I haven't seen this posted to Lactnet yet. Thought some of you might be
interested in what Jeff Harder had to say about our concerns.
BREASTFEEDERS REVOLT
? There are some groups you just don't mess with -- like the mafia and
motorcycle gangs. But after my Jan. 8 column criticizing Julia Goforth for
nursing her toddlers at the Niagara Falls YMCA, I'm considering adding the
breastfeeding community to that list of untouchables.
?I have never received more hate e-mail over a single item. The outrage has
come from Texas, New Jersey, Alberta and, of course, Ontario. Accusations
of ignorance and stupidity are the most common themes. One writer said I
should be fired.
?I'm sorry to report that claims of ignorance are simply unfounded. I have
been a visitor to the Women's College Hospital's breastfeeding clinic in
Toronto, attended pre-natal instruction on nursing and read reams of
literature on the issue. While there are many professional, well-meaning
people who promote mother's milk, there is also a brood of breastfeeding
snobs who throw guilt on women who can't or won't breastfeed. They are just
as intolerant of bottle-feeding families as I am of Goforth's public
nursing of a walking, talking four-year-old.
?Since CANOE's mailbag can't handle 30 letters from formula haters, I'd
like to reprint some of them this space. In Sun Media tradition, I'll
happily respond to each complaint.
?Until you have breastfed a child or baby then your opinion is based on
ignorance.
?Kristan Ouellet
?(As a man, I hope I never get the chance.)
?Western society needs to get over the premise that breasts are for selling
products or giving men pleasure.
?Maureen Griese, Manhattan, Kansas
?(Hey, what's wrong with diversification?)
?I belive YOU need some education on breastfeeding. Julia Goforth is
following a mothering path that is also consistent with practices in the
Bible, where nursing till age three is often mentioned.
?Andrea Weir, Choctaw, Okla.
?(The Bible also mentions stoning people and throwing Christians to the
lions. I guess we should still be doing those things, too.)
?Sorry, dear editor, but your insensitive, ignorant columnist Jeff Harder
gets the booby prize. I am offended when people show their stupidity in
public.
?Patricia Young, Pitman, New Jersey
?(I guess I am a bit of an exhibitionist.)
?I am, personally, uncomfortable watching anyone bottle-feed their baby, as
it is well-known that formula is harmful to children. It is even more
insidious and damaging than outright physical abuse of children, because
bottle-feeding with formula is both so much more common, and so much more
accepted.
?Katherine A. Dettwyler, Ph.D.
?Associate professor of anthropology and Nutrition, Texas A&M University
?(This must be the academic version of misunderstanding and intolerance.)
?You're right, it's not comparable to lump breastfeeding with
bottle-feeding. How more obscene can it be to have an infant sucking on a
molded rubber fake nipple?
?Marnie Ko
?Publisher, Nursing Magazine, Calgary
?(Nursing magazine publisher? No bias here.)
?I was genuinely appalled at your article. You obviously do not view
breasts as a source of vital nourishment for an infant, rather perhaps a
sexual organ that needs to be hidden.
?Caroline Matovic
?Owner, Niagara Region Breastfeeding Clinic
?(Certainly they're vital for nourishment; just need common sense on when
and where they are displayed)
Jeff Harder's column appears Fridays
?(Jeff Harder is Queen's Park Bureau Chief for the Toronto Sun. He can be
reached via e-mail at [log in to unmask])
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