Breastfeeding In Public: Paul Frank and Twitter

04.8.10

According to ShePosts.com, someone from the hip and trendy Paul Frank Store right here in LA posted these words on twitter.

Having your whole boob out and breastfeeding in our store #NOTOKAYATALL (since been deleted)

Such is the danger of handing your brand over to a retail sales clerk.

Paul Frank Breastfeeding Tweet

I’m a forty year old woman who breastfed for two years of my life, I’d also appreciate some of you putting your tits away. Yep, that’s right. I’m tired of seeing middle aged women who are angry lactivists resting their breast on the table so their three or four year old can suckle in a restaurant. Yes, I have seen that recently. I’m not disgusted by their breast, but by their behavior.

On the extreme end of things there are women nursing older children (and by older I mean kids that should be potty trained already) and they do so while glowering at anyone who has the misfortune of making eye contact.

I’m tired of that.

Now, if a baby needed to be nursed in a Paul Frank Store I’m sure it would be uncomfortable. I mean, who is the oldest person working over there on Melrose? Maybe 25?

I’m hopeful that the mom chose a discreet part of the store, sat down and fed her baby in the most comfortable way possible, that the hipsters at the store were uncomfortable because they’ve never seen it before, and that they learned a lesson at the end of the day.

There’s another something I want to throw out there. A tough lesson for us moms to learn. Not everyone likes kids. Not every store wants your baby in it. I’m telling you, the more they move, the less appropriate it can be to bring them along. The reality is that there are shops (and their patrons) who are totally not into babies. Right or wrong, that’s just life.

As for this family? Jane has a really terrific Paul Frank Bicycle and she can’t get enough of their little monkey designs. This is just an event, a tiny event and an opportunity for both extremes to get a glimpse of how the world sees them.

← Older Comments
  • Ashley

    I breastfed my oldest till she was 14 months. We live in FL, it gets HOT, the covers never worked for us. She pull it down, or sweat so much. Even IN the shade. I tried light weight blankets, everything. She just hated being covered.
    So then comes baby number 2, same thing. She hates being covered by anything, hell she won’t even use a blanket to sleep.
    I don’t cover! However I do layer my shirts. So usually it’s 2 tanks, a t-shirt and tank, long sleeves and a tank. You can’t even tell I am BFing unless you come up really really close.
    However when I tried using covers in public. I still got the rude fucking stares all the time.
    There have also been times my girls totally pulled my tits out of my tank, bikini tops, whatever. I am sure someone could have said oh she is one of those lactivists trying to get our attention, nope totally NOT the case. My kid pulled my tit out totally not my fault.
    I am also sure there have been a few times that my baby has also popped off the breast, and I quickly relatched her, again, I am sure someone would wanna say I am crying out for attention. Again not the case.
    BTW my kid is 14 months now, and still nursing. Whoever made the comment about the sippy, please come sippy, please come and train my kid! Cause I’ve spent like 40 bucks in cups. So obviously baby is NOT ready to wean yet.
    While I agree some women do hurt the cause, if you know NOTHING about what happened, and were not there, it’s pretty damn easy to just ASSume huh?

  • Ashley

    Holy typos! Sorry folks, the kids were kinda distracting me….way to look like an idiot huh?

  • http://hackerhousewife.wordpress.com/ Marielle

    Not everyone wants to see your face.

    Okay, that was snarky. But I think as a society we are often disgusted by things simply because we haven’t seen them very much. If public breastfeeding was as common as dirt, no one would think twice about it. Throughout history, a number of people were made uncomfortable by a number of things we would find absurd now; such as a black person using the water fountain ahead of them.

    It’s not comparable, but I don’t think there’s anything inherently disgusting about breastfeeding in public. It’s not unhygienic, so I don’t particularly care if you don’t want to see it. That’s just too bad for you.

  • http://abbyandizzysmom.blogspot.com Erin

    Oh my. So much here I don’t even know what to say.

    I had twins and breastfeeding didn’t work out for me. I wanted it to, but I ended up pumping for several months due to painful lesions that refused to heal. When I breastfed, I did cover up and had it worked out in the long run I think I would have been as discreet as possible about our sessions.

    I think it’s a very personal decision/issue. I admit I am uncomfortable when I see or hear about older kids (3-4+) nursing. By that point they are getting their primary nourishment via table foods. I also have to wonder how much it is about milk/feeding as it is just pacifying/comforting/closeness? Don’t jump all over me but since breastfeeding did not work out for me, I am just asking/wondering. How much milk are you still producing at that point? I also just tried to imagine my kids (who are currently 4 years old) having their friends over for playdates and saying, “Wait a minute, I need a drink, let me go get my mom,” and then latching on while the other kids just stare and gasp. Makes me crings to think how my kids would be ostracized for nursing at their current age & stage.

