I'm assuming most people reading this will have seen the Time magazine cover, but for anyone who hasn't it shows a mother feeding her 3 year old with the head line "are you mom enough" to accompany a artificial on attachment parenting. There has been a lot of comments on the internet about it being wrong or disgusting. When I first read about them I wanted to defend the picture, I always support any ones right to breastfeed. Any form of promotion of breast feeding, including full term breast feeding should be a posotive thing. However I don't feel I can support this image. The picture shows both mother and child looking at the camera, the child is stood on a chair. I feel that the whole picture looks too staged. Surly to promote and normalize full term breastfeeding images should be natural. This
seams to me to have been set up to shock people and conform to stereotypes of extended breastfeeding. I question why the mother allowed that type of image to be used. Surly she could have requested one showing a normal feed? The child may sometimes feed standing on a chair and I know I don't have eye contact in my older breastfeeding photos as she wants to look at the camera as soon as she sees it. Yes older children feed in different positions. My daughter will feed standing up, if I go to the toilet before I get dressed in the morning she will try to feed standing next to me. I think the problem I have with the magazine cover is that a lot of people already see full term breastfeeding as odd. To me the pictures of a child feeding once they have some understanding of social manners should reflect this. I sometimes eat with my hands at home but i use a knife and folk in public. While breastfeeding, and full term breastfeeding are normal and need to be normalize there is such a strong culture against it that it needs to be done carefully. The picture seams some how detached, so if a funny one to chose for an piece about attachment parenting. The image appears to be an invitation for negative comments and accusations of forcing breastfeeding on people.
Am I "mom enough" to want to cause more bad publicity and negative imagery for full term breast feeding? No, I'm just a mummy.
seams to me to have been set up to shock people and conform to stereotypes of extended breastfeeding. I question why the mother allowed that type of image to be used. Surly she could have requested one showing a normal feed? The child may sometimes feed standing on a chair and I know I don't have eye contact in my older breastfeeding photos as she wants to look at the camera as soon as she sees it. Yes older children feed in different positions. My daughter will feed standing up, if I go to the toilet before I get dressed in the morning she will try to feed standing next to me. I think the problem I have with the magazine cover is that a lot of people already see full term breastfeeding as odd. To me the pictures of a child feeding once they have some understanding of social manners should reflect this. I sometimes eat with my hands at home but i use a knife and folk in public. While breastfeeding, and full term breastfeeding are normal and need to be normalize there is such a strong culture against it that it needs to be done carefully. The picture seams some how detached, so if a funny one to chose for an piece about attachment parenting. The image appears to be an invitation for negative comments and accusations of forcing breastfeeding on people.
Am I "mom enough" to want to cause more bad publicity and negative imagery for full term breast feeding? No, I'm just a mummy.
