Janet Simpson wrote a very articulate letter to Mr Schram, in which this section popped put at me:

"But that doesn't mean new moms should feel encouraged to forget all about modesty, while expecting everyone around them to just go with the flow."   Again, I feel you are placing an unfair generalization on women - one that really shows your ignorance about new mothers and women in general.  It is NOT about encouraging new moms to forget about modesty - it is about encouraging them to feel comfortable giving their baby a gift ONLY they can give - breastfeeding.  The women I work with here in Sacramento, and many around the country strive to be modest while nursing in public.  They strive for modesty mainly for their
comfort but also for others comfort as well. "

This approach always concerns me. Who defines another's sense of modesty?  I never argue that "most mothers try to be modest", b/c I have no idea what that means and b/c then I am making a moral judgement myself about whether or not those are the "good mothers", being a gatekeep as it were to the "other" mothers who aren't so modest.. I have said this before--I have no problem with women choosing their own level of comfort, but the truth is that their level of comfort is already defined by how far they are willing to push the envelpoe in relation to our culture's level of comfort with them. I believe that I am doing a disservice to infants when I try to appease the angry, ingnorant men in our culture by suggesting that they need to be more reasonable and understand that women really are being as modest as they can be.

Frankly, if you think about it--we are just kind of "popping it out"--the breast has to "get out " somehow from the bra or clothing to be available to the infant. (Schram wrote: "When some woman sitting next to you pops it out and starts suckling little Johnny or Suzie, I think it makes MOST people uncomfortable!" ). I have no desire to speak in shades of grey on this issue--women have the right to breastfeed their babies and babies have the right to breastfeed. It really is that simple. If we debate levels of modesty, we allow for the possibility that in some situations breastfeeding is not okay. Frankly, I think striving to be modest is a burden no one deserves.
Jennifer Tow, IBCLC, CT, USA

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