The breastfeeding mothers' organization in Norway was started by two members
of something called the New Feminists in 1968.  After considering an
affiliation with LLLI they decided against it because they felt it would not
have reached the group they were aiming for, the group to which they
belonged.

The women who modeled breastfeeding and had an influence on me were all
strong figures who participated in many arenas of public and private life
and had no qualms about calling themselves feminists, most importantly my
mother.  Breastfeeding was a way to feed your child without giving a penny
more than absolutely necessary to the male-dominated capitalist economy.  It
was also a way to realize the strength and magnificence of the female body,
and a way to sit down and relax and enjoy your child while doing so.  It
eliminates conflicts about who will be responsible for washing up the
bottles too.

Norway contributed a publication to the NGO summit on women in Cairo about a
dozen years ago, about breastfeeding as empowerment of women.  It is indeed
empowerment in many senses, including economic, which is so central to many
of the struggles feminism supports.

We do need to acknowledge that in some places and times, feminism has
reacted against a biologically deterministic view of women (that because we
are the ones with the best suited wombs, that is the only body part we
need), and this has put breastfeeding in a negative light, but there are
many other places and times in which feminism has been used to argue for
paid breastfeeding breaks and maternity leaves.  Feminists do not advocate
that women should be just like men.  Some feminists (this one, for instance)
want all people to have equal possibilities to be themselves, without
limitations because their bodies happen to be the male or the female version
of our species.  This has many implications for how we organize the world,
like having more toilet stalls for women than for men when there are equally
many of each of us, because it takes women a bit longer to get in and out
and do their business than it does men, and if all the women are to be able
to empty their bladders in the allotted break time, either we need to learn
to pee standing up with our clothes on, or someone has to design a common
urinal that works for us, or we need more stalls.

Rachel Myr
Kristiansand, Norway, where I *never* mention the gender of a newborn baby
until the mother or her accompanying person think to ask about it, and it is
surprising how often it will take minutes before anyone does...

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