When looking at advertisements selling products targeted to men, every single one featured a female model. Scratch that, the sex appeal of a female model. Quite simply when a half clothed woman is featured in an article the purpose is not to include women in the product. The goal of featuring women in advertisements is to use their body as a selling point. We as a gender have been objectified into widgets for men to play with and boss around. As a society we have normalized this behavior to a point that it translates now to breast feeding.

The root of this problem is thoroughly disturbing. Dennis Prager published in National Review on December 13th, of 2016, “Such sexual objectification is normal, and has nothing to do with misogyny.” EXCUSE ME, WHAT? Prager, along with many others, believes that this behavior needs to stop being read by women as offensive , and should be taken as a compliment. This article explains everything wrong with modern mindsets. We are lacking in intellectual respect and instead push getting power through having “ideal” features. However, americans have pushed this stigma farther than any other country has. In the past three years incidents of mothers being asked to leave the premises, cover up, or just stay at home, has soared dramatically. All because we have turned breasts into sexual objects and are no longer comfortable with their original purpose.
Here's the problem with women being asked to leave a restaurant, pool, store, etc. for feeding their child. According to an article written by Jessica Samakow for the Huffington Post, a mother is legally allowed to breastfeed anywhere she is permitted to be, with the exception of Idaho. Meaning, that if a mother chooses to feed her child in public within Idaho state lines she is facing possible public indecency and nudity charges. Seems a little out of proportion right? I don’t see any mothers facing criminal charges for bottle feeding her child. But that’s okay because they can just stay at home right?

Most women stop breastfeeding their child at six months according to NCT. Motherhood is already an isolating experience. Not going anywhere as simple as the grocery store for fear their child will get hungry is not plausible. We have no good reasoning for this request, except for not wanting to make grown men uncomfortable. But yes, please, be cooped up in your house for a minimum of six months so the man in aisle four doesn’t get a neck ache from looking away dramatically. However have we ever looked at the reason behind that over emphasised look away?

Along with sexualization comes objectification. What is considered a social norm in other nations is now stigmatized in america. We have taken the sole purpose of female anatomy and tossed it aside to make room for sexual selling points. The only argument against public breast feeding is the public part. Arguments often include “It’s a time for private bonding with your infant”, “I don’t want my son to see that”, “That’s public indecency.” The biggest point of all is that a woman should not be exposed in any way to feed her infant. Why? Because no one wants to see breasts out of their “context.” That “context” is a sexual toy. We are shaming mothers for feeding their child because their body isn’t being used the way we want it to be! We can’t pin this all on our grandparents, we are allowing this behavior to be extended on to us, and those after.

This behavior and mindset is being pushed onto future generations. Young girls now grow up to believe their bodies are indebted to someone else. We grow up surrounded by scandalous billboards, however when we choose to use our bodies for their original purpose we are publically humiliated. Recently, a plethora of incidents have occurred where women are asked to leave the premises or “cover up.”  Doctors, women, and even harassers support the actual act of breastfeeding. They show this behavior by saying “Cover up.” When translated this actually means, “Thank you for choosing the healthiest, most natural, best way to feed your baby. But, your body in this new light is making me uncomfortable. Come back later selling the latest Victoria Secret collection.” Let’s face it. Not everyone is capable or wanting to breastfeed, and we need to support those women just as much.

Although breast milk is proven as the best supplement for a baby, it isn’t the only one. Some women suffer from lactation failure, others don’t see the appeal. For being so against this method in public it is shocking how explosive this stigma has become. Breastfeeding is treated as an obligation instead of an option. Gabrielle Olya wrote an article in People on March 6th, 2017 about a mother who tragically lost her baby to starvation. The mother now speaks as an advocate for bottle feeding. She lost her child by trying to do the “right” thing. We have gotten so wrapped up in the “best” option and are convinced we need everyone else on board. Not everyone has the same nutrients to be able to support a baby. Yet, with all this women are still facing harassment daily.

Our bodies are the topic of our time. We are the selling factor for cars, cologne, and clothes. Our society has built an industry on sexualizing our bodies, causing us to alienate our sole purpose. This behavior has translated from an annoyance on the street to harassing mothers. This boils down to sexulization and objectification, but is spiraling into so much more. We are spreading our misogynistic, demeaning, sexualized views onto this generation and the next. Our sex crazed culture is affecting the mothers, daughters, and babies of our world,