“The StarPhoenix used ‘Mother-In’ in the headline’!”
About 70 mothers and children attended the event, prompted by a blog post in which NewsTalk 650 producer Tammy Robert commented on a politician’s choice to breastfeed during a press conference. Her entry, entitled Children and the Places They Don’t Belong, created lots of debate after it was posted last week. In it, she criticized Saskatchewan Green party Leader Amber Jones’s decision to include her six-month-old daughter in a media event.
The tolerant left strikes again. In response to Tammy Roberts’ criticism that a baby has no place as a political prop, 35 women arrived with 35 props to protest on her employers’ doorstep.
“I am mammal, hear me roar”.
What else can you say about a woman who would show up for a breast feeding solidarity march, other than that life must be pretty damned dismal if you have to resort to digging about inside your bra to find a sense of importance.
Men, on the other hand, sometimes dig about inside their shorts to find a sense of importance. Many, however, find very little. Like Warren Kinsella, obviously, who appears hellbent on compensating for his unfortunate shortcoming…
years ago in a similar event, lady said that breast feeding is NATURAL, my friend said “yes it is, but this isn’t Africa!” Priceless come back, just not politicaly correct.
let it all hang out.
“It is an attitude that conveys the idea that women should be barefoot, pregnant and in the kitchen”
well, er, no, oh shrill one, it is not. It is an attitude that it is best for the CHILD if breastfeeding said child is done in a quiet, private place. Not in the middle of a press conference.
Personally, I don’t mind the public display of female nipples any more than I mind the public display of male nipples. (Sure, I’d much rather see female ones, but to each his own…)
I say, if men can walk around with nipples exposed, so can women.
If the baby’s hungry, by the way, I believe it actually might be better to let the little one have his lunch naturally than to let him go hungry and cry loudly. Which is more disruptive? I think it’s easier to ignore a woman and baby engaged in lunchtime stuff than it is to ignore piercing cries…
Ain’t a left/right thing, far as I’m concerned.
I say don’t worry about breastfeeding.
What would you rather put up with, breastfeeding or naked “gay” men walking down the street, fellating one another, jackin’ off, self-sodomizing right there on the street at high noon?
Would we rather see breastfeeding or would we rather happen upon something like the “Folsom Street Fair” in San Francisco?
http://www.zombietime.com/folsom_sf_2007_part_1/
Take your pick as to which you’d rather have imposed onto your field of view.
What else can you say about a woman who would show up for a breast feeding solidarity march, other than that life must be pretty damned dismal if you have to resort to digging about inside your bra to find a sense of importance.
It also doesn’t say much about your tits if you have to attach a baby to it,in public,to draw attention to them. Heh
And hey. Shouldn’t the brat be in some Libber/Dipper/Greenie sponsored day-care gulag anyway?
“Would we rather see breastfeeding or would we rather happen upon something like the “Folsom Street Fair” in San Francisco?”
I guess my answer to a question like that is: Do we have to have either one?
This even reminds me of a recent event when I was meandering around the grocery store and met up with a woman a number of times displaying similar behaviour.
I realize that sometimes there are special circumstances that take place that can’t be avoided, but I think in a lot of circumstances the women that engage in public breast feeding are just being hill billy about it. To do this at a media event is extreme hill billy. But if people want to engage in this kind of behaviour, it only displays their true inner character, no new rules would be required to prevent it. All I can say is have some class you morons!
In my opinion, confrontations over breast feeding in public are not about what is best for the child, nor are they about respect for women or for maternity. They are about the woman’s desire to be the center of attention and to exercise power over others. They are ego-driven, purely and simply.
“… if you have to resort to digging about inside your bra to find a sense of importance.”
Quote of the week right there, Kate. Thanks for the morning laugh. 🙂
tempest in a tea pot…my wife breast fed in restaurants if the baba needed feeding…what’s the ‘frickin’ big deal ?
I’m on Jones side on this one….lot’s of assumptions going on. Tammy Robert sounds like an angry feminist (maybe that is an assumption on my part).I don’t know if Jones was discreet, Roberts seems offended by the act of breastfeeding, and doesn’t detail that it was a display of breasts.
