Modesty and Milk

My parents just came back from visiting a cousin of mine (I have about 30 of them) who recently had her first baby. Besides being happy for her and relieved that the baby is perfectly healthy, I am delighted that she is successfully breastfeeding him. My dad was startled to find that she had no hesitation to whip out her breasts in front of him. He keeps talking about how I've nursed three babies in front of him for years now, and he's never seen "anything". The thing that I find funny about the situation is that my cousin is Muslim. She covers her hair in front of strange men, but she's okay with being topless in front of her uncle :)

I have always been modest, so the fact that I cover up well when I breastfeed is no surprise to everyone who knows me. When I'm at home with just my kids and husband, I don't ever hide anything. If there is anyone else present, though, I use some discretion. Blankets never worked for me, so I figured out how to nurse without showing any skin. Although I do this for my own comfort level, I think it has helped me avoid any negativity being directed at me in public. I have been breastfeeding for much of the past seven and a half years in the Deep South without one unpleasant comment. I have gotten compliments though.

I don't believe that women should have to be so conscious of what others see when they breastfeed as I am. It is a natural act, and we've ruined breasts in our society by brainwashing people into believing they are for sex. Somewhere on Kathy Dettwyler's website, she mentions that most world cultures do not see breasts as sexual, so it isn't a human universal.