Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Physiology is fascinating. Every bodily fluid serves a unique purpose, and society has imposed determinations on whether or not they view those fluids as gross or not. Blood smells terrible, but we'd all agree it serves a unique function, and without it we are severely SOL. Some would argue that breastmilk serves as unique a function. Whether or not one feels it's vital to a baby's future depends on your point of view, but breastmilk in and of itself is a sterile nutrient. Why would that be offensive? People spit in public all the time, that offends me, and it is a public health hazard, yet people seem more inclined to tell mothers not to breastfeed in public than to tell people to quit spitting.
I agree. (About the smell of blood too.) In other breastfeeding threads, I have said that I have no problem with moms who nurse. I certainly do not expect them to breastfeed in a bathroom or car. I just tend to speak up against the idea that breastmilk is a special, beautiful substance and anybody who doesn't think so is a mean old meaniehead--or what was the earlier accusation? Uneducated and closed-minded?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zimbochick
I think the reason people get so irate when breast milk is clumped together with other bodily fluids is that it is so often used in the age-old argument against public breastfeeding. Pooping in public affects everyone. You can see it, smell it, and if you are very unfortunate, step in it. Breastfeeding in public affects no one but the mother and baby. Unless of course the mother chooses to squirt people as they are walking by.
Urine is sterile. Some people drink it. If it didn't smell, would we be OK with people peeing discreetly in the park? By discreet, I mean only exposing the bare minimum. A woman wearing a skirt could squat and not show a thing. (Oh no! I think I hear the horrified murmurs getting louder.)
All I'm saying is this. Not everybody thinks your boob juice is beautiful and magical, and that belief does not make them a perv, a prude, stupid, anti-woman, anti-baby, or what-have-you. What's all the weirder about this inevitable part of the breastfeeding discussion is that almost every woman who chimes in says something like, "When I breastfed, nobody could tell," and "An inch of skin is no big deal!" They seem to agree that nursing in public is a cozy moment between mom and baby, not a moment to have a grand public display of nudity. (Nudity and naturalism ... a related discussion, also very interesting to me.) For some reason, recognizing breasts and breastmilk for what they are gets people's (usually mothers') noses out of joint.
Lots of people still get sweaty and some even get stinky.
How about I stand outside of the local ice cream parlor and say things like, ewww, do you know where that ice cream comes from? You're eating secretions from a cow's boob. ewwww. You are disgusting.
I bet I'd get beat up in either scenario.
Head on over to the Food forum. That sentiment is common.
I agree with you on a lot of topics, Julia but this is not one of them.
What would be the benefit to licking someones sweat off of someone's body or drinking someone's saliva? None that I can think of. What would be the benefit for a baby to drink his or her mother's breastmilk? Survival and optimal nutrition.
I find the comparison of breastfeeding to pooping, coughing up phlegm and sweating to be offensive.
Got to agree.
While breastfeeding is a function of the body, it is not like any other "bodily function".
Bodily functions allow you to live a healthy life.
Breastfeeding allows you to give life to another.
BIG difference.
Breastfeeding - providing your child with sustenance and the kind of nurturing second only to the kind God himself gives, is a priceless gift.
I agree. (About the smell of blood too.) In other breastfeeding threads, I have said that I have no problem with moms who nurse. I certainly do not expect them to breastfeed in a bathroom or car. I just tend to speak up against the idea that breastmilk is a special, beautiful substance and anybody who doesn't think so is a mean old meaniehead--or what was the earlier accusation? Uneducated and closed-minded?
Sorry, but I do think breastmilk is pretty special. I see nothing wrong with advocates trying to educate people a bit, and working towards changing the mindset (gently and tactfully) that breast milk is gross. I think the problem arises when some in the pro-breastfeeding camp go a bit overboard, it makes even me squirm a bit. But in Western society at present, urine and feces are seen as gross. Comparing breast milk to them is going to raise the ire. It just is.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JustJulia
Urine is sterile. Some people drink it. If it didn't smell, would we be OK with people peeing discreetly in the park? By discreet, I mean only exposing the bare minimum. A woman wearing a skirt could squat and not show a thing. (Oh no! I think I hear the horrified murmurs getting louder.)
You are asking the wrong person. I have spent much of my adult life up to my elbows in other people's bodily fluids. Not much grosses me out any more. There are ways to be discreet and respectful to others even if one needs to excrete in public, as happens elsewhere.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JustJulia
All I'm saying is this. Not everybody thinks your boob juice is beautiful and magical, and that belief does not make them a perv, a prude, stupid, anti-woman, anti-baby, or what-have-you. What's all the weirder about this inevitable part of the breastfeeding discussion is that almost every woman who chimes in says something like, "When I breastfed, nobody could tell," and "An inch of skin is no big deal!" They seem to agree that nursing in public is a cozy moment between mom and baby, not a moment to have a grand public display of nudity. (Nudity and naturalism ... a related discussion, also very interesting to me.) For some reason, recognizing breasts and breastmilk for what they are gets people's (usually mothers') noses out of joint.