Breastfeeding is not ‘a display of tits in public’
I breast fed whenever the baby indicated it was time…at church, the mall, or friends house, even the local fair…when she was in the ‘cutest baby’ contest. My clothing always allowed for a comfortable positioning of the baby and most of the time no one knew.There was always a soft blanket on hand. I never ‘displayed’ myself in public.
At a time when feminists are standing up for the ‘rights’ of the sex trade workers and Judy Sgro makes it easy for strippers to get work in Canada real women should be able to feed their babies without being compared to a stripper.
Prostitution and stripping make girls into sex objects. Breastfeeding is nurturing.
I’d like to know how Roberts ‘reports’ on gay pride parades.
I agree with RSP,
I would go further and say this is the female/feminist equivalent of making us all dhimmis.
They demand, they impose, and we become a little more subservient.
They act as if they are above our rules, untouchable, unaccountable, and we become a little more subservient…
Friend of USA, I also agree with you and RSP. By the way thanks for the tip about the series “Carrier”. I hope you’re enjoying it as much as I am.
Let’s not forget, when their mouths are full they’re not crying.
One makes a choice to go to a gay festival, but has no choice if some idiot woman wants to expose herself in public. Discretion is needed.
Wasn’t there a law passed many years ago allowing women to go bare chested in public. Remember lots of media coverage, women showing up etc, but funny, don’t see too many women doing it.
This is a case of just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.
Tammy’s post wasn’t even about breastfeeding, per se. It’s the tits who showed up to protest who insisted on making it so.
“years ago in a similar event, lady said that breast feeding is NATURAL”
So is taking a dump.
Well, it will be a moot point once Islam takes over and women won’t be allowed out of the house anyway.
Babies have to be fed. Both my boys were breast fed and my wife fed them in public if she had to, but with a little bit of discretion nobody even notices. There really is not need to make an issue of it by mom, or the public.
Usless tits says it all.
For many underachievers, breeding is the easy way for them to get the attention they so crave . . . “Oh what a cute baby”.
Then after months of diapers and crap, of burbs and messes, these breeders realize they are still underachievers, that people still ignore them and focus on the baby and it becomes too much for them.
Any chance to lash out and prove how important they are, even for a few moments and using cheap props like nipples & slurping lips, is considered a victory.
It must be a sad sight when, after the demonstration, they return home and find their lives are as pathetic as the before, they are just a little more bitter about it.
Thanks for the Mammaries.
Discretness and humility are virtues missing in a society of Madonnas , Britannys and lactation events.
Use of child as political prop at news conference, very bad taste. Use of breast feeding as political prop at news conference, -extremely- bad taste.
Flash crowd of 35 “useless tits” shows up at radio station to “protest” (read intimidate) radio host for saying so, Lefty politics as usual.
Which is why Lefties piss me off, frankly. They’re a bunch of lying, scheming cowardly bullies. Male, female makes no difference.
Several points here: (and no pun intended)
1. “… if you have to resort to digging about inside your bra to find a sense of importance.”
Great Quote of the week.
2. Breasts and breast feeding is natural, North American “culture” makes it a big deal and like some moms here have said: There is a time and place for everything.
3. Crass showboating by using a kid for political purposes is just that: Crass. I always cringe when I see the obligatory politician kissing a baby pic.
btw, when the breast feeding topic comes up, I can’t help but imagine Robert De Niro in the movie “Meet the Fockers”.
Watching a woman breast feed her child has never bothered me. Especially if she is pretty …
I know that nothing else makes my day more than busy bodies telling me how to raise my children. So much for taking the helmets off, eh Kate?
I am very pro-breastfeeding. My wife, who is VERY modest managed to do so in all sorts of public situations without making a spectacle of herself, or the baby.
The issue here is not breastfeeding, but using your baby as a political prop. At best, it is cheap political theater. More likely, it is the use of her breasts and her baby to distract people away from real issues. If she wants me to take her seriously as a politician, she has just failed.
