In our state of IL, we are covered under both of these laws. But apparently the owner of No Strings Attached, a resale shop in downtown DeKalb, felt that his position as a shop owner made him exempt from the law. So when my friend Nichole began nursing her daughter in his store, John Rapp asked her to leave. Nichole's fiance informed Mr Rapp of the laws protecting the mother of his child, but he did not care.
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| Nichole helping promote breastfeeding |
So yesterday, a group of about 45 mothers and our children all met outside of No Strings Attached for a nurse-in. It was amazing. Over the course of 24 hours, news of our impending nurse-in spread all over facebook. There was an article in the local paper about it, and a few of us were interviewed. Lots of press showed up, from WGN news to the Chicago Tribune, and I think those of us involved are still amazed that so many people from all over are interested in this story.
I had a little interview with DeKalb County Online:
There are still tons of people arguing that John Rapp was correct in asking Nichole to leave and that mothers should find a private place (like a bathroom-seriously, when is this suggestion going to go away?) to nurse her child. But here's the deal, folks, the law is the law. We have laws put in place to protect ourselves and our children, and it doesn't matter if you feel that a mother should pump her milk and bring bottles when she goes out, or put a cover over her baby's head, or nurse the baby in the car. What matters is that it is our right as mothers to feed our babies when they want to be fed. Period. Any opposition to the law should be taken up with your state's representative.
I, for one, feel that yesterday's nurse-in was a success. So much awareness was created about breastfeeding and breastfeeding in public and that's a great first step towards normalization. We need to get people comfortable talking about breastfeeding first, get them to challenge their ideas and perceptions about it so that we can have an open dialogue. And the more people see women nursing their babies, the less they'll be disgusted or offended by it, because it will be seen as normal.
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| Balloons were give out by a local shop owner for the kids |
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| Does this look obscene? |
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| Me being offensive :P |
Great job yesterday, ladies! I'm so proud of all of us!
4 comments:
Yay for all the women standing up for their right to breastfeed! It's so important for us to do this so we can normalize it. =) I am waiting impatiently for their to be a nurse-in in my area!
Thanks Camilleta! It's so true, we need to keep showing how normal it is so that people will stop treating it like a sexual or obscene thing! It was very empowering and fun to be a part of, though I wish we didn't have to do it in the first place.
As a breastfeeding mom, I am grateful to you and all the other moms and their supporters who came out for this. Every time awareness can be raised and dialogue is created, is another step forward to normalcy and acceptance.
I think that breasts are exactly that-BREASTS. When a woman can go to spring break where it is almost a MUST to whip them out and NO ONE complains or to a beach wearing 2 eyepatches and a rubberband and no one complains-then why is there such a huge debate over nurturing and feeding our children? It is not a LUDE or SEXUAL act-it is an act of LIFE!!! I think we ought to be able to do what we want with our bodies-many women are breast cancer survivors-who have lost the ability to breastfeed or whip them out! Celebrate mothers and the wonderful ability to sustain life with their swollen beautiful breasts.
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