Paper 3 Flip Book

 

BREASTFEEDING:
 TO
 COVER
 OR
 

NOT
 TO
 COVER
 

 


 Savannah Wood

Professor Meredith
ENGL 1302: Sec. 2230

10 May 2016


 


 

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Table of Contents
Writing Project 3 Topic…………………………………………………………………………3
Original Image…………………………………………………………………………………..4
Annotated Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………5
Breastfeeding: To Cover or Not to Cover……………………………………………………….6
Essay.……………………………………………………………………………………………7
Work Cited……………………………………………………………………………………...10

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Writing Project 3 Topic
This essay will discuss the societal views on breastfeeding. It will cover the reasons why some

people are uncomfortable with breastfeeding and the recent movement to normalize
breastfeeding.

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Savannah Wood

Professor Meredith

ENGL 1302: Sec. 2230

5 May 2016

Annotated Bibliography

Abreu, Marci. Wonder Women. Drawing. 2016. Deviant Art. Brazil.

This is a picture of Wonder Women drawn by Marci Abreau. The art work was drawn in
pencil Abreau and then colored in by Tony Ramirez. The background was drawn in by another
artist named Ann Blaze. The drawing is owned by a company called Deviant Art.

Wallace, Kelly. “Breastfeeding: Why are we so squeamish about it?” CNN Turner Broadcasting
29 Aug. 2014. Web. 29 Apr. 2016.

This article is pro breastfeeding in public. Kelly Wallace questions why people are so
uncomfortable with women openly breastfeeding in public places. She suggests that the over
sexualizing of women is to blame. She suggests that we should be more comfortable with women
openly breastfeeding than being bombarded by magazine covers adorned with scantily clad
celebrities. She implies that breastfeeding is more normal and natural than bottle feeding,
therefor we should not be squeamish watching a mother feed her child either way. She believes it
all comes down to a matter of respect and that women deserve the right to be in control of what
they do with their bodies.

Wolford, Danelle. “Breastfeeding in Public: Why this mama believes in covering up.” Weed

Them and Reap. Oct 2103. Web. 29 Apr. 2016

Danelle Wolford takes, what she refers to, as an old fashion approach to breast feeding.
She is pro breast feeding but feels it is necessary to keep yourself covered. She compares breast
feeding to conception, saying both are natural occurrences that are best left private. She argues
that although breasts are made for feeding and completely natural, so is the male attraction to
them. Wolford, having breastfed herself, understands the need to feed your baby in public. She
believes that a small amount of modesty goes a long way, and that using a nursing cover should
be the norm in our culture.

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Savannah Wood
Professor Meredith
ENGL 1302: Sec. 2230
10 May 2016

Breastfeeding: To Cover or Not to Cover
According to the CDC, less than twenty-percent of babies are exclusively breastfed past
six months in the US. Most people agree there are huge benefits to breastfeeding. It has been
shown to improve immune function and lower the risk if SIDS and allergies. Not only does the
baby benefit, but the mom as well. The quality bonding time, increased metabolism, and
oxytocin release are just a few of the perks mom will receive. There doesn’t seem to be much of
an argument against the benefits, so why are so many opting out of breast feeding? Could it be
that women feel uncomfortable using their breast for their intended purpose? Our society has
over sexualized breast in a way that makes breast feeding moms feel ashamed to feed their
children openly in public. In the last few years, women have begun to demand the right to feed
their babies anywhere at anytime. The hope is that in the next few years the shame around openly
breastfeeding will begin to fade, nursing in public will become the norm, and women will feel
liberated in their choice to breastfeed. This essay will present both reactions to breastfeeding in
public.
When a young mother makes the choice to breastfeed her new baby she will be met with
many opinions. Her mother may praise her for doing what is best for her baby, while a work
colleague may warn her of the difficulties in juggling a career with breastfeeding. She must
begin to consider the different options and what is right for her. Will she exclusively breastfeed,
exclusively pump, or use a combination of the two? What will she do if her child has a hard time

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learning to latch on? Will she feel comfortable supplementing with formula? These are the basics
that must be considered when doing the most natural thing in the world: nourishing a new life.
Unfortunately, that is not all that has to be considered. In our society, she is expected to
subscribe to the idea that people’s comfort matter when it comes to feeding her child. She can
purchase nursing covers, shirts, and scarves. There are various types of clothing the facilitate
feeding without exposing one’s breast. Although, there is an array of accessories marketed to the
mother, are these items truly for the mother’s comfort or are do they appease societies demand
on women to only expose their breast in a sexual nature?

In a society where celebrities can pose completely naked on magazine covers and call it
art, why does seeing a women’s exposed breast while feeding her child make us so
uncomfortable? There are several social experiments trending online where a mother breastfeeds
uncovered next to a scantily clad woman. On several occasions the mom is encouraged to cover
up or move to a private location while the the other woman is ignored completely. The people
that don’t say anything are shown whispering and giving her dirty looks. The woman feeding her
child is not uncomfortable, but she is expected to cover up for the comfort of others. How can
she be expected to feel no shame in feeding her child if she is openly being shamed? There are
even laws in place to protect the mother’s right to feed her baby anywhere with no stipulations
on the amount of coverage required.

While the mother breastfeeding uncovered received a lot of harsh looks and was even
asked to cover herself, a mother who is breastfeeding with a thin cover is not even bothered. No
one even seems to notice that she is feeding her baby. Could a small amount of discretion make
all the difference? Although a baby may pull a blanket or cover away from the mother a few
times during feeding, staying covered is fairly easy. Covering yourself is a small amount of

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American etiquette that is appreciated. Just like the majority of children are taught to chew with
their mouths closed, mothers are taught a certain amount of “table manners” for feeding their
infant. It’s not much different than wiping your face while you eat. It could be a little
embarrassing if you have food on your face. As long as you wipe your face a few times through
out the meal, you have nothing to be embarrassed about. The same can be said for covering
yourself while feeding your child. If your cover slips momentarily, you have nothing to be
embarrassed about. There is a large amount of women who are significantly more comfortable if
they can breastfeed in private. Some women feel that this is an intimate moment between a
mother and her child. Although it is necessary to nurse in public at times, they would prefer to be
as modest as possible. Sometimes a spouse or partner may feel uncomfortable with the mother of
their child being uncovered in a public area. These are just a few of the reasons fro using a
nursing cover.

In an ideal world, a private place would be provided in every location for a mother to
retreat to when her baby is hungry, no one would feel the need to judge a women’s choice to feed
her baby however she feels fit, and she would be completely liberated in her decision to nurse
whether she is covered or uncovered. However, as a society, we are not there yet. There has been
a recent out cry from mothers to normalize breastfeeding. Celebrities like Alyssa Milano, Gwen
Stefani, and Gisele Bundchen have taken to social media in support of this movement. They are
sharing intimate picture of their personal experiences with breastfeeding. Some of these women
have been completely comfortable exposing themselves while others have remained more
modest. The idea is to make the idea of breastfeeding less taboo and more mainstream. In twenty
years, will Americans have made the transition from a sexualized breast back to the originally
intended purpose? Only time will tell.

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Work Cited

Wallace, Kelly. “Breastfeeding: Why are we so squeamish about it?” CNN Turner Broadcasting
29 Aug. 2014. Web. 29 Apr. 2016.

Wolford, Danelle. “Breastfeeding in Public: Why this mama believes in covering up.” Weed
Them and Reap. Oct 2103. Web. 29 Apr. 2016

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