Breast isn't best: readers tell US parenting magazine

[Kelvin Mace]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060804/od_afp/afplifestyleussocialbreastfeeding

Readers of a US parenting magazine are crying foul over the publication's latest cover depicting a woman breastfeeding, with some calling the photo offensive and disgusting.

"I was SHOCKED to see a giant breast on the cover of your magazine," one woman from Kansas wrote in reaction to the picture in Babytalk, a free magazine that caters to young mothers. "I was offended and it made my husband very uncomfortable when I left the magazine on the coffee table."

You husband is "uncomfortable" with a breast? Your husband should see a psychiatrist, as he must have sexual identity issues that he is supressing.

Several readers said they were "embarrassed" or "offended" by the Babytalk photo and one woman from Nevada said she "immediately turned the magazine face down" when she saw the photo.

"Gross, I am sick of seeing a baby attached to a boob," the mother of a four-month-old said.

Another reader said she was "horrified" when she received the magazine and hoped that her husband hadn't laid eyes on it.

Horrified? Gross? Offended?

What rock are you people living under? It's a breast. It feeds babies. If you have a problem with this, you should probably withdraw from sane society to an island somewhere.

For the record, this is NOT "offensive", "horrible", "gross" or "shocking":



THIS IS:



GROW UP!

[ulysses]

1. as someone said in the last thread on this,

it's not sex, it's lunch.

[LaurenG]

2. ...

"... and it made my husband very uncomfortable when I left the magazine on the coffee table.":eyes: right I'm sure that's who was uncomfortable

[LeftyMom]

4. I think "uncomfortable" means that he had a trouser tent and she got mad.

Prudes. :eyes:

[LaurenG]

6. Exactly, lol nt

[Megahurtz]

55. LOL!

:scared::wow: My husband saw a breast!!!:wow::scared:

:scared::wow: My husband saw a breast!!!:wow::scared:

:rofl:

[bronxiteforever]

3. wow-great post but so sad

does anyone in America give a rats ass about stopping violence? But show them a baby breast feeding and bar the door.Outrage. (sigh)

[pooja]

5. Its beautiful. A bond between mother and child. How can people

take a beautiful, natural thing and say gross. People need to grow up.

[Lochloosa]

7. Funny, all I see is a beautiful baby.

[winter999]

10. There was a baby in that picture?

:yoiks:

[LiberalVoice]

14. Hahahaha

I was going to say something along those lines :P

[no_hypocrisy]

8. What I think the "real problem" is that the men who have a serious

madonna/whore complex with respect to their women. They prefer to see the breast as their property, for one use only, not to be shared or multi-tasked. If the breast is utlized for purposes outside their exclusive sexual stimulation, they lose interest in the woman as she is now more equated with his own mother (no sex there) rather than his lover.

[Karmakaze]

12. The criticism was coming from WOMEN, not men.

But of course, it must be the MEN putting these ideas in womens heads...

[LeftyMom]

15. Some women are just deeply insecure

and unashamed breastfeeding creates contrast both with thier own fear and hatred of thier bodies and (for the vast majority of American women) insecurity about thier parenting generally and specificly thier failure to breastfeed for any significant length of time.

[Kelvin Mace]

27. What irritates me

is that WOMEN are being quoted as "offended".

[commander bunnypants]

9. all i can say is

blink blink

and :wtf:


mmm lunch


CB

[calico1]

11. These people really have issues.

They probably have to have the room pitch dark to have sex and never undress in front of their husbands.

[CoffeeCat]

13. Can I say something snotty?

My guess is that these hoity toity women with their noses curled over this
breastfeeding picture---didn't breastfeed. They were too busy working their
60 hour a week job, with their child in daycare---for the express purpose
of keeping their McMansion stocked with Pottery Barn and their Ford Expedition
payments current.

There. I said it.

[laundry_queen]

30. That's pretty much how I see it too. nt

[Thor_MN]

46. Express purpose?

That's punny...