Well….I’m a conservative and a social conservative to boot, and I think it’s obscene that nursing a baby is considered offensive, or has any sexual
connotations to it. I think women should be able to nurse their babies when and where they please and people should get over their silly puritanism.
Breastfeeding provides the best health benefits for both child and mother.
Maybe all the onslaught of peanut allergies etc. comes from babies getting fed formula too soon.
Deborah
Maybe we can call this scandal “TEETGATE”!
I don’t know, I reached into my bra and didn’t find anything of importance, so I took the dang thing off.
🙂
My wife breastfed all of our kids without making herself the object of attention.
The green pol was probably making a get back to nature statement.
When the child is 7 years old you should probably think about weening them off, as it is difficult to send them to school.
Maybe the pol was in a subtle way indicating that anyone who would vote for her was a sucker; literally.
On the other hand, perhaps she could have used the incident to draw attention to the link between not breastfeeding and cervical cancer, which would perhaps drawn attention to an important health connection.
….
Among both premenopausal and postmenopausal women, risk of breast cancer decrease with increasing duration of lifetime lactation experience although the effect was consistently stronger for premenopausal women.
Source: McTieman, A., “Evidence of Protective Effect of Lactation on Risk of Breast Cancer in Young Women.” American Journal of Epidemiology, 1986
After controlling for age at first full term pregnancy and other potentially compounding factors, parity and duration of breast feeding also had a strong influence on the risk of breast cancer. Compared with parous women who never breast fed, women who had breast fed for 25 months or more had a lower relative risk.
Source: Layde, P.M., “The Independent Associations of Parity Age at First full Term Pregnancy, and Duration of Breast Feeding with the Risk of Breast Cancer.” Journal of Clinical Epidemiol, 1989.
If women who do not breastfeed or who breastfed for less than 3 months were to do so for 4 to 12 months, breast cancer among parous premenopausal women could be reduce by 11%; if all women with children lactated for 24 months or longer, the incidence might be reduced by nearly 25%.
Source: Newcomb,P. etal. “Lactation and reduced risk of premenopausal breast cancer.” N Engl J Med 1994; 330(2):81-87.
Women who were breastfed as infants, even if only for a short time, showed an approximate 25% lower risk of developing premenopausal or postmenopausal breast cancer, compared to women who were bottle-fed as an infant.
Source: Freudenheim, J. “Exposure to breast milk in infancy and the risk of breast cancer.” Epidemiology 1994 5:324-331
An increasing duration of lactation was associated with a statistically significant trend toward a reduced risk of breast cancer.
Sources: Newcomb, P.A. et al. 1994 Lactation and a reduced risk of premenopausal breast cancer. The New England Journal of Medicine 330(2):81-87. (P Byers T, et al. Lactation and breast cancer: evidence for a negative association in premenopausal women. American Journal of Epidemiology Vol 121, pp664-74, 1985)
Siskind V, et al. Breast cancer and breastfeeding: results from and Australian case-control study. American Journal of Epidemiology, Vol 130, pp229-36, 1989
Uterine Cancer
A protective effect against uterine cancer was found for women who breastfeed.
Source: Brock, K.E., “Sexual, Reproductive, and Contraceptive Risk Factors for Carcinoma-in-Situ of the Uterine Cervix in Sidney. ” Medical Journal of Australia, 1989.
Ovarian Cancer
Breastfeeding should be added to the list of factors that decrease ovulatory age and thereby decrease the risk of ovarian cancer.
Source: Schneider, A.P. “Risk Factor for Ovarian Cancer. “New England Journal of Medicine, 1987
Endometrial Cancer
Lactation provides a hypoestrogenic effect with less stimulation of the endometrial lining. This event may offer a protective effect from endometrial cancer.