I am a bit confused by this. Breasts in the context of breastfeeding are unique. They have other functions/uses, but not in the context of breastfeeding.
I agree. (About the smell of blood too.) In other breastfeeding threads, I have said that I have no problem with moms who nurse. I certainly do not expect them to breastfeed in a bathroom or car. I just tend to speak up against the idea that breastmilk is a special, beautiful substance and anybody who doesn't think so is a mean old meaniehead--or what was the earlier accusation? Uneducated and closed-minded?
I assume you are referring to this?
Quote:
I don't expect people to enjoy watching me breastfeed but I do expect people I know like friends and family to be respectful. I'd like to think that the people who I choose to spend my time with are intelligent and open minded enough to understand the difference between breastfeeding in public and having sex or pooping in public.
As you can see, I never said that I expect people to see breastmilk as special and beautiful. I said that I expect friends and family to be respectful. Big difference. The unintelligent and close minded comment was about people who can't see the difference between pooping or having sex in public and breastfeeding which has nothing to do with people's views on breastmilk being (or not being) beautiful or special.
Sorry, but I do think breastmilk is pretty special. I see nothing wrong with advocates trying to educate people a bit, and working towards changing the mindset (gently and tactfully) that breast milk is gross. I think the problem arises when some in the pro-breastfeeding camp go a bit overboard, it makes even me squirm a bit. But in Western society at present, urine and feces are seen as gross. Comparing breast milk to them is going to raise the ire. It just is.
I recognize that, hence my comment about Holy Ground. Lovesmountains said it was a gift from God, which I can appreciate, but it's indisputable that all mammals have this function. Goats and pigs and cats and horses all produce milk for their babies. And then mothers say, "Are you comparing me TO A GOAT?" And the answer is that all mammals have mammary glands, and the females produce milk for their babies, and that is just what happens. If people are insulted about it, there's nothing I can really do to change that. Like I said, I don't find breastfeeding to be gross, and I certainly do not go around telling nursing mothers they are goats or whatever. I am just not affected by the sacred mythos of breastfeeding. Who knows, maybe my Mommy gene is warped.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zimbochick
You are asking the wrong person. I have spent much of my adult life up to my elbows in other people's bodily fluids. Not much grosses me out any more. There are ways to be discreet and respectful to others even if one needs to excrete in public, as happens elsewhere.
It was more of a rhetorical question. Many doctors argue that the mammary glands are specialized sebaceous or sweat glands. It's just juice your body makes. It happens to be nutritious. If we didn't have them, we'd feed our young another way, like all the other thousands upon thousands of animals out there.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zimbochick
I am a bit confused by this. Breasts in the context of breastfeeding are unique. They have other functions/uses, but not in the context of breastfeeding.
By "recognizing them for what they are," I mean what I described above in my first paragraph. Mammary glands aren't unique to humans; they're just a part of our bodies like everything else. They serve a function, and some people find that function unappealing. I think it's rude to make comments to strangers about it, but I also think it's rude not to respect that belief. I realize that our opinions about different bodily functions and secretions are arbitrary, which I why I do not believe that MY beliefs are the only correct ones to have. Thus, I speak up for opposing mindsets.
I am just not affected by the sacred mythos of breastfeeding.
Fair enough.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JustJulia
Who knows, maybe my Mommy gene is warped.
LOL!
Quote:
Originally Posted by JustJulia
By "recognizing them for what they are," I mean what I described above in my first paragraph. Mammary glands aren't unique to humans; they're just a part of our bodies like everything else. They serve a function, and some people find that function unappealing. I think it's rude to make comments to strangers about it, but I also think it's rude not to respect that belief. I realize that our opinions about different bodily functions and secretions are arbitrary, which I why I do not believe that MY beliefs are the only correct ones to have. Thus, I speak up for opposing mindsets.
Yes, the difference being you are discussing the issue rationally and calmly. Frequently those on both sides of this argument/discussion are highly emotional, and the introduction or comparison to other bodily functions and secretions is inflammatory, and/or intentionally so.
Last edited by Zimbochick; 12-20-2011 at 10:24 AM..
So can we still be friends, or must I go back under my bridge?
Mammary differences aside, you are a keeper, warped genes and all!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
