Public Breastfeeding vs Lingerie Ads: A Double Standard

“Oh my gosh. She is breastfeeding her child in public, that should not be allowed.” “Please leave and do that elsewhere, nobody wants to see that.” These are the types of comments that women get when they are simply trying to feed their child in public places. Should women get in trouble for breastfeeding wherever they like? Should Victoria’s Secret be able to post pictures of women in lingerie on their display in the mall or on ads? As you can see in this cartoon the woman is showing as much breast as the display in the background. Why is it that people are sexist about public breastfeeding and not lingerie ads? Breastfeeding is a very natural thing and has been happening in public for years and people need to realize that there isn’t much

You also see that she is in front of a Victoria’s Secret store with a woman in lingerie as the display. Did the cop have the right to tell her to stop or leave? What does the law have to do with it? “According to the National Conference of Legislatures: forty-nine states, the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands have laws that specifically allow women to breastfeed in public or private places” (Goldbas, Pg 22). This law proves that she had the right to breastfeed in a public place. That officer had no right to tell her otherwise. Women shouldn’t be discriminated against because they are doing something that is in their nature as a mother to a newborn. Yes, some people may not appreciate seeing mothers nursing their child in a public place. However, I personally don’t see any difference between a photo of a Victoria’s Secret model in lingerie on display at the store or on television and a mother simply feeding her child. Most women even cover their breast when they are feeding their child so that people passing by cannot view any part of it. In contrast, lingerie ads allow the women to display their bodies for the entire world to see without so much as a complaint from