After A Breastfeeding Mom Is Harassed, Women Get Their Boobs Out In Solidarity

When staff at a food court asked a nursing mom to leave, they sowed the seeds for a nurse-in

It’s 2016, and a mom still can’t feed her baby in public without facing endless amounts in harassment. The latest story is out of Australia, where a nursing mother was told to leave a shopping center’s food court because she was feeding her child.

Luci White had almost finished her own lunch when her 7-month-old son began to fuss. He was hungry. She decided to feed him. That’s when a barrage of complaints began. She told the Bendingo Advertiser an elderly man walked up to her and said, “You can’t do it in public. It’s inappropriate.” Then another mother walked up to her and said “That is so rude with children around.” Finally a manager showed up to let her know she’d need to leave the food court and head to a special “breastfeeding room” the mall provides.

White claims by the time she arrived at the “breastfeeding room,” her son was screaming and inconsolable. What’s more distracting: a screaming, hungry baby, or one quietly feeding?

She posted about her experience in a local moms group. One mother responded, “I think there needs to be a mass breastfeeding session in that food court to educate the neanderthals out there that no-one has the right to tell a mum where to feed her child.” The post went viral, and resulted in one of the moms organizing a “Boobs for Babies” protest.

The women showed up at Bendingo Marketplace in Bendingo, Australia on Friday and sent a clear message: stop harassing breastfeeding mothers.

Breastfeeding is legal in public spaces in Australia, just as it is in this country. That still doesn’t stop people from trying to shame mothers into hiding. As long as that keeps happening, there will be women willing to stand up for each other, as they should be.

Solidarity, ladies!

The marketplace issued a statement after the event: “We regret that a member of our community experienced any discomfort or embarrassment while shopping with us and we apologize to the mother concerned.”

The staff was probably wishing they’d kept their mouths shut. Mission accomplished.

H/T Huffpost Parents