[yorkiemommie1]

16. there's that word 'offended' again

such delicate sensibilities!

[HongKonger]

17. The American Burka

For the next issue they should show a woman breastfeeding through a burka.

This is ridiculous. All our children were breastfed in public, anywhere they got hungry. You can't see the nipple once the nipper has its mouth round' it.

...reminds me of the Janet Jackson brouhaha.

[zara]

18. How is it that this American ILK reproduce?

Better stay out of the Louvre or the Uffizi!
No worry there. These ancestors of puritan refugees would never venture abroad (unless to try what McDonalds tastes like in France~!)

[Massachusetts]

19. "Gross, I am sick of seeing a baby attached to a boob,"

That baby certainly isn't, and thats what matters.

[RaRa]

22. That comment came from a mother of a 4 month old

and as the breastfeeding mom of a 2 month old, I'm pissed at that remark. Although you're much more likely to get a glimpse of my boob in certain tops than you are when I'm giving my kid a meal, your attitude is sick lady,(I'm talking to the magazine person) that you view my feeding my child as sexual. - That's what these attitudes mean. You want to give your kid some man made powder? Fine, but my milk is the only true "formula".

on edit, I replaced the word "offended" with "pissed" to better reflect my feelings and respect the original poster's comments.

[Ex Lion Tamer]

23. Go get 'em mom!!!

God love you! My wife--an absolutely wonderful mother--breastfed all 3 of our kids (and is still breastfeeding the 3rd). It's one of the most beautiful things I've seen.

That's one disadvantage of being the father. Of course, the fact that I don't have to carry and deliver the child more than makes up for it!!!!

[Massachusetts]

36. Get a life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You read into my posting wayyyyy to much. My wife breast fed all (4) of our kids, I'm a supporter not a "divider"

Lighten up RARA you'll live a little longer.

[melnjones]

40. Um...

I think rara was referring to the magazine article that you quoted from...not to you personally...
:shrug:

[RaRa]

42. I thought I was pretty clear

in that I was referring or "talking" to the woman in the article - not you. I was replying to your post since you had the quote.

[1monster]

43. Ra Ra noted that she was answering the quoted woman, not you.

Read it again. She was not ranting at you.

[Lisa]

47. oh, and speaking of boobs, I guess the complainant's infant would be

... "attached to one", even if she were bottle-feeding.

(sorry -- couldn't resist)

[Vidar]

20. The Burka Brigade & The Ashcroft Family Players.

[Fridays Child]

21. It's this kind of stuff that makes me think we're all living in...

...the Twilight Zone.

[MallRat]

24. Paul Reiser: "I don't know whether to be disgusted, aroused, or thirsty."

:-)

[genieroze]

25. I think that picture is beautiful.

OMG I breast fed all three of my kids. No big deal, even though it was for hubby. I never had big breasts before. My breasts actually got huge and stayed big after I stopped breast feeding. Never needed a bra before, I looked like a board. Why are breasts so disgusting to people? Hey prudes, seek help. OMFG, this is a bigger scandal than Janet Jackson.
:sarcasm:

[Bretttido]

26. The baby seems to be enjoying the breast, how bad could it be??

:shrug:

[acmavm]

28. What's wrong with these idiots? Isn't this the way 'God'

intended it to be?

Hypocrites.

[Lance_Boyle]

29. Why, it's practically PEDOPHILIA!!!

Just look at that adult woman MOLESTING that innocent baby with her... scary girl parts! The HORROR!

:sarcasm:

[sofa king]

31. I wish I was a baby again.

[mikeytherat]

32. Wow, this is something I truly do not understand

And right off the bat, I'll say I do not have any children, but I've always thought all mammals, with their ability to self-produce and administer nourishment to their young, was one of the coolest things in the world. Even as I child, I thought our cat nursing her kittens was just the most amazing thing. I mean, birds had to get bugs and worms for their babies, but our kitty could do it all herself!