    I agree kids need to learn to use cups. You know how I taught mine? I took all the bottles away cold turkey. When they’re thirsty/hungry enough, they’ll figure it out/deal with it/learn. Or maybe I’m just a hard ass. But it worked.

    I also refrain from scratching my Brazilian in public.
    ;-)

  • http://mommymae.wordpress.com mommymae

    just my pov:

    when i had twins, i breastfed until they were 15 months and never breastfed them in public because it was a damned production & i thought it would be inappropriate. it’s hard to hide & cover when both breasts are being used.

    with my 3rd & 4th, i did nurse in public when the were infants & i was out at their feeding time, but only because i didn’t have the luxury of staying home 24/7 with older kids who also had needs. i rarely used a cover, but i learned to be discreet. the only snark i ever got was from my sister & that may be b/c she never nursed. who knows?

    i’m not covering every square inch of the breastfeeding topic here, but as a breastfeeding advocate, there is a way to be respectful about it.

  • http://freshwidow.blogspot.com Supa Dupa Fresh

    People! As usual, I think most people are looking at everything all wrong.

    If someone in a store complains about your child’s behavior, (NOT YOUR BOOB. Separate topic) they are really complaining about YOU. The Mom. Hard as it is to believe. I know! And some of them aren’t even parents themselves. But they have the right to be annoyed by that (or by your butt taking up half their airline seat) even if you have a constitutional and ethical right to it.

    I have often, often seen parents expecting special treatment because they are doing the world the favor of raising kids in public. It appalls me to see how low people’s standards can get for their kids — as well as for themselves. Look at how people drive. Do you expect a civil society? You shouldn’t. But you should cross the street a LOT more carefully and not fret so much about how you are perceived in retail businesses.

    In saying this, I acknowledge I was a single widowed Mom who often took my toddler out at the wrong time, regularly. I was learning. But you know? Most people looked rather kindly at me when I was having trouble with her behavior. Some folks stated they were Moms and suggested, maybe something to eat? a nap? Her behavior, objectively was bad, my judgment, objectively, was poor. She WAS out of bounds and I COULDN’T handle her. And I found I got a fair amount of sympathy along with the sidelong glances (which are not illegal, last time I checked) and perhaps a few whispered comments (also legal).

    If someone complains about your kid — don’t act as if they’re judging your kid. That’s disingenuous. They’re calling YOU out. Listen a little. Sheesh.

    Just my four cents.

    Supa

  • Pingback: Because my boys will eventually be adults… « They Belong To Us

  • http://amandamagee.com Amanda

    I don’t want to see any body parts resting on tables.

  • Pingback: Tweets that mention Who are you letting handle YOUR brand? Twitter/Breastfeeding fiasco (Via -- Topsy.com

  • http://www.rageagainsttheminivan.com Kristen

    I just weaned my baby. I breastfed her everywhere. It was easy to be discreet.

    I heartily agree that there does seem to be a subset of militant moms who seem to enjoy the attention of flashing a boob in public and then relish in the ensuing discomfort. It reminds me of the kids in high school who would get multiple piercings and wear black lipstick, and then complain when anyone stared at them.

    Oh wait, that was me. Good thing I grew out of that stage. I think some of these lactivists need to grow up, too.

    There’s just no need to breastfeed a child in a restaurant when child is old enough to order from the menu. They can’t be *that* hungry. Seems like attention-seeking to me.

  • Pingback: The hypocrite in the room: Views on female sexuality | fertilefeminism.com

  • http://momandmama.wordpress.com Googie Baba

    Jessica, I am beginning to think every time you need a little bit of attention, you bring up breast feeding. This happened months ago.

  • Caitlin

    I’m about to become a mother for the first time. I can’t imagine propping my boob on the restaurant table (but I might come at feeding under a shawl at the restaurant table). I’m expecting two so while I want as much privacy as possible when I’m breastfeeding, I also expect that I will need to feed them in public. Otherwise, I will never go anywhere, especially with two of them. I’ll try to be discreet and I do expect people to deal.

  • Pr198277

    AMEN!

  • Pingback: VIDEO: Mother Under Fire For Breastfeeding At Public Pool...AGAIN! | Mommy's Dirty Little Secret

← Older Comments