The Badass Way This Mother Confronted Breast-Feeding Shame

If we haven't made ourselves clear enough already, let's set the record straight: We are wholly in favor of breast-feeding, and it's particularly inspiring when the nursing mother in question is comfortable doing it openly. When new mother Ashley Kaidel wrote a lengthy, frustrated post on her personal Facebook page last week, she wrote from the point of view of a woman who was made to feel the exact opposite of comfortable while breast-feeding — and she needed to vent. Kaidel first explains that the photo attached to her post was taken at the very moment she noticed a woman staring at her in a restaurant. She'd been nursing her infant son and knew instantly that this woman was shocked that she'd do such a thing in public. Kaidel writes, "She is looking at me with disgust and shaking her head with judgement in an attempt to shame me and indirectly tell me without words that I am wrong and need to cover myself." What follows is Kaidel's passionate defense of her — and all mothers' — freedom to choose how and when to breast-feed. She refers to the laws permitting women to breast-feed in public, and the fact that raising complaints over the process is just unnecessary body-shaming. More than that, it's reflective of an outdated view of how women should and should not display their bodies. "Breasts were made to sustain your baby's life before they were made to bring pleasure to any other man, woman, partner or spouse," Kaidel writes, referring to how sexualized breasts are often deemed more acceptable than breasts that are being used to nurse. "I don't mean to say 'Everyone should breast-feed without a cover. Show the world your boobs,'" Kaidel clarifies, adding that "if a mother is more comfortable covering herself because SHE feels better doing so, then I totally support that." All mothers should feel safe while breast-feeding their children. With any luck, and as more women tell their own stories, all women who choose to and are able to breast-feed will feel free to nurse comfortably and proudly.

You can read Kaidel's post in full below.