Let's Talk Turkey

When I arrived at work this morning, my co-worker was all too excited to tell us about what she had read on KSL the other day.

Apparently a woman and her husband were wandering around the isles of the Whole Foods on Trolley Square while the woman was breastfeeding her baby. One of the associates came up to them and asked her to cover up because she had gotten some complaints. They were offended, and when they were offered no apology they wrote a letter to the world headquarters in Austin as well as a copy to the Salt Lake store. And my co-worker went on and on about how stupid the whole thing was while I sat there nodding trying to figure out what side she was on.

"The whole thing is just stupid. I mean, wouldn't she be embarrassed? And the husband was mad too, wouldn't he care that the whole world could see his wife?"

Ah. She had taken the associate's side.

Then my other co-worker pitched in with "It's indecent exposure!" and relayed a story about a lady who pulled her shirt up to breastfeed her baby while applying for a loan. Everything was hanging out in front of her and the boss (who left the room for a minute because he didn't know what else to do).

But they were just going and going about how embarrassing and indecent the whole episode was... and I just kept thinking:
Well guys, what if the baby was screaming and she wasn't as prepared as she could have been? And, isn't it a Whole Foods store that promotes all the granola-yness anyway? Besides, people need to just live and let live. Also, indecent exposure? Kade and I saw a 14 year old girl at the mall yesterday whose shorts were so short you could literally see her buttcheeks hanging out the bottom. Also, what about all the girls that wear shirts that are see-through, or super short, or hang down much too low? And for Pete's sake, how many women walk around in this world with their nipples poking through their shirts? How about a bra for that indecent exposure? At least this lady had a baby covering hers.

But I said nothing because these two co-workers have multiple children and obviously know more about everything baby than I do.

So, with my curiosity piqued, I googled the story to see if I could find anything about it. I could never find the actual KSL article but I found the blog of the lady and husband who wrote the letter HERE. And I'll admit, after reading her letter I thought maybe she is going a little overboard.

I wanted to throw out my own opinions about the matter, but you know, I can't say anything to my co-workers because of seniority and also I'm actually pretty shy.

And for what other reason do I have a blog?
So here's my two cents:

-   The lady at Whole Foods? Well, I would have thought if public breastfeeding was accepted anywhere then it would be there, and the other customers should just expect to see breastfeeding like they would expect to see dreadlocks or bare feet.

-   Breastfeeding is not indecent exposure. And how many too-tight, see-through, thin-while-chilly shirts must we endure (on women who aren't even exposed for a good cause) until we charge them with indecent exposure?  Though I don't think I would ever be comfortable enough to not wear a cover, good for those who are. However...
    The store about the lady applying for a loan--well, there are lines that can be crossed ladies. And I'm not too keen on walking through the isles, but if a woman found a bench somewhere and breastfed her baby without a cover then that's just great.

-   People should live their own lives and let others do the same (if it's really not causing anyone harm). Would they complain more about a screeching hungry baby than breastfeeding? Possibly. And the ones who don't want their children to be exposed to boobs in their element will probably allow them to go to whatever filthy PG-13 movie they want because at least its not porn. And there they will probably learn that breasts were created for lust, and not for feeding babies.
    Is it really so hard to realize that we've all been on at least one end of the breastfeeding process at some time in our lives? Sure, it makes us uncomfortable, but are we forced to see it for more than a few seconds? (Not talking about the loan lady, which we probably all agree was more awkward than needed be).

If I were the Whole Foods lady, I probaby wouldn't have taken it as personally, and I probably wouldn't have written a letter to Whole Foods headquarters--I probably would have just brushed it off as another petty thing humankind gets their panties in a bunch about and kept helping my tiny little person live.

It just irks me that so many men can freely stare at a woman's chest and neither party says a word--but once there is a baby attached to that chest, boobs are just repulsive, repugnant, indecent, lewd, embarrassing, and something that must needs be called to attention.

I honestly don't mean to offend anyone by this post, I am a respecter of all persons and all opinions. But these are my guns and I'm sticking to them. Besides, whatever side of the fence you're on is completely understandable, but I bet anyone can think of a hundred better things to whine about than public breastfeeding.