By Sarah Werthan Buttenwieser
Latest from the nursing-mothers-are-legally-protected-to-breastfeed-in-public front:
this law is unfamiliar to the manager of a Kentucky Applebee’s. A story that ran in the Lexington Herald describes the dispute between a breastfeeding mom and the restaurant manager. Asked to cover up and offered a blanket to do so, little separates this seemingly ubiquitous story from being like the others. (And maybe that’s the point: even once protected by law, it’s such a hidden one that no one feels compelled to follow it). The nursing mom, Brooke Ryan, however, had a copy of the law in hand, pointing out to those in charge that she was within her rights to breastfeed in public—and without a blanket. In going public, Ryan compared her situation to Rosa Parks’ on the bus, except with a blanket.
A discreet breastfeeding mom (and we who have done it for years believe women if they say they are discreet) isn’t a public eyesore. Whether Ryan’s actions were staged, it matters not. While the nod to Parks might seem extreme, an articulate woman like Ryan demanded a simple, and I think fitting thing from Applebee’s: an apology.
Meantime, the June story is resurfacing now because on September 8th, a series of Nurse-Ins are being scheduled at Applebee’s restaurants around the country.
These stories don’t make big headlines necessarily beyond the local angles. Perhaps, though, on a national stage, it’s our duty in supporting women’s experiences from being invisible to keep taking note.
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2 comments:
Thanks for the heads up on what is planned across the country for the Applebee's Chain. I will make very sure that I don't dine there when the protest takes place. You would think the exhibitionist's are pretty desperate for attention with this one. A "women's rights issue"? Evidently class will tell one more time.
Not all bullies are boys. The lady who thinks anything her breasts are doing in public in 2007 equates to what Rosa Parks achieved in 1955 is a bully with an inflated sense of self.
What Rosa Parks made possible was equal access to public facilities and transportation by individuals without regard to the color of skin with which we come in to the world with.
By contrast, the woman featured had a choice. She could display her breasts while feeding her child as a political statement. Or she could feed her child while displaying something more lovely: good will to her fellow patrons. It is a reasonable assumption that some would prefer not to dine with such intimate scenery on display.
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