament.

The fact that either of these incidents incite media buzz highlights that naturalizing public perception of breastfeeding has a long schlep ahead.

Never mind the invisible comment trolls defaming Mama Waters' public display of infant mealtime as 'disgusting', when America just voted for a 'leader of the free world' who as recently as 2011 testified in court that he shares the same sentiment. (Trump was in court testifying in a deposition over a failed Florida real estate project when lawyer Elizabeth Beck asked to take a break to breastfeed her three-month old daughter.

The property mogul and his team objected, so she pulled out her breast pump to prove it. In an incident that Trump "does not dispute", he walked out of the room, telling Beck she was "disgusting."

Why does the clock on women's rights continue to spin backwards? How in a world where my generation of freshly minted mothers does not feel empowered, safe, or supported in pulling the covers off baby snack breaks, am I supposed to raise a daughter or son who will embrace their future bodies and selves with dignity and respect?

I often wonder how we made it to the overly advertised earth of the 21st century and still can't publicly display our babies' favourite place to grab a quick snack.

Breasts are sexualised at every turn. They bounce up and down reality television shows and pageants (granted, more often than not, the ones we see don't move), adorn magazine covers, sell lingerie to make bedroom fantasies come true and yet are still publicly rejected, shamed, and bullied when openly exposed in their most natural of states.

94 weeks, 658 days, 15,792 hours, 947,520 minutes and 56,851,200 seconds into nursing my baby girl I feel it's time we desert the fluorescent lit nursing closets, discard the feeding tents and normalize evolution's most beloved meal time in the world.

If bats do it upside down and whales do it under water why can't I do it anywhere and way I want?

Personally, I like to do it dancing, in bed, in the ocean, in cafes, while I cook, while I write, while I bus, and yes I often do it on the toilet. Bring on the parkour and I promise you there are not many places us mamas and babies can't do it. How does 'in public' still rub many the wrong way? It's time society accepts and embraces mamas' incredibly milky super power while withholding unsolicited judgement.

The cavewomen had this one right so I'm with them as I step out of the cave of darkness and dance into the sunshine of open sky feeds, one lactating boob flaunt at a time.

Here's to hoping you're with me.

Happy Mother's Day!

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