Even as I grew older, I never sexualized the feeding process - it never even occurred to me. It also makes me wonder how cold and distant these people must be towards their children - do they see all touching and holding of their own children as somehow sexual? Do they really sexualize every single physical contact? What a sad way to live your life.

mikey_the_rat

[AnneD]

44. Having spent many summers in my youth

at relatives farms...I too thought it was the coolest to watch the young ones breast feed. Infact all aspects of reproduction and nuturing were matter of fact and down to earth. Of course there was some barn yard humour (usually involving the men folk-but no one took offense). These folks are making themselves out to be better than they are. It is God's (or Nature) plan that we nurture our young in this fashion. And unless these numbnuts have a more intelligent design-they should STFU.

[leesa]

33. Perhaps Parenting Mag isn't doing such a hot job if its readers are this

screwed up about parenting.

[bleedingheart]

34. So watching someone eat a blot clot on TV is okay...but a baby

breastfeeding is just awful...

I proudly breastfed my kids...and I encourage any woman who wants to do so as well...

[hedgehog]

35. I don't know how to copy them here but

there are many religiious pictures showing the Virgin Mary nursing Jesus with John the Baptist looking on (albeit John is about 4 years old in these pictures.)

[wovenpaint]

45. Like this one, ....by DaVinci???

Madonna Litta

The horror.....Baby Jesus is NAKED.

[fasttense]

37. I'm sorry but when I was breast feeding my breasts didn't look anything

like that picture. If that woman was really lactating, I'll eat my hat. It is a glorified image of breast feeding. Where are the veins, the milk ducts bulging, the baby pulling and stretching the breast? That breast looks like it has never been used for feeding. Again our corporate media sanitizing and glorifying women's body parts. That's how I find it offensive.

[Lars39]

39. You know, you're right!

Mine looked like a road map. I bet they air-brushed all of that out.

[Kelvin Mace]

50. Ladies, they are still a pretty sight

in all of their functions.

It is a shame our culture has done everything possible to make "real women" unacceptable.

[EFerrari]

38. So, these respondants looked at this amazing shot of

a baby bonding to its first human being

and were repulsed.

Houston, we have a problem.

[1monster]

41. I thought that picture of the baby attached to the breast was really

quite beautiful.

Your second picture, however, is obscene simply because no one and no living thing should ever have to suffer something like that. Especially when the cause is greed and lust for power.

[HuffleClaw]

48. fundies is my guess

what a joke. health canada put up a series of posters in bus stops and the like some years ago featuring breastfeeding women. i dont' recall 'public outrage' about it. free publicity for that magazine though!

[Kelvin Mace]

49. Unfortunately

the editors are probably hiding under their desks.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

52. So they think Mary went to the ladies room to feed Jesus?

Not likely...

[colorado_ufo]

51. It takes many generations of screwed up thinking

to get people to respond like that. At this point, I don't know if we will EVER return to sanity. Breasts are for feeding babies. Why should we be ashamed to feed our babies! If they believe in God, then who are they to criticize HIs design? If they are agnostic, who are they to argue with nature's design? If they are atheist, well, parts is parts - that's just how it works - get over it!

My only conclusion can be is that they are effin nuts and have abandoned all common sense in favor of some standard, or philosophy, that defies justification. Even the Puritans breast-fed.

Oh for the day that a woman could just feed her baby, even in a shopping mall, without having to outdo Houdini in making her breast disappear (behind baby - blanket - clothing - whatever).

They cry obscenity? War is obscenity.

[truthisfreedom]

53. honestly, this is not news, people.

[Megahurtz]

54. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

:rofl: That's just so funny

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!

:rofl:

The picture looks kinda funny anyway :D but Jeez!

Do people have issues or what?

[billyoc]

56. I swear, I thought that was an elbow.

I have got to get out more. :shrug:

[question everything]

57. See earlier post here

(was not considered LBN)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=1757401