Comments on: The Case Against Breastfeeding: Is it Anti-Feminist?

By: Breastfeeding support: less is not more | Spilt Milk

Breastfeeding support: less is not more | Spilt Milk — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 11:15:00 +0000

[...] as the tyranny of motherhood, especially physically demanding practices like breastfeeding. Like Hanna Rosin’s, Badinter’s views on breastfeeding have been carefully deconstructed over the past few years [...]

By: Tanya Collier

Tanya Collier — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 19:18:20 +0000

Sorry, I was trying to post via cell-phone earlier, hit “post” prematurely on the touch-screen earlier:
Both sides of this article seem ludacris. In some ways, I applaud Rosin’s courage in pointing out her negative experiences, yet find that she does seem bitter and biased. But for those of you who put her down and brag about being super-moms, capable of juggling housework, a career, and personal relationships, you are no bettter than her. You are also using your PERSONAL EXPERIENCES to make an argument against somebody else’s personal experiences. I, personally, am VERY supportive of either decision, as long as it does not infringe on anybody else’s personal rights. The act of breastfeeding itself is not feminist, or anti-feminist–it is merely a personal choice a mother has chosen based on what best fits the needs of her infant AND herself (at least it should be). Breastfeeding/breast pumping in the work place IS anti-feminist. Feminism, in a nut shell is a “social movement that seeks EQUAL rights for women”; notice, I emphasize “equal”. Women, who choose to work, (whether out of preference or necessity) should not have rights beyond those of men or women who choose not to have children, or who choose to do so on “their own time”. If any woman I work with is allowed special breaks to pump their breasts, for their CHOICE to reproduce and breast-feed, I should be allowed EQUAL time away from work for my choice NOT to reproduce or breast-feed; this is TRUE equality. Having children is a choice, and one I would never deny anybody: it is life-changing, CAN be the most gratifying event of a person’s life, and is necessary to the survival of our species, but it is still a choice. If one chooses to stay at home and raise their child, wonderful. If one chooses to be a career mom, wonderful, as long as those you work for/with are not forced to be accommodating to your CHOICE…as to the actual debate “is breastfeeding better??”–that is, and will likely always be, in the eye of the beholder; if a mother loves the bonding time, giving her baby natures sweet nectar, and has the time to devote to it, it is best for her and the infant. If nursing will cause resentment, which will most likely lead to emotional distress for both mother and child and everyone involved, it is best to formula feed.

By: Tanya Collier

Tanya Collier — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 18:32:39 +0000

Both sides of this article seem ludacris. In some ways, I applaud Rosin’s courage in pointing out her negative experiences, yet find that she does seem bitter and biased. But for those of you who put her down and brag about being super-moms, capable of juggling housework, a career, and personal relationships

By: SKant

SKant — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 17:23:50 +0000

THANK YOU, JFM!

It makes me SICK that the workplace environment is not more under attack in these opinion pieces. None of us like the fact that maternity leave hardly exists in the US (if you are lucky, you have Short Term Disability coverage – or no pay at all). Pumping has to be accomodated (real-estate, time, etc). All to make women who are mothers fit into the current workplace mold. We still don’t see equal pay for equal work and employers are terrified that a pregnancy makes us a flight risk. Maybe if coming back to work after a baby was better timed, better managed, and better supported – coming back wouldn’t be so much of a worry.

On another note – where is all the dicussion of men taking a primary care-giver role? My husband and I decided our best chance for financial stability was for ME to keep working, and him to stay home. We split many of our household and child care responsibilities – but I still breastfed (and pumped). Just because I was the “source” didn’t make me the “slave”….ugh.

By: Matthew

Matthew — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 13:56:15 +0000

This is ridicoulus, not working in a meaningful way?! We have been fortunate enough in my family, that my job as a server in a fine dining resturaunt has held down and paid the bills so my lovely daughter Adeline can be exclusively breastfead. Next week Adeline will be 6 months old, if anything i feel im doing the meaningless work. Adeline was born 3 weeks early and is a cluster feeder, my fiance Laura puts in extremely MEANINGFUL and hard hours throughout the day EVERYDAY. All for the love of our daughter and making sure she gets the best nurishment possible, breast milk. I get the breaks by going to work and seeing my server friends, usually working doubles, with the exception of my two days off. Laura is guiding and raising Adeline when I leave for work, when i get home, all the while she is starting to go back to work for few hours a week and doing clinicals to be a breast feeding peer consoler. Meaningless work? You mam have completly missed the MEANING of breast feeding and your article and thoughts are BLASPHMEY.

By: Maggie

Maggie — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 23:28:52 +0000

If breastfeeding is anti-feminist then menstruation, pregnancy and labour definitely are too and if we follow that line of reasoning then we should all have hysterectomies.

My version of feminism embraces all that is feminine – including breastfeeding. Our ability to produce and nourish new life is something to be proud of.

By: Danielle

Danielle — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 21:12:35 +0000

To her assertion that women cant do meaningful career type work while breastfeeding: I’ve nursed my daughter in conferences, while interviewing potential employees, while speaking to the press, while speaking to congressmen… I have nursed my baby while doing important career type things so many times I can’t count them. and I will say, nursing a baby while interviewing prospective employees is a great weed out tool!

By: Courtney

Courtney — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 21:10:37 +0000

I really find it odd that I woman HAS to work (or want to work). Isn’t the point of feminism about options? I do NOT want to work. I WANT to be home with my children, I NEVER plan to return to working outside my home. I love spending my days caring for my kids, my family, and my home. And because I am not just taking a break from my career, because I am not missing my time spent spent in a lab doing all this “important” work, many feminists imply that I’m brainwashed or something!

To be honest, I hold a very serious position of power. The position of raising 4 beautiful children to be the best they can be. The position of advocating for my autistic son. The position of managing our home efficiently. Might not be important to her, but it’s VERY important to me. And really, that’s all that matters.

By: Shizumaru

Shizumaru — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 02:30:56 +0000

I just love your conclusion. I think we need to accept male and female’s physical differences and respect the differences at the same time. We can’t expect our husband to give birth to another child because I gave birth to one… or breastfeed and call it an equal share of work?! These feminists need to calm down and stop being angry about every little thing that they deem as “unfair”… They might as well live alone.

By: Let’s throw the assumptions out with the bathwater | PhD in Parenting

Let’s throw the assumptions out with the bathwater | PhD in Parenting — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 03:47:00 +0000

[...] Journal on the Madness of Motherhood and I yawned. Ho hum. She isn’t saying anything that Hanna Rosin, Margaret Wente, and plenty of others haven’t already said. She sounds like the broken record [...]