I wanted to
take a break in the current usual proceedings of reflecting upon my time in the
field as a mother and to write about a more 'in the news' topic. There has been
a week of virtual and physical world activity in support of Breastfeeding. I
picked up on a record attempt in the UK for the most women (and babies I
assume) breastfeeding simultaneously and a surge of campaigning and images
in social media promoting support for all mothers in the practice of feeding
one's baby with one's breast (novel idea, its bound to catch on!).
I am at once
overjoyed by the amount of beautiful images splayed across the internet of
babes happily latched onto their mothers and also annoyed at the fact a week in
the year needs devoting to highlight the support needed for said mothers. At
risk of stating the obvious, breasts are for feeding babies with, that is why women have them, any
other socially constructed benefit such as the beauty of them, their sexual
attractiveness, the invention of special cloth devices to put them in and their
marketability to entice heterosexual men to buy anything is merely an added
extra. Though in some societies they seem to have got that the wrong way round
and even more so have turned them into a weapon of offence in a feeding
situation.
I find the
whole situation very odd, I'm sure my baby if she could enter into the debate,
would be inclined to agree. That of course is my gut reaction to a world of
silly rules, but by thinking anthropologically I
can think of some more rational explications to this breast utility obsession. What exactly is it about the human condition that throughout time and
place we change the way we relate to our bodies and what they do?
For some cultural comparison here is a brief ethnographic vignette taken from my fieldwork diary:
When I boarded the combi* this morning I wished it was possible to take a snapshot of the scene that greeted me. Apart from myself with nuzzling babe in arms there are four other women of varying ages from late teen to 30s (as usual at this time the combi was populated only by women going about daily business) all nursing babes or toddlers. As we chatted about the recent thunderstorms, how busy the city centre had become etc. no-one batted an eyelid at the amount of breasts on show, as they never do because if you have a baby or small child who is pining at your chest then you feed it - why wouldn't you?
*A combi is a micro-bus/van with seating that is used as public transport around the city.
That is what I would describe as a healthy social attitude to feeding one's young. This was by no means a special day and justified by a female only presence, it happens on any day regardless of the gender mix. People of any age and gender will stop and talk to you, kiss and coo at the baby without any hesitation about it being attached to a nipple. Here feeding is not a shameful or secret event and nor are women accused of 'making a point', they are simply feeding their child whether it be on public transport, in the workplace, at home or walking down the street (a skill to be valued in itself!).
Mexico has a stereotype of machismo and of treating women poorly, and I certainly do not dispute the aspects of violence, maltreatment and appalling incidents of feminicide that occur. But lets get beyond the sweeping generalisations to turn the focus back on a so-called civilized and developed society such as the UK.
For some cultural comparison here is a brief ethnographic vignette taken from my fieldwork diary:
When I boarded the combi* this morning I wished it was possible to take a snapshot of the scene that greeted me. Apart from myself with nuzzling babe in arms there are four other women of varying ages from late teen to 30s (as usual at this time the combi was populated only by women going about daily business) all nursing babes or toddlers. As we chatted about the recent thunderstorms, how busy the city centre had become etc. no-one batted an eyelid at the amount of breasts on show, as they never do because if you have a baby or small child who is pining at your chest then you feed it - why wouldn't you?
*A combi is a micro-bus/van with seating that is used as public transport around the city.
That is what I would describe as a healthy social attitude to feeding one's young. This was by no means a special day and justified by a female only presence, it happens on any day regardless of the gender mix. People of any age and gender will stop and talk to you, kiss and coo at the baby without any hesitation about it being attached to a nipple. Here feeding is not a shameful or secret event and nor are women accused of 'making a point', they are simply feeding their child whether it be on public transport, in the workplace, at home or walking down the street (a skill to be valued in itself!).
Mexico has a stereotype of machismo and of treating women poorly, and I certainly do not dispute the aspects of violence, maltreatment and appalling incidents of feminicide that occur. But lets get beyond the sweeping generalisations to turn the focus back on a so-called civilized and developed society such as the UK.
Capitalism and Patriarchy Come Hand in Hand
The societies most offended by a woman using her body to ensure the
survival of her baby are the most technologically and economically advanced, or
that is to say are the most technologically and economically dominant. There
has been a long tradition in feminist anthropology and social theory that
questions the use of technology as a means of population control (for an
introduction see Emily Martin for a distinct analysis of obstetrics and
authoritative anatomy knowledge and Vanessa Maher (ed) for a collection of writings on
breastfeeding). Population control in the theoretical sense involves the
manipulation of social thought (common sense) and bodies for the common
economic good of a nation - or for those that govern the nation. What economic purpose is served by controlling how a growing population is fed? Maybe that is one for the formula companies to answer!
From a feminist perspective I would argue that much has to do with the destructive illusion that gender equality is about making women more like men rather than acknowledging that biological difference is a strength particularly in terms of life creation and survival. Women are 'freed up' to enter back into the workplace and therefore should feel liberated about the choice of bottle feeding over breast. This....as opposed to the workplace adapting to the needs of a breastfeeding woman is the type of situation that makes breastfeeding an issue that then needs dealing with. Laws and policies must be devised and rights defended in order to ensure some smokescreen of equality in what is essentially a patriarchal work-space. Only in the most advanced capitalist societies do organisations need to create a policy for breastfeeding because in those societies women's bodies really are commodified and sexualised to a point where people have forgotten what breasts are for. And those that remember have to work hard to defend what is seen as a radical standpoint and feeding one's child becomes a Right rather than a normal bodily function...what a topsy-turvy world we live in!
From a feminist perspective I would argue that much has to do with the destructive illusion that gender equality is about making women more like men rather than acknowledging that biological difference is a strength particularly in terms of life creation and survival. Women are 'freed up' to enter back into the workplace and therefore should feel liberated about the choice of bottle feeding over breast. This....as opposed to the workplace adapting to the needs of a breastfeeding woman is the type of situation that makes breastfeeding an issue that then needs dealing with. Laws and policies must be devised and rights defended in order to ensure some smokescreen of equality in what is essentially a patriarchal work-space. Only in the most advanced capitalist societies do organisations need to create a policy for breastfeeding because in those societies women's bodies really are commodified and sexualised to a point where people have forgotten what breasts are for. And those that remember have to work hard to defend what is seen as a radical standpoint and feeding one's child becomes a Right rather than a normal bodily function...what a topsy-turvy world we live in!
1 comment:
Well written and thought out! As a man, I would like to put my two sense in and say I greatly agree with the author!!! (And no I am not a Homosexual Male, I am without doubt absolutely heterosexual.) I greatly agree that even though our society is supposedly becoming more "advanced", we are as a whole, not at all becoming more mature (intelligent). In fact, we still have much the objectification of women and their anatomy, in our society. In such a way, I would argue that we have not advanced at all, and have very possibly regressed. I would agree as well that our Patriarcal society is no further ahead in truly understanding what equality between men and women even means. Still a very male dominant, self serving, women debasing agenda is pushed through most of our main stream media. I very much appreciate that the above blog is supporting the true and natural function of a woman's breast, in contrast to our over sexed society which strives to convince women that they are merely sex objects existing for the pleasure of others. Thank you to those women (and men) who do not fall pray to the idiocy that is rampant in our society which neglects the true beauty of the female body and mind, which without, society would not exist.
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