GORDON writes:

Have you posted an entry on contemporary trends in breastfeeding yet?

Today, on an overseas flight, I was seated in proximity to two new mothers who seemed to have no qualms about blatantly exposing their nude breasts for all passengers to see.

This seems to be a rather curious and shameless phenomenon of recent years.

Thoughts?

Laura writes:

This issue has been discussed here before. You can start here, if you like.

But let me get a little bit philosophical about this.

Breastfeeding is very important. Not only does it provide superior nutrition that is economical and enhances a mother’s own health, it attunes a mother to her child. There are times when a mother must feed her child in a public place. But it is easy and simple to breastfeed modestly. One only needs a light blanket. Many women breastfeed in a modest and discreet way.

So why is there this immodesty in some?  

I think it says a lot about how the modern world regards the body. There is a radical disconnect between body and spirit. The body is a mere instrument. That’s why sexual liberation isn’t considered wrong. The body is an instrument for sexual pleasure and feelings. The really important thing is the inner being so what you do with the body is not significant. It is not sacred in its own right. In keeping with this, the breast, when the woman wants to feed her child, is a feeding tool. Why should a woman cover it? Why should she be ashamed? People who object to modesty always confuse it with shame because they have been brainwashed in favor of pagan nakedness. It doesn’t occur to them that immodesty is de-personalizing and that the body is real. When what is private becomes public, intimacy is eroded. A woman’s body is the intimate possession of her husband too. Everyone knows that. So women who bare their breasts in this way have, I would say, weakened relationships and no spiritual life. Nakedness destroys the zone of privacy in which the mind can be turned away from the purely physical. Bees in the hive are naked. They have no privacy. They have no use for it because they don’t have minds.

—- Comments —

A reader writes:

“Bees in the hive are naked.”

I feel sudden relief that God did not give breasts to bees. I already see too many breasts in public.

A reader writes:

I lived for several years in an extremely “modest,” Muslim-majority country that had more in common with Biblical traditions and social mores than modern Western ones.

Women wearing a scarf over head and neck, and a robe covering the body from neck to fingertips and toes, were regularly seen breastfeeding in public – with the breast completely bared. (To be honest, it looked rather uncomfortable for the mother).

While I agree that modern modesty leaves far too much unimagined, I would be cautious conflating breastfeeding with “modern nudity.” There are many other modern aspects of dress that promote immodesty that have no redeeming value, and very few modern parenting “trends” that are as beneficial to children.

Laura writes:

I don’t think you read my response at all.

To repeat, it is not necessary to expose one’s breasts when breastfeeding. Okay? Get it? So I am not saying that breastfeeding is bad or in itself a form of nudity.

No matter what women in the Muslim country you mention do, it’s easy to feed a baby discreetly. The issue Gordon raised is, in  my opinion, related to the general lack of modesty. It’s healthy to swim, but not necessary to swim naked. It’s good to get sun, but not necessary to walk around without clothes. Eating is healthy, but it’s not civil to eat most food with your hands. It’s uncivilized for a woman to expose her breasts in public and it is not difficult to breastfeed discreetly. Even in an emergency, it’s usually possible to find a sweater or jacket to cover the baby and the upper body.

Mrs. H. writes:

Thanks for your thoughtful response, Mrs. Wood.

Most mothers, unless the baby is very fussy or very newborn, can nurse without a cover and still not expose any breast.  I do it all the time.  Sometimes I use a hand to cover the minuscule gap between the baby’s mouth and my shirt, and a baby’s head is large enough to cover everything.  Only with a button up blouse would I need a blanket or cover.

Some older babies, though, are very active when they nurse (playing with the mother’s shirt, wiggling, trying to look around while nursing). It takes a bit of training to correct that behavior, and I’ve found a nursing apron (easy to make), helps in the meantime. My sister-in-law has a nursing poncho, which is very pretty.

Laura writes:

Thanks. There are lots of possibilities, all kinds of nursing tops that make it easy without even needing a cover.

It’s so easy that it makes me wonder about the motives of women who expose themselves (in this country, not Muslim countries).

It’s either an extreme lack of modesty and dignity that comes from the hive mentality, the why-should-I-be-ashamed view that I mentioned, or a militant attitude about nursing.

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