Breasts -
babyfeeders or sexual objects?
| Breasts
in North America are a taboo: going topless on beaches is
not generally accepted, breastfeeding in public is often
frowned on or seen as 'indecent exposure', women going topfree
is considered shameful and immodest behavior.
On the other hand, entertainment
industry and the media constantly show women wearing very
scant clothing that barely covers the nipples and just draws
more attention to the breasts. Fashion swimwear covers less
and less of the female body each year. Media and advertisements
signal to people that breasts are sexual, and only beautiful
when big and protruding. But we know big breasts is a fallacy
since women in ads and movies use push-up bras and breast
enlargement to artificially 'enhance' the way their breasts
look like. |
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Just think what young girls learn about breasts if they
continually see this 'propaganda' without a balancing view
of the real purpose of breasts! Breasts are to be hidden,
they are sexual, forbidden. Parents teach their children
the same way, and many times children don't see a single
pair of naturally nude breasts apart from their own (if
they are girls) while growing up. It is totally possible
that a child grows up in North America and never sees a
baby breastfeeding!
How many pairs of real breasts
have you ever seen? For many young women, most of their
knowledge about breasts comes from movies and magazines,
so it is no wonder that even teenagers talk about getting
breast implants, and that most American women seem to be
unhappy with their breasts. |
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If women are obsessed about their breast size and shape
to the extent of surgery, men aren't doing any better. For
many men female breasts are a source of sexual inspiration,
fascination and fantasy. They get inspired from looking
at pictures where they see some cleavage, where breasts
are enticingly almost visible, yet hidden. The pornographic
industry gets much good about the taboo-ism of female breasts
by letting men see these taboo items for good money.
It is not so in Europe or
in many other parts of the world. European women commonly
go topless on beaches, and many European countries also
have nudist beaches where people sunbath naked, yet the
atmosphere is decent and non-sexual and people are at ease.
The sauna culture in some European countries makes people
used to seeing nakedness, and they don't view breasts as
any special thing or taboo. Primitive tribes in hot climates
wear very little clothing and it's no big deal to them.
It seems that North American culture is almost alone erotizicing
the breasts to such an extreme. |
Carolyn Latteier, the author of Breasts, The Women's Perspective
on an American Obsession, said in a TV program "All about
breasts, "In many cultures, breasts aren't sexual at
all. I interviewed a young anthropologist working with women
in Mali, in a country in Africa where women go around with
bare breasts. They're always feeding their babies. And when
she told them that in our culture men are fascinated with
breasts there was an instant of shock. The women burst out
laughing. They laughed so hard, they fell on the floor. They
said, "You mean, men act like babies?" She
also said in the same program that of the women she interviewed,
the ones that were happiest with their breasts were breastfeeding
women. They weren't thinking about, "Is it too small?
Is it too big?" They were doing something wonderful
- that which is the REAL purpose of breasts. [1] |
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Breastfeeding in USA
An infant formula industry study found that only 31 percent
of US infants are still being breastfed at 6 months, and
even though experts recommend exclusive breastfeeding for
6 months, one study found that only 13% of breastfeeding
mothers at 3 months and a MERE 1% at 6 months were doing
so. [2]
Why do women fail to breastfeed
or wean too early? There are many reasons. Some mothers
think breastfeeding is 'yucky'. The husband or partner might
think woman's breasts are for sexual purposes and become
jealous over the nursing mom's breasts, or start thinking
that the baby is doing something indecent and pervert when
it feeds.
The numerous women who have
negative experiences about breastfeeding pass them on to
their friends. Doctors know very little about breastfeeding
and about the dangers of bottlefeeding. Actually, a study
found that the majority of pediatricians believe breastfeeding
and formula-feeding are equally acceptable methods for feeding
infants. [3]
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| Some women have
problems in breastfeeding but don't receive enough support
and help to overcome the difficulties. Many have difficulties
with breastfeeding in public because of other people's attitudes
towards exposing their breasts. With some, going to work prevents
them from breastfeeding and/or pumping breast milk.
One major factor undermining
breastfeeding in US is the way infant formula companies
advertise their products. They send free samples to pregnant
mothers and to hospitals, give free gifts to doctors and
nurses, and leave the impression in their pamphlets that
formula is almost as good as breast milk. No wonder the
'supplemental bottle' is often used when there is just a
minor solvable problem with breastfeeding!
Another reason why babies
are weaned early is because people have misconceptions about
weaning. Most people in Northern America and in other western
countries think that breastfeeding is only for the first
couple of months of an infant's life, or mostly up to year.
However, in most other cultures worldwide children wean
much later, and in most of the history children weaned much
later. According to Katherine Dettwyler's studies, comparing
humans to our closest animal relatives shows that the natural
age of weaning in humans should be between 2.3 and 7 years.
Children who are allowed to wean themselves, usually do
so between 2 and 5 years of age. [4] |
It seems that everybody agrees that breast milk is better,
but that the whole society is negative about breastfeeding?
Why is that? In the course of history many different parts
of the female body have been fetishes for men, for example
ankles, necks, and tiny feet (in China), so why are North
Americans so obsessed with breasts as sexual objects in our
age? In my opinion
the reason is because the whole society is about to forget
what is the real purpose of female breasts. That is shown
for example in Katherine Dettwyler's experience in her 'Women
and Culture' course in the fall of 1993. One of her undergraduate
students was totally flabbergasted to discover that the
biological function of women’s breasts was for feeding
children. With obvious shock and disgust evident in her
voice she asked, 'You mean women’s breasts are like
a cow’s udder?' [5] If you can see breasts as 'wonderful
milk-making machines' meant for babies, then you won't worry
anymore what men think of your breasts or what they look
like!
We have a vicious cycle on
our hands: the less women breastfeed, the less people get
to see the real purpose of breasts. At the same time media
everywhere constantly touts the perverted view of female
breasts, which makes people view breasts as sexual. That
in turn makes it harder for women to breastfeed, since many
of the reasons for not breastfeeding are linked to the idea
that woman's breasts are sexual organs. |
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