Breastfeeders protest at Vancouver H&M

I don't understand this either.  What is the offensive part?  The baby feeding or the sight of a bit of exposed breast?Last I checked exposed breasts were the stock and trade of the fashion industry and we were all babies once.  Did a shopper complain?

Just got back from the feed-in. Lots of hungry babies inside the store and out. I took a few pictures of the crowds - will upload them after work. And I wonder what the consequences were for that employee?

There were about 30 women outside H&M when I went past just now - and a couple of nonchalant looking security guards. Said one passerby (male): "Don't people have better things to do with their time?" Hmm.

Exposed skin does not always equal sex. Indeed, it's hard to imagine something more wholesome than feeding a baby.

I went down to the sit-in to take some pictures and talk to the women there, and one new mum, Nadia, told me that although she didn't know the woman who got told not to breastfeed, but it didn't matter.

"I'm here for all women" she said, "and for their rights. Breasts are not sexual, especially when you're breastfeeding, and if we have to watch someone sit in the food court and eat, then it shouldn't matter if someone else sees a breastfeeding woman. If you don't like it, turn your head". 

Two young mums sitting on the floor of the store, said the protest had been relatively quiet, but that everyone was being really nice and they were really impressed with the turnout. "The staff aren't saying anything though," said one, "they're just walking around and smiling politely at everyone".

I overheard one of the managers of H&M giving an interview and she just said basically how sorry they were, but also how their comment was taken out of proportion, but they were glad to support something of this nature.

I suppose they have to say that though, don't they?

Hmm... Is it children who are socially inappropriate? Or is it the adults who create repressive expectations and joy-killing ways of being that children simply haven't conformed to yet?

Your opinion is not so shocking. In fact, it's the dominant sentiment, I would say. Our society is so obsessed with compartmentalizing and segregating that it does not see kids as they are--humans in the early stages of life. Instead, as your opinion well demonstrates, the idea is that children are humans-in-waiting, somewhere on the outskirts of society, only entitled to get in once they reach the age of majority. . Almost like another species. Feared. Loathed. Tolerated. Commodified.

Being parents is not some fun kick, like getting a pet or a gadget. It's just the natural normal flow of life. Some of us take on the care of the next generation of humans, some of us do not. I doubt that most parents think their lives are perfect/better than yours because they have kids. It's really, really hard actually. Being responsible for raising a human, keeping her safe, fed, clean, warm, and giving her the best possible guidance is a HUGE thing. We love it of course because we love our kids more than words can ever convey, and it's very fulfilling, but I don't think you could say we're 'flaunting' this wonderful life. We can be parents and have a very difficult life.  In fact, a lot of us are probably thinking how privileged you are, how you have NO IDEA what a huge rare treat it is to go shopping on your own or with friends. The things non-parents take for granted as normal...

Have parents actually told you your life is empty because you don't have kids? If so, that's very poor form. But perhaps it's more of a feeling you get yourself? Because we all look so darned happy and in love, and you can't relate? No one is trying to exclude you or make non-parents feel bad, I can assure you! We're just having a good time (and perhaps a stressful time, hard time, confusing time, life-changing time, etc.).

Kids are you and me. We all started out as kids, we are all living in this world together, so let's get past this segregation that treats kids as something separate. No one expects you to coo over babies, that's not AT ALL what this protest was about. It is about letting Mother and child do what is normal and natural and necessary for life--without being scrutinized or shamed. It really should be no big deal. If kids were more integrated into every part of society (rather than just school and home and other prescribed "kid" places) then it would not be such a big deal to see a woman feeding her baby as part of everyday life, whether shopping or eating out, or going to a meeting, whatever.

I posted photos on Flickr of boobs taken at the Gay Pride Parade and they  (big surprise) got tons of hits. It makes me angry that boobs in North America can only be shown to be sexual, not to be functional which is what they are when they're being used to do something natural that is healthy for babies such as breast-feeding. Right on for those mothers who got together to demonstrate! Now that's Crowd Power!

"Breasts are not sexual, especially when you're breastfeeding, and if we have to watch someone sit in the food court and eat, then it shouldn't matter if someone else sees a breastfeeding woman." -- I'm sorry, breasts are sexual regardless of your attempt to deny this.  I agree that breastfeeding is not supposed to be sexual -- but have you not heard of women having orgasms based on nipple stimulation alone?  We have sexualized breasts in our society, and denying this is not going to change the situation.  On another note -- yes, watching people eat in the food court is also offensive -- and I am prepared to accept a woman breastfeeding in a foodcourt.  But you would not feed a toddler -- or otherwise consume hamburgers yourself -- in a clothing store.  I think the breast feeding mother's behavior was inappropriate in this context and I see no reason why offering her a change room in which to breast feed was so offensive.  Human rights issues aside -- and it looks like we cannot prevent women from feeding children in inappropriate public spaces -- many people (customers) would be as offended by this as they would having a man take off his shirt in a clothing store.  Go ahead and breast feed your baby (as I did mine) -- but please spare me the spectacle.  Heaven forbid that the poor employee should suffer repercussions from this fiasco.

The more tits the better.

Let me begin by saying that I am a 24 year old liberal and open-minded woman who actually agrees with H&M!

I find it absolutely ridiculous that this woman got so upset because she was asked to breastfeed in a private space: they did not kick her out of the store, nor were they rude to her by making that request. I have witnessed the same request being made to a woman at an H&M store in Toronto a few years ago. I find it completely appropriate. Whether breastfeeding is offensive or a beautiful, natural thing is not the issue at hand. Some people may be uncomfortable with it. I don't think that this request was too much of an inconvenience for the mother: she remained in the store, and could actually sit comfortably in the fitting room. People need to realize that this is a store, not a nursery or a daycare facility, and that the store needs to respect the well-being of all the customers in the store, and not just the ideals of one.

I can honestly say that as someone who wants to have kids in the near future, I would feel uneasy shopping while somebody else was shopping and browsing through clothes while breastfeeding. Moreover, I personally would not feel comfortable breastfeeding in a store. Yes, breastfeeding is natural, nobody is claiming it to be otherwise. But in this case, why do we even have fitting rooms at all in the stores? Why not just take our clothes off and try new ones right there, in the middle of the store? I mean, it's just the human body, it's perfectly natural...no?

Ingrid Furby 10.6839 Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4

Michelley, great comment. You said it like it REALLY is. I think the motivation of this woman was to get attention and press coverage. I mean, the Human Rights Tribunal? Seriously? There are much more serious human rights issues and concerns than being asked (politely!) not to breastfeed and expose yourself in a private fashion retail store. Some stores don’t allow customers to enter with food or beverages. You don’t see people filing complaints to the Human Rights Tribunal saying that the stores deny their natural right to eat! I have told this story at work, a company of 15 people, 13 of which are women, all of whom have children. Not ONE person thought that this woman made any sense. Not ONE. I have never had so much trouble understanding somebody’s rationale (or lack thereof). Breastfeeding is supposed to be something intimate and special between a mother and a child, not a mother, her child and 100 people looking for a deal on cropped cardigans.

Wow!  Why are you people sooooo angry?  We do not live in the Victorian Era.  We are innundated through the media and in society in general with images of women's breasts.  That is just the way our Western culture has evolved.  We are talking about cleavage here and feeding a baby; not some woman yarding out her tits in exchange for some beads and a spot on Girls Gone Wild.  What is REALLY behind all this anger?