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[–]reluctant_commenter 16 insightful - 1 fun16 insightful - 0 fun17 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

In the context of people being shamed for using the word "breastfeeding" and being told they should be using "chestfeeding"-- this strikes me as a tone-deaf move.

In an ideal world, all children would have the ideal upbringing with access to the best resources, and (I haven't looked into it extensively, feel free to correct me) it seems like there's a lot of evidence to suggest that breastfeeding is better than formula for babies. I don't think parents should be shamed for not being able to provide that... But, as this article points out, shaming formula feeders like Tan France is not the point of the awareness week or whatever it is:

“Totally agree that there should be no shaming in how we feed our children but that’s not what breastfeeding week is about,” someone else wrote. “It’s about promoting support for new mothers, better quality information and guidance so that breastfeeding isn’t shamed.”

The truly ironic part is that he seems to be shaming the pro-breastfeeding camp. From his response:

France addressed concerns that he was shaming breastfeeding, with the TV personality explaining, according to Insider: "To any of those women who are watching this, I’m not saying breastfeeding is bad. We’re not judging you for breastfeeding. It’s wonderful that you have the luxury and the privilege to be able to feed your baby with your breasts....

"Luxury" and "privilege" are words often used by people on the left to call out for someone being an oppressor. And I observe that as a liberal myself.

I'm not very familiar with this guy (Tan France) beside this but I'm a little curious as to what his motivations are, given his responses.

[–]Femaleisnthateful 10 insightful - 2 fun10 insightful - 1 fun11 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

"We're not judging you for breastfeeding"

Rather seems that you are, though.

Everything about pregnancy, childbirth and post-natal care is brutally taxing on women's bodies and often mental health. Talking about women's experiences (which he knows nothing about) in terms of 'luxury' and 'privilege' only serves to diminish those experiences and the ability of women to advocate for their own needs.