Recently a television advert which featured All Blacks star Piri Weepu was pulled from airing because he was feeding his baby with a bottle. Breastfeeding advocates claimed that advertisers shouldn't be encouraging bottle feeding as breastfeeding is still stigmatised in our society for some reason. I think this is an interesting argument and there are good points for both sides of the argument, which I will talk about.
I'll talk about breastfeeding/breasts first. Many people claim that 'breast is best' and research has been done to show that breast milk contains more nutrients and is more beneficial to the development of children. In our society it is considered offensive to breastfeed in public, which is ridiculous. Firstly, breasts aren't actually sexual organs and the purpose of women having them is to feed their babies. Our society has sexualised breasts to the point where people actually think that they are a sexual organ and should only be used for sexual related purposes. Therefore, it is offensive to expose boob in public as it is a sexual object. It actually isn't illegal for women to be topless in public. As a matter of fact, there was a bit of a controversy in 2010 (I think) about women sunbathing topless on the beach. Men are allowed to walk around/sunbath topless, even if their breasts surpass the size of those of women, so why can't women? Yet another double standard concerning gender. I guess people need to be educated on the actual purpose of breasts. I'm not saying people aren't allowed to be aroused by breasts, but get over the sexual aspect of them in public and save the erection for private time.
Because of the taboo of exposing the female breast in public, many people thinking that public breastfeeding shouldn't be allowed. But why not? It's not illegal and babies do need to be fed. And it's not like women are whipping out their boobs for attention. Feeding a baby isn't sexual (although some weirdos probably think so) and is one of the most natural things in the world. We don't consider a dog feeding her puppies to be disgusting, so why should that be thought about humans? Breastfeeding is beneficial to both mother and child as it helps strengthen their bond. These breastfeeding advocates do have a point in saying that there are a lack of breastfeeding images and I agree with them in saying we need more. Perhaps this will help people get over the sexual aspect of breasts and accept mothers who should be able to breastfeed their child where ever they want.
On the other hand, it is silly how this advert got pulled. Firstly, how do we even know what type of milk was in this bottle? Breast pumps do exist. Some women aren't able to breastfeed for a variety of reasons (but would like to) so have to use formula. While research might say 'breast is best', formula still contains the essential nutrients for a developing child and they will end up perfectly normal. We could argue that breastfeeding can be damaging if you breastfeed past infancy. I'm sure most people would have seen on TV those weird children who still want to be breastfed at 10 years old. Also, maybe if we had an abundance of breastfeeding images, the women who have to bottle feed would feel upset and that they are not doing the 'right thing' by their child.
My second point on this side of the argument is that there are not many images of fathers with babies, so I believe this should be encouraged. A figure such as Piri Weepu is a fantastic choice for this sort of advert. He is a professional rugby player, one of the most 'manly' professions out there (especially in NZ, as we are a rugby worshipping nation). Placing him in an ad with his new baby shows that you are still a 'real man' if you care about your child and help out with child rearing. Many men think that it is a woman's 'job' to do all of the child rearing, but it isn't! Kids need their dads! Trust me, I come from a broken home. And apparently men who help out with the child rearing get more sex from their partners! (So helping out has plenty of benefits!). Another point is that Mr. Weepu doesn't have breasts that produce milk, so how can he possibly breastfeed?
In conclusion, I don't believe that this ad should have been pulled. While there are a lack of images of women breastfeeding, there is also a lack of images of fathers feeding their babies. I do think breastfeeding in public should be encouraged and that people need to get over seeing boobs in public, they are not genitals! However, bottle feeding should not be discouraged and made to be a social stigma, as breastfeeding is not possible 100% of the time. In the end it's the mother's personal choice and everyone else should accept that. Generally parents want what is best for their children.
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