Posted on 04/30/2005 5:56:16 AM PDT by tuffydoodle
Nursing mom gets unwelcome reception
FW mall says security firm made a mistake
10:37 PM CDT on Friday, April 29, 2005
By KARIN KELLY / WFAA-TV
For many mothers, breastfeeding is the most natural thing in the world.
But it turned into an embarassing situation that angered a North Texas woman this week after she said a mall security guard harassed her.
Adrian Sparks was shopping at Hulen Mall Thursday, and decided to discreetly nurse her eight-month-old baby under a blanket in the food court.
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Karin Kelly reports "The security guard came over and asked me to stop, and either go to the restroom or to leave," Sparks said.
The guard told Sparks a food court customer had complained, even though Sparks was covered with a blanket.
"I told him it was perfectly legal for me to nurse my child," Sparks said. "And that they sell clothes more revealing that what I was doing right here."
Of course, it is legal - but soon another manager approached.
"He said, 'well those rules don't apply because we're a private facility,'" she recalled.
Friends who breastfeed have rushed in for support.
"The human race wouldn't exist without breast milk," said nursing mom Rachel Tarbutton.
Some are members of La Leche League, an organization that supports mother's milk for health and bonding benefits..
"To know that she is getting everything she needs from me, from my body, is (important)," Sparks said.
Mall officials said the incident was not normal procedure, and that t heir new security company made a mistake.
"That is not a Hulen Mall policy," said manager Kevin Davies. " We support what she was doing, we support moms and all of our customers, and feel badly this occurred."
That's not all that reassuring for Sparks, though.
"I don't think I'll ever be able to shop there again, because I was just so upset about it," she said.
LOL I thought I was the only one who did that!
Good luck with this here. I'm taking flames on this and other forums for what I've said up-thread.
I manage a store at a mall. I've seen them put a nursing baby on the counter, while still nursing, and proceed to talk on their cell phone. I've had mothers come into our store{a very small store}, sit down in one of our customer chairs, proceed to nurse the baby, and ask to look at merchandise. I've seen mothers nursing their baby at the bar in a restaurant while the TV and music is blaring and they have a beer. I actually had a mother hand the baby to me in the middle of nursing so she could talk on her cell phone{she knew it was not an emergency call} and talk for sevral minutes while the baby fussed in my arms. I've had mothers with very tiny babies come into our store in the middle of snowstorms just before closing at night. I even had a mother leave her baby in the car carrier on the floor of my store while she ran out to her car, with the admonishment to please watch him. I could go on and on.
I don't care whether they happen to expose a breast. I do care that they seem to have the idea that breast feeding is simply giving the baby milk. Are all mothers like this? Of course not. But there are a lot more than you realize. You sound like a responsible and loving parent. Unfortunately not all are the same. And just because they are breast feeding doesn't change that.
I agree all those incidents you mention are horror stories and those mothers are being selfish. Hopefully they represent only a small minority of mothers who need to nurse in public places.
Who on here said women should wear burkas? I must have missed that post.
How about a guy that discreet masturbates under a towel at a swimming pool where you can't see anything or how about a young couple that discreetly has sex in a dressing room?
I'm not against breast feeding in public - in fact I think that we are the US are too repressed with nudity and shouldn't go crazy every time a breast is exposed.
I'm just pointing out that while I agree with your position, your arguments used to justify it are flawed.
Women are just as hung up on breasts as anyone else, probably more so.
If the woman's boss at work told her that she was free to breastfeed in his office anytime she wanted but that he would stay in there as well since its "not that big of deal", the woman would charge him with sexual harassment.
Breasts are sexual when women want them to be and non-sexual when women want them to be. They want it both ways.
If a man had to apply a medication to his private areas and he did it in a public under a towel so no one could see, any women in the area would have a fit and he would probably be charged as a sexual predator.
It wasn’t said in those words, but the idea comes across – the sight of a female breast is dirty, or evil – the female body should be hidden from sight.
I think you misunderstand. There is a time and place for everything. No one on here that I've read is saying breastfeeding is dirty - quite the opposite. It's a wonderful, bonding experience that should be done in private. Kinda like having sex. Wonderful, sweet, comforting - but done in private. I believe it's a matter of modesty which is sadly lacking in our society today.
Or every two hours ... which includes the 20-30 minutes it takes the baby to eat. So that can be 90 minutes, then subtract the time it takes to get to where you're going then the time to get home to nurse!
That leaves, what, half an hour?
I think you've stumbled upon the problem. Most, if not all of the people here that are against breastfeeding in public have equated nursing with sexual behavior or elimination. They can't seem to see the difference, that's why they're offended. Other than that, they're just nosy and judgmental.
I'm not complaining about anything. If you read my post, you would hve understood that. I'm just saying that while I agree with your position, you're logic that you're using to defend it is faulty.
No, they're just pointing out holes in the logic. I certainly don't have a problem with breastfeeding in public, but the arguments put forth in this thread have been lame. Saying that something is "natural" is an incredibly weak argument and should be dropped as it does more harm to your position than helps it.
"Sexual" is in the eye of the beholder and the women in this thread want to be able to dictate what is considered sexual and what is not.
Like I said before, if that woman's boss told her that she could breastfeed in his office and he'd like to watch since it's such a beautiful, natural process, he'd immediately be slapped with a sexual harassment suit.
How is that relevant to your point? You said that as long as a person is covered and discrete then it shouldn't matter.
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