Source: Petterson B, et al. “Menstruation span- a time limited risk factor for endometrial carcinoma”. Acta Obstet Gyneocol Scand 1986;65:247-55
Cheers
Hans-Christian Georg Rupprecht BGS, PDP, CFP
Commander in Chief
Frankenstein Battalion
2nd Squadron: Ulanen-(Lancers) Regiment Großherzog Friedrich von Baden(Rheinisches) Nr.7(Saarbrucken)
Knecht Rupprecht Division
Hans Corps
1st Saint Nicolaas Army
Army Group “True North”
Photo prop and photo prop only. I pity the poor child. Breast pumps, while sometimes painful, are perfect for those times when Dad (or anyone else) can take over for a few minutes.
Tammy’s post wasn’t even about breastfeeding, per se. It’s the tits who showed up to protest who insisted on making it so.
================
EXACTLY!!!!!
That, plus the fact that environmentalists have to be good little Earth Mothers, and breastfeeding in public is an essential part of an Earth Mother’s persona. It’s green politics. Period.
Kevin – I hope you’ve read Karl’s post – the one right after yours.
I’ll remember the comments here the next time someone gives me a dirty look for adjusting my balls at the gym or during a baseball game.
It’s natural. I have to adjust them. Deal with it. The only difference are the props. Yours are cute and gurgly, mine are sweaty and… well, let’s just stop there.
I guess when everyone else stops eating in public I will have a little more patience with people who are offended by mothers feeding hungry babies. I am as conservative as anyone here, and I think that some of the comments here show that people ARE offended by public breast feeding. While I understand that isn’t the point Kate was making, it was the point of the protest. I respectfully disagree with Kate on this one. This isn’t about women being modest or inappropriate. It should be a non issue completely. That way, if women want to march in solidarity, it wouldn’t cause a commotion. It should be like people marching in support of BLTs. The fact that it is causing more comment than that is exactly thier point.
I have had allergies and digestive problems all my life partly because my puritan mother refused to breast feed me and I was fed cow milk from birth instead.
How do you make 3 pounds of fat look good?
You put a nipple on it!
‘Nuff said.
Good points, Louise. Consideration for appropriate behaviour in public has gone down the toilet.
Should women who work shift jobs like police officers, nurses, air traffic controllers or janitorial staff take their kids with them for on-the-job dairy fixes? I think not – the child would be a huge (and possibly dangerous) distraction which would affect proper execution of duties.
So then what is a politician really saying when she has a kid latched on while doing the job of “expressing” herself in front of the press on important public issues? How much does she really care about doing her job?
i have a true story to tell that brings together a disparate number of threads….kinda….
my wife was breastfeeding my youngest while we were at an all candidates meeting….it was kinsella’s parliamentary run at north vancouver….and mirabile dictu when kinsella was through dissembling my wife noticed her milk had curdled and the baba’s fontanel had assumed the shape of a swastika….!!!!
i’ve never forgotten that night …it were ‘orrible to witness the daemonic powers of a LLLiberal….
Lot of mixed messages in the comments.
“I’m no feminist but get your own damned coffee”
“Would we rather see breastfeeding or would we rather happen upon something like the “Folsom Street Fair” in San Francisco?”
How ’bout neither? While we’re at it, let’s discourage ‘saggin’ young men and women with their pants hanging to their knees and their ‘plumbers cracks’ showing.
The issue however is really NOT about ‘breast feeding’, it’s about the neediness and attention seeking of this particular mother.
How can I know this? Well, the fact that six of eight of her first sentences end with exclamation marks. It’s someone trying to impress us with the ‘importance’ of her social views.
Simple(ton).
“I am mammal, hear me roar”.
For this I give you 3 thumbs up as it appropriately addresses the so called issue that is an issue for some, but not so much for others. We should ask Borat for direction.
Some people just have too much time on their hands.
For me, I just don’t know why anyone would want to flop their titty out in public, but hey, I’m not them.
I don’t know what makes a guy and a gal think that swapping spit and tongues in public advances the common good, but hey, I’m not them.
I don’t know what drives the urges of one male to be all lickey on the neck of another male in public. But hey, I’m not them either.
When I ponder the human condition and it makes me want to go sh*t with the bears in the woods, I bet they don’t know what drives me either. But hey, they are not me.
