The Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog

Can you be a feminist and breastfeed?

This Monday morning I want to talk about something complicated but really interesting.

I was recently reading an article on breastfeeding and feminism called "Is Breastfeeding Fair?" by Dr. Deborah McCarter-Spaulding, IBCLC. 

The article outlines "the feminist problem of breastfeeding."  What's that, you ask?  McCarter-Spaulding provides a summary:

"The problem arises because breastfeeding is sex-specific, and therefore challenges the feminist principle of gender-neutral childrearing.  It is an even more difficult problem than pregnancy because whereas pregnancy is necessary for childbearing, many do not consider breastfeeding to be critical to an infant's survival, at least in industrialized countries."

So, to summarize, feminist theory views social expectation and roles as potentially oppressive to women.  Pregnancy is a part of parenting that obviously cannot be shared, but some argue that breastfeeding doesn't fall in the same category.  Some feminists (see below) view infant feeding as an activity that can and should be shared equally.  You can only get to this point of view, it seems to me, if you think that breastfeeding is not a biological imperative.  And that is the argument that some feminists (not all, see below) make, questioning whether there truly are health benefits to breastfeeding. 

There are, however, several different feminist views on breastfeeding.  I'll summarize them here:

Liberal feminism:  In this view, breastfeeding is a social arrangement.  Lactation - making milk - is a distinctly female biological function which only women can perform, but feeding the baby is a form of social labor which can be negotiated.  Proponents of this view question claims of superiority of breastmilk over formula.  McCarter -Spaulding says that in this view, "Breastfeeding is seen as a gender difference that stands in the way of liberating women.  Bottle-feeding in this perspective would be seen as liberating."

Cultural feminism:  In this view, breastfeeding is seen as a special female role which should be protected.  In this view, complete gender equality may threaten those things that are uniquely female and male.  McCarter-Spaulding states, "Cultural feminism strives to reconfigure social and economic structures to accommodate this gender difference without resorting to biological determinism."

Feminist health activism:  In this view, breastfeeding is part of a political agenda which is aimed at helping women take control back over their bodies with information and support (think Our Bodies, Ourselves, but also La Leche League).  Viewed as a unifying perspective, this approach focuses on removing barriers which constrain women's choices, such as lack of paid maternity leave, the absence of break time or facilities to pump at work, and the particular challenges faced by disadvantaged women. 

I'd love to hear your perspective.  Do you consider yourself a feminist and also a breastfeeding advocate?  Do you think that it's possible to come up with an arrangement which allows for equal division of responsibility while allowing a mother to breastfeed?  Which of the perspectives above, if any, appeals to you?

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Motherwear's 25th anniversary contest for July.

Here's another great vintage catalog cover, posted to celebrate Motherwear's 25 years supporting nursing moms.

Each month this year I get to give away a $25 gift certificate to Motherwear on the blog.

To win July's prize, leave a comment telling me that you're a subscriber to the Motherwear Blog.  If you aren't one yet, you can use these links to subscribe in a reader or by email.  Subscribing to the podcast feed through our iTunes store works, too!  Current and new subscribers are eligible.  Just be sure to leave a comment so I can include you in the drawing.

Leave the comment below by midnight on July 11th.  Be sure to leave a 'real' email address so I can contact you if you've won.  The winner will be notified by email.  U.S. addresses only, please.

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Vatican pushes for more breastfeeding images of the Virgin Mary.

An influential Vatican newspaper recently published an article calling for a return to images of the Virgin Mary breastfeeding the baby Jesus.

The Catholic News Service reports:

The loving, tender images of Mary breast-feeding the baby Jesus need an artistic and spiritual rehabilitation, said the Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano.

A vast iconography of traditional Christian art has been "censored by the modern age" because images depicting Our Lady's naked breast for her child were deemed too "unseemly," the paper said June 19.

Artists began depicting a fully clothed nursing Mary in sacred art in an attempt to make her seem less "carnal," but the depictions unfortunately also diminished her human, loving and tender side "that touches the hearts and faith of the devout," the newspaper said.

The Vatican paper published the two commentaries in its June 19 edition along with a Renaissance portrait of Mary baring her breast, nursing a swaddled baby Jesus.

Salesian Father Enrico dal Covolo, a professor of classic and Christian literature at the Pontifical Salesian University, said in his commentary that a nursing Mary represents an interesting paradox: "He who gives nourishment to all things, Mary included, now lets himself be nourished by her.

This kind of Marian iconography can be traced back to Egypt and early Christian times, but it ends around the 16th or 17th century, both authors said.

Scaraffia wrote that the Protestant movement was quite critical of "the carnality and unbecoming nature of many sacred images." Even though Catholicism rejected this view, the condemnations still affected the church's approach to sacred art, as evidenced by artists later covering up the naked forms in the Sistine Chapel, she wrote.

The splintered views concerning the sanctity of the human body were not repaired and therefore an "artistic and spiritual rehabilitation" of a breast-feeding baby Jesus is needed, she wrote. 

She said the sacred image of Mary nursing her child is "an image so concrete and loving" that it recalls her offering her body for nourishment and giving herself completely to her son as he offers his body and blood in the Eucharist and gave himself completely for others with his death and resurrection.

I didn't know any of this history, so I found this fascinating to read.  For some great breastfeeding images in art over time, check out this video.

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