Oh, Jamie Oliver, what have you done?
You’ve only gone and quoted some scientific facts about breastfeeding that are already out there for all the world to see.
How very dare you?
You’ve assumed that – because you’re a human being – you can raise an issue that affects half of all the human beings in the world helpful hints.
The audacity!
You thought that anyone with half a brain, regardless of whether or not they owned a pair of boobs, would agree that breastfeeding women should be able to do it wherever they want.
OMG.
You presumed that mothers who couldn’t breastfeed, or just didn’t want to, would still want to support their friends – their fellow mothers – who could, and do.
Ha!
You believed that, because you have a voice, and you had a window of opportunity in which to use it, you should try to make it count.
Pfffft!
You guessed that because you have a family, you could talk about a topic that affects millions of families without people taking it personally.
Idiot.
You imagined that mums, like me – without a voice that’s heard beyond my own front door – would be pleased that you’d raised something relevant, and important.
Mansplaining.
You assumed that although your choice of words could have been a lot better (‘easy’ and ‘breastfeeding’ should never feature in the same sentence, and you need to re-think this ‘women should do it more’ line), people would see the bigger issue.
Are you for real?
You’ve only gone and dangled the idea that both women and men can be pro-women’s issues in what’s traditionally a very male-dominated space.
Chauvinist.
Oh, Jamie Oliver. What have you done?
Mandi says
Of all the posts I’ve read on this today yours is my most favourite, I work as a bf practitioner and anything that will increase the awareness and get extra support for bf mums has got to be a good thing xxx
Katie says
Oh that’s such a nice thing to say Mandi, thank you! It’s such a sensitive issue for mums, but it would just be a shame to let our own defensiveness cloud what could be a positive move – if only we’d see it as that x