Breastfeeding in the Public Eye

Written by Jodi Cleghorn Tuesday, February 17 2009 01:52

Women in the public eye are often reported for their scandalous antics in gossip magazine and websites. Last week actress Salma Hayek made news of a different kind after controversial breastfeeding footage of the star was made public. But she is not the first.

Salma Hayek

Last week's footage of Hayek came from her humanitarian trip to Sierra Leone last year to raise awareness of tetanus in the war torn African nation. Hayek touring a hospital, took the week old boy to her breast, when she found out that his mother had no milk. Hayek, who was in the process of weaning her one-year-old daughter had no hesitation in breastfeeding the infant she had plenty of milk to give and that her daughter would not mind sharing. Asked about the experience, Hayek shared that her great grandmother had once given the same gift to a starving baby. You can find a reputable link to the footage at the ABC News website.

Amid accusations that it was a publicity stunt and was she going to stick around to be the baby’s wet nurse, the online response was overwhelmingly in support of Hayek. Considering the taboos surrounding cross nursing, I was amazed to see women rally to support the high profile actress’s very public display and proclaim that there was nothing wrong with what she had done.

Angelina Jolie

jolie breastfeeding cover Last year, actress Angelina Jolie caused a stir when she appeared on the front cover of W magazine breastfeeding. Questions arose such as whether it really was an appropriate cover for the magazine and that perhaps such a private moment should not have been shared. I thought it was a brilliant advertisement for breastfeeding -- a true image of the milky earth mother, though after Jolie’s comments about it getting ‘busy at the bar’ I would have loved to have seen her breastfeeding both twins on the cover!

The whole event reminded me of the 1991 Vanity Fair cover of the very pregnant and very naked Demi Moore. Social anthropologist Sheila Kitzinger wrote in her 2001 book Birth Reborn that the Vanity Fair cover put the naked, pregnant body ‘out there’ into the pubic arena for the first time, sparking a revolution in pregnant celebrities showing off their baby bumps in tight fitting tops and behind sheer gauze and chiffon. The question Kitzinger posed was, “whether the same stars who displayed their pregnant bodies with such panache, would breastfeed openly?” Her answer was no.(1)

Sassy Australian mothers, Kirstie Marshall and Kate Langbroek have both caused their fair share of breastfeeding controversy here in Australia.

Kirstie Marshall

Former champion aerial skier, turned politician Kirstie Marshall was evicted from question time in the Victorian parliament in 2003 for breastfeeding her 11-day-old daughter Charlotte (who was not an elected member of parliament and therefore not allowed to be there!). Marshall maintained in interviews that it was a matter of bad timing and she had not been there to make a statement -- though many breastfeeding advocates came out asking why she’s wasn’t trying to make a statement.

The Age newspaper’s editorial said:

"By choosing to juggle motherhood and parliamentary duties, Ms Marshall…has taken a difficult path. She should be congratulated for making the attempt, and for giving Parliament the challenge of adapting to the demands she has made on it. If women choose to combine a political career and motherhood, they should be allowed to make whatever transformations are necessary in their immediate working environment. By doing so they can provide an example of how best to combine conflicting responsibilities." (2)

Kate Langbroek

langbroak breastfeeding In Kate Langbroek's case she had the audacity to breastfeed live on the top rating late night show The Panel in September 2003. Like Marshall, the act was unplanned and not intended to make a statement - her baby was hungry and she fed him. Morning talk show hosts, notoriously conservative in Australia, slammed Langbroek’s on screen behaviour, saying like many had said about Marshall, that she should not have brought her baby to work or allowed breastfeeding to interfere with her ability to do her job. Not surprisingly, they're all men.

This was countered by President of the Australian Medical Association’s Queensland branch Dr. Ingrid Tall who went on record saying: “We need people who are brave to go out there and make a public statement.”

In 2001, Sheila Kitzinger asked if the celebs that were willing to flaunt their pregnant bodies would be as willing to do the same with their breastfeeding. With examples such as Langbroek, Marshall, Jolie and most recently Hayek, I think that we can say yes...that the tide is definitely turning.

Jodi Cleghorn is a mother and writer, as well as a passionate advocate for breastfeeding and natural birth. She is proud to admit she breastfed her son until his 3rd birthday and will be campaigning with all the other Facebook Mums for the Virtual Nurse-In this weekend. You can find more of Jodi's writing at Writing With Passionate Abandon and Reclaim Sex After Birth.

References

(1) Shelia Kitzinger Rediscovering Birth (2001) Little, Brown and Company: London

(2) Baby In The House, Age Online: 12 March 2003

(3) Daniel Dasey, Sure Fire Way to Milk a Reaction, The Sydney Morning Herald online:19 September 2003

Photo of Kate Langbroek compliments of the Sydney Morning Herald website

W Magazine front cover image compliments of Alvidimla Dot Com

Related Articles at Type-A Mom

Cross Nursing: the invitation to breastfeed someone else's baby

Cross Nursing: the experience

| More...

Comments

RSS

LOVE this article. I say - ABOUT TIME!

AngEngland (Administrator) 2009-02-18 11:34:20

I was blessed enough to grow up in a household with a mother who naturally
breastfed, and fortunate enough to be the oldest of eight, giving me the chance
to see firsthand. Breastfeeding was very matter-of-fact and even in my
conservative Christian family, the "right" thing to do.

It's off to me
when we've sometimes visited other areas, that more women aren't breastfeeding!
At my current church there is only one other mother and she's nursing her
firstborn - about 3 weeks old. She had been running to the nursery and
"hiding in the corner" to do so. I was glad to have the chance (although
I certainly didn't plan it) to nurse my 5 month old during the service when he
got hungry. As she and I had discussed how to nurse discreetly but effectively,
I was happy to see her noticing me nursing. I hope that my example would prove
to her it is possible to breastfeed your child without feeling like you must
isolate y...

jodicleghorn (Author) 2009-02-18 16:35:05

I spoke at a public forum for an inquiry on breastfeeding early in 2007. It was
about three months before I was planning to wean my almost three year old. It
was the last time that I proudly breastfeed my walking, taking big boy in the
public eye.

And I was glad that I had an opportunity to make my point to the
elected representatives who were there to hear the evidence being given.

I
always smile and nod when I see women breastfeeding. It's not up to us to wait
and follow the lead of celebrities et al, but be there as a grassroot ground
swell of support when they step up and behave as we do!

It's wonderful you were
able to grow up in a household where breastfeeding was normal. Both my sister
and I were bottle fed from early ages so it felt like taking a stand to choose
to breastfeed as long as I did. Trying to harmonise the feminine/mother energy
in our family.

Thanks for stopping by to comment.

Breastfeeding No Longer For the Bathroom!

genakirby (Author) 2009-03-06 09:23:33

Hooray! Women are finally getting permission to do what we have done for
thousands and thousands of years. Breastfeed our children, why is it okay for me
to watch people stuff their faces in restaurants, but not okay for a baby to
feed in public? I'm so happy to see stars doing what comes naturally. Women need
to see other women nursing, so the taboo becomes normal again. Thanks for
bringing these stories to light.

Only registered users can write comments!

< Prev		Next >

Please Help Our Friend Anissa!

eBooks for Moms