Can one believe in feminism and also advocate for breastfeeding?  I
happen to believe that it is possible.  I certainly believe that women
should be given all the opportunites that men have and vice versa. I
also believe that breastfeeding is one of the most powerful experiences
a woman can have in her life.  Breastfeeding is not only the giving of a
product(of some economic importance...it should be part of the GNP) of
health and sustenance but also a process of learning to love(for mother
and child).   Missing this experience, can only be compared to being
celibate during a marriage.  Breastfeeding enhances, enriches our lives.

I believe that our culture has a problem with breasts and has for lack
of a better description, breast-envy.  Women spend their money or their
partner's money to satisfy some ideal breast size.   Some men are
willing to sabotage a woman's breastfeeding relationship by insisting
that they also get to feed the baby.  I have heard men speak enviously
of breastfeeding and the relationship their wives/girlfriends have with
their infants.  Men may realize that there are missing something unique,
something mysterious, something bordering on miraculous.

Is feminism about imitating the male model of society or about finding
our own uniqueness?  I can envision a woman as a president of a company
or the country for that matter, making decisions, guiding discussions
while nursing a baby in her lap.  Or making a political speech while
holding and nursing a tired toddler! We can only look at the 7 women who
founded La Leche League while nursing babies to know that women who are
breastfeeding are fully capable of founding and maintaining a high level
organization.  I have met some amazing women who breastfed their infants
while doing a wide variety of activities.  These women would probably
not call themselves feminists but certainly their lives were full of
endless possibilities.  They were not living insular lives. I believe
feminism and breastfeeding already coexist.  Valerie W. McClain,IBCLC

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