>
>Here is my question:  Could we not label the discomfort, anxiety, 
>upset, etc.  that people
>feel around breastfeeding dyads a phobia?  As I was reading the BBC 
>news discussion, in
>which some posters describe themselves as almost debilitated by nearness to
>breastfeeding dyads, it all of a sudden struck me that these people 
>suffer from a phobia.


I dunno, Kerry....a phobia is a pathology, true, but isn't it also 
something that actually prevents someone living a normal life because 
of anxiety about the feared item, or who literally cannot face the 
prospect of seeing/touching/being near the feared item?

I think this is being too kind to the objectors, to be honest, 
although I do find their vehemence astonishing. I was on the TV and 
the radio being a 'talking head' today, and I shared air space with 
an 'etiquette expert' (!!!) who declaimed it was 'disgusting manners' 
to breastfeed outside the home. Her anger and distaste were extreme. 
There is another category of person who thinks mothers should 'be 
more organised' and either plan all their outings round their baby's 
feeding 'schedule' (assuming the baby has one, and assuming there are 
no other children in the family who may have a different one), or 
else express and take a bottle of ebm everywhere.

They do not deserve my sympathy or pity at all, I'm afraid.

I don't think any of them will want to believe they have a phobia - 
people afraid of spiders, heights, vomiting, enclosed spaces and so 
on do *know* they have a  phobia!

I'm afraid the best thing to do with these unpleasant people who feel 
mothers feeding is akin to excreting in public or sex is to ignore 
them, and when everybody is bf away from home, they will have to get 
used to it!


Heather Welford Neil
NCT bfc, tutor,UK

             ***********************************************

Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html
Mail all commands to [log in to unmask]
To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail
To start it again: set lactnet mail (or [log in to unmask])
To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet or ([log in to unmask])
To reach list owners: [log in to unmask]