- Data indicate that whereas 60% of new mothers initiate breastfeeding, only 22% are still nursing at 6 months (Gartner et al., 2005).
- It is argued that one reason women have difficulty choosing to breastfeed is their discomfort with the culture’s sexualization of the breast (Dettwyler, 1995;Morse, 1989).
- Many women choose to stop breastfeeding or avoid it altogether because they report being uncomfortable nursing in the presence of others (Carter, 1996;Dettwyler, 1995).
- They and their male partners worry that breastfeeding will make their breasts ugly (Arora,McJunkin, Wehrer, & Kuhn, 2000; Freed, Fraley, &Schanler, 1993) or will interfere with sex (Freed, Fraley, & Schanler, 1992, 1993).
- In addition, many women and men express concern that public breastfeeding is inappropriate or embarrassing (Freed et al., 1992, 1993), and breastfeeding women talk about their feelings of embarrassment,disgust, and desire for privacy (Earle, 2000).
- Many argue that the reason it is embarrassing is that breasts are not viewed as body parts to feed babies but as body parts to be enjoyed by men. Morse (1989, p. 239) quotes one mother as saying, “Yuck, those are for your husband!”
- Yet not only do larger cultural views about the sexual nature of the breast affect women’s choices, but so do the views of their male partners. Men’s attitudes toward and support of their partner’s breastfeeding have been found to be critical factors in pregnant women’s decision to breastfeed and in their persistence of this practice.
- Findings indicate that a male partner’s actual or perceived attitudes toward breastfeeding predict a mothers’ desire to initiate breastfeeding (Kessler, Gielen, Diener-West, & Paige, 1995; Kloeblen-Tarver, Thompson, & Miner, 2002; Littman, Medendorp, & Goldfarb, 1994; L. Rempel & J. Rempel,2004), actual breastfeeding initiation (e.g., Scott, Binns, & Aroni, 1997), and the duration or persistence of the breastfeeding (Arora et al., 2000; L. Rempel & J. Rempel, 2004).
- Moreover, one reason women often give for choosing bottle-feeding is their desire for father involvement with feeding (Earle, 2000).
- Therefore, fathers have proven to be a significant influence on the success and maintenance of breastfeeding, and men’s attitudes in general likely shape women’s choices and behaviors in this domain.
[Source: Ward, L.M., Merriwether, A., & Caruthers, A. (2006). Breasts are for men: media, masculine ideologies, and men’s beliefs about women’s bodies. Sex Roles, 55, 703-714]
I want to thank North American culture for making it awkward for me to breastfeed in public and making men have such a grasp over women’s actions and decisions. Thank you so much. I’m so grateful that women will literally think they’re ugly if they breastfeed.
Ugh.
