Breastfeeding & Discrimination in Australia

2nd born & I lacking "class" last month

An Australian mother was forced to leave a swimming pool for breastfeeding her baby last month. Following the coverage of this incident a morning television presenter: David "Kochie" Koch, called for breastfeeding mothers to be "discreet" and "classy" about how they feed their children in public. My Facebook newsfeed was alight with lactivist fury, protest rallies were organised, and frustrating debates about who defines what is appropriate breastfeeding behaviour. 

My 2008 blog post "Uncovering what lies behind lactophobia" received quite a few hits and I shared the link on Kochie's Facebook page with a few thoughts that plagued me throughout the (social) media hoo-ha:

"Breasts are a body part, there to perform a function. It makes no more sense to call for 'discreet' breastfeeding or covering up while breastfeeding than it does to call for eyes to be covered while seeing, or arms covered while lifting. That is, unless you mistakenly believe that breasts' function is to arouse a misogynist culture that has fetishized women's bodies as one way of subjugating us"

Yesterday the Townsville Bulletin published a brilliant article by Bettina Warburton about the incidents, focusing on an often forgotten fact when it comes to breastfeeding debates in Australia: it is illegal to discriminate against breastfeeding women and children. The federal Sex Discrimination Act 1984 protects public breastfeeding, as Warburton explains:

"It's illegal to restrict access to public spaces otherwise accessible because a woman is breastfeeding.  There are no shades of grey, and no interpretation of the law required, when it comes to a breastfeeding woman in public.  In fact, the law means what happened last month to a breastfeeding mother at the Bribie Island Aquatic Centre was illegal."

This is a fact needs to become public knowledge and something I wish I had recalled the last time I was discriminated against for breastfeeding. Last year my Grandmother and I were eating breakfast at a cafe, my baby eating hers in my arms, when an elderly woman interrupted us and told me to go across the street to feed my daughter in the filthy public toilets (the cafe did not even have its own toilets! And I refuse to use the one's across the street even for eliminating because they are known in the local community to be a popular place for drug users). I was too surprised by the interruption to respond, but  my Grandmother had a few strong words about "old biddies minding their business". In any case, it would have felt great at that moment to remember that my behaviour is protected by law and that woman was the transgressor! 

In addition to the underlying misogyny and illegal nature of discrimination against public breastfeeding, negative breastfeeding comments in the media infuriate me because I know there are mothers trying to do their best for their babies and trying to please the general community simultaneously. It is unjust. Warburton's article touches on this issue beautifully when she writes:

"When I started on my motherhood journey nearly five years ago, I found breastfeeding an extremely difficult act to master.  The last thing I needed as a new mother, who was trying desperately to master the fine art of breastfeeding, was public scrutiny on how discreet and classy I should be when feeding my baby in public.  High-profile comments, such as Kochie's, that sanction curbing a breastfeeding woman's access to public spaces can make it awkward for many of us to continue on our breastfeeding journeys."

I can remember being afraid to breastfeed in public in the early months of motherhood. I hid myself away from crowds, got my partner to sit or stand strategically to protect me from view, afraid not only that someone might tell me off for breastfeeding, I also worried someone would stop me to tell me I was doing it wrong. It is a very vulnerable time in a mother's life. It was for me even though I already hung out in lactivist circles and blogged about the importance of breastfeeding. I can only imagine how much harder it must be on mothers without the same information and support that I had. It is reassuring to know that our law makers considered and included us in the Sex Discrimination Act, 29 years ago.