Tess Holliday took to the Los Angeles Women's March this Saturday, along with her husband, Nick, and her son Bowie. Holliday also stopped during the march to breast-feed her son, which for some reason drew negative comments from people who wanted her to "cover up."
Holliday, of course, is having none of it.
After commenters descended upon an Instagram post of a photo of her breast-feeding Bowie, Holliday added another caption, shutting down her haters.
Addressing "those saying that I should 'cover up,'" she wrote, "You mean when I'm breastfeeding MY baby who was a) hungry & b) screaming because he was overly tired & the crowd overloaded his senses & it was the only way to comfort him?!"
"I will feed my child anywhere I want," she added. "Also CA state law protects me to do so. Keep your uneducated opinions off my body."
"I just think the comments are stupid, just because of where I’m at and because I’m protected under the law in California and most other states to breastfeed," she told People. "I didn’t mean to make a statement, but when I saw the photo I realized how powerful it was, especially with them cutting funding to so many programs that support women and mothers."
Holliday explained that she wanted her son to be a part of such a historic moment.
"I really wanted to take Bowie because it was history, and I wanted him to be a part of it," she told People. He wasn’t in danger at any point. It was safe, it was peaceful, I never felt scared."
Jessica Louise Thompson, who took the photo, added. "I love so much about my friend Tess, her normalizing breast-feeding wherever and whenever her child is hungry is just another thing that makes me love her."
Unfortunately, Holliday is far from being the first person to be shamed for breast-feeding in public, even though doing so is legal in 49 states (including, yes, California). Thankfully, it looks like she's continuing to fight against the stigma.
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