Woody Cavenaugh

I am reading here that the other day on The View Barbara Walters mentioned that a woman sitting on an airplane next to her whipped out a breast and fed junior with it. While a normal, natural good thing, Barbara Walters was uncomfortable being so up close and personal to the process. I can't say as I blame her really. At any rate, in minutes militant breastfeeders were planning a terrorist style "nurse in" against ABC because they were offended that Barbara Walters was uncomfortable.

The whole thing just smacks of odd to me. Being mammals it is a well known and widely understood fact that most females of the species produce milk with which to feed new babies. Its a drive through conceived long before the wheel and it works. On the other hand our fore-fathers and fore-mothers have been expounding the taboo of the breast ever since the "big entity" introduced Adam and Eve to fig leaves back in Genesis.

As such, being taboo, the breast have become something desirable and naughty. Since the internet, besides desirable and naughty, they are also profitable and available. Since plastic surgery, they have become symetrical high perky and often too big.

While I agree that a woman ought to be able to feed a baby anywhere she so chooses, if for no other reason mammals were born to do it, it is an awful lot to ask to suddenly switch off several thousand years of taboo in an instant. I know I have been in situations where I have found myself front and center at mommy's special mealtime, and I too have felt very uncomfortable. That's a lot of taboo to suddenly confront at one time. On the one hand (thankfully the winning hand) I want to be anywhere else to give mom her privacy. On the other hand (thankfully the losing hand) I want to sit back and watch in complete fascination.

I get what they are trying to do though. They want to quickly rip the bandade of taboo away to reveal the tender nipple underneath. They see the quick sting a better alternative than a thousand years of slow suffering.

Still they shouldn't attack Barbara Walters and I for being up front and honest with our feelings. Feelings have been a taboo subject for a while too you know. I am however, prepaired to meet you half way. One of the ways to get over a negative feeling is to face it, so in the light of making myself a better person, if you want to breast feed in front of me, I promise to watch you do it. If I watch enough times, sooner or later I will simply stop noticing or caring. It is the least I can do as a fellow mammal.