Hugger
Gotta disagree, breastfeeding itself is not exhibitionist behaviour.
But let’s face it, lactating or not, under the breasts of all politicians beats the heart of showman(person). Her drama just happens to include using her baby as part of the set. This is worthy of an eye roll and a shrug not Layton style “outrage”
“tempest in a tea pot…my wife breast fed in restaurants if the baba needed feeding…what’s the ‘frickin’ big deal ?”
Hey John,
If you have to take a leak at the same restaurant, do you whip it out in the middle of the place and go in a pot? Polite people excuse themselves and go in private.
Bodily functions should not be public.
Breast-feeding is no different than going to the can and both should be held in private.
Early in my career as a studio photog in Saskatoon I had a mother and her eight-year-old child come in for a sitting.
After a bit of small talk the kid started whining at his mother in a manner of a kid much younger than he was.
In a instant she whips out her boob(aka,lemon in a nylon) and proceeds to breast feed him!
The kid was STANDING and breast feeding…shudder.
It’s outrage such as some of these comments that leads to the dreaded “Nanny” laws everyone but the Libs hate. To each his/her own. If the stupid thing wants to exploit HER child to promote HER agenda, as long as the child is not in danger, what’s the diff? How does it harm YOU? If it bothers you, don’t do it. But don’t take away another’s right to do it if they so choose.
For the record, I pumped for outings. Baby was happy, I didn’t have to find an “appropriate” place or risk offending anyone. But I might have chosen differently if I was told I *couldn’t* feed my child as I wished…
—
Lisa
And, Warwick? Unless you eat sh*t or drink p*ss, breastfeeding is hardly the same as “going to the can”…what a boob. *giggle*
I think the brilliant lesson we have learnt here is that Western women, unlike African women, are born with their clothes on.
Its a breast. Get over it. It is a body part. Like an ankle. Bare ankles in Saudi Arabia stir up quite the storm. Bare breasts in Canada apparently do the same. Same line of thinking, just a little more tolerant.
Canada – Land of tolerant mullahs.Like the one below.
“They are about the woman’s desire to be the center of attention and to exercise power over others. They are ego-driven, purely and simply.”
Taken out of context, you would be forgiven for thinking these are Khomeini’s words.
I say we roll out the nanny state, and start putting laws on breastfeeding, since we have laws on everything else. After all, the nanny state is a dream of so many over here.
Breast-feeding is no different than going to the can and both should be held in private.
Posted by: Warwick at May 1, 2008 12:31 PM
Before I went to South East Asia I met a guy from Scotland, and he was a loud mouthed opinionated arsehole, but there was one thing he said that I will always remember. He told me that in many areas of Europe they had limited public toilet facilities. Many were simply crude holes in the ground attached to sewers and there was little privacy. He said that it was common to see members of the opposite sex squatting in toilet areas. This is common in China too.
I thought this to be rather shocking at that time.
Later, I went to South East Asia and I saw villages gone in an instant. Most everything else seems secondary after that.
Life is a matter of perspective. Perspective is determined by knowledge. Knowledge is acquired by seeking it, having an open mind, and critical thinking.
Hugger
The main argument put forward by the pro breast feeding crowd if that it is a normal, natural function of the human body. Farting and belching are also normal, natural functions of the human body. Polite people however don’t do them in public because they know it embarasses and upsets people. Perhaps the PBFC should show the same consideration.
My question is – what do people find offensive about breastfeeding? Naked breasts. Puritan values. Boob envy.
When I was worked in male dominated plant there was an abundance of girly mags. By the faded dog eared look of them, I suspect that they had been around awhile. Sure, I could have demanded that they all be removed to prevent personal embarrassment or I could just not look at them.
It is not that hard to be tolerant enough to turn a blind eye to things that may be personally offensive.
motherhood is beautiful. kate wouldn’t know about that..
Posted by: QEvron at May 1, 2008 1:32 PM
Can you tell us why Kate wouldn’t know about that?
I hope the answer doesn’t get blocked.
Hugger