"This letter is in response to the quite surprising piece written by xyz
regarding public breastfeeding. Incidentally, xyz, breastfeeding is
spelled as one word, gramatically speaking. I am wondering what prompted
this opinion piece? Mr. xyz obviously is entitled to his opinion on this
subject, but as a health care professional, a nurse, and a board
certified lactation consultant for the past 10 years, I felt that it was
important to respond to this article in order to reassure all the young
women in our high school community that breastfeeding is not related to
urination or relieving one's body of waste, but is instead purely the
healthiest way to feed one's infant.

Additionally, Mr. xyz may be surprised to learn that in most countries
around the world, breastfeeding and breasts are not sexual.
Breastfeeding, public or not, is the optimal way to feed an infant, and
is in no way, shape, or form similar  to public urination. I was
appalled to read this article, and so I did a little research, and
realized that not only did Mr. xyz illustrate a rather limited view on
this subject, but his opinions are uncannily and strikingly similar to
those of a journalist in Massachusetts who wrote an article on this same
subject,  August 4, 2002, for The Metrowest Daily News. The image of
public urination being similar to public breastfeeding, as well as the
restaurant imagery were the images used by Mr. Maroney in his article.
Mr. Maroney subsequently received a public flaying for his demeaning and
unsophisticated viewpoints. Tsk Tsk. Perhaps  Mr. xyz has come up with
this imagery on his own, but if not, it should be noted that it is
customary to credit one's sources. Further, I consulted my colleague,
Dr. Katherine Dettwyler, from Texas A and M, concerning this letter. Her
response is as follows:

'Dear high school student who doesn't want to see women breastfeeding in
public, I have a few words of advice. Women breasts are for feeding
babies. Period. They are not for your titillation, amusement, or
disgust.

Breastfeeding is not like urinating. Breastfeeding is like eating --
gee, in fact, it IS eating. Therefore, wherever people can eat, babies
can too, and from the breast, where they get the best nutrition, health
care, and love. If you object to seeing people eating in public, then
I'll assume you don't go to restaurants or eat in the dorm dining hall,
and that everyone in your family eats in their own bedrooms, or in the
bathroom, perhaps. I realize that your view is that breasts are sex
objects, for your pleasure, and that this view is threatened by being
faced with the real purpose of breasts, to feed babies. What is
unfortunate is that  babies who have to settle for formula are often
harmed by it. Recent studies show a direct relationship between formula
use and illness in infants. And if you think women are going to go to
the trouble of pumping their breast milk so they can give it to their
babies in bottles when they're out in public so that they won't offend
you, think again. I would be happy to send you a copy of my article
"Beauty and the Breast" which discusses the history (short) and cultural
distribution (very narrow) of the idea that women's breasts are for men.

Katherine A. Dettwyler, Ph.D.Adjunct Associate Professor of
Anthropology, Texas A&M University.'

Truthfully, we live in a diminished  culture where pornography is
considered acceptable, and where normal parenting is considered obscene,
rude, and comparable to a form of excretion. I am sad for Mr. xzy that
he feels that that breastfeeding is distasteful, twisted, and somewhat
dirty. Nothing could be further from the truth. In my work with over
7000 breastfeeding mothers per year, I find women of all socioeconomic
levels who struggle with breastfeeding. Their struggles are closely
related from the damage they suffer from body image issues as they
struggle to make peace with our society's prevailing idealized,
incorrect, and unrealistic view of women, and their bodies, and the
functionality of breasts.   Anorexia and other eating disorders prevail
in our culture, due in no small part to ideas such as the ones Mr. xyz
detailed. As a culture, we cannot afford to ignore breastfeeding as the
first step in affordable health care.   I hope that the young women at
CVU understand the marvelous capacity of their  bodies to nourish and
feed their children, and that they do not accept or internalize this
crude and misinformed viewpoint. Instead of imprisoning women who are
mothering and breastfeeding due to your own distorted discomfort ,
simply don't look when you see a breastfeeding mother, Mr. xyz.

Sincerely,

Kathleen B. Bruce BSN IBCLC RLC

The Breastfeeding Clinic of Vermont


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