Utilitarian Boobs

[richlevy]

Originally Posted by Clodfobble

It's a slow morning for me, so I can't tell if you already know this and were just teasing me... but I was using "hawt" as the mocking internet slang term for sexy, as one would exclaim when, say, receiving the latest issue of Maxim. "Teh new hawtness" is also a farkism.

Nope. It's new to me. I have obviously been treading in the backwaters of the Internet.

Originally Posted by Stormieweather
Anyone that thinks this is 'disgusting' or a 'turn on' has some personal issues that have nothing to do with feeding a baby.

I find it feminine and, therefore, attractive.
But, a 'turn-on' would definitely be pushing it.
It is the reason they are there, a beautiful thing and there should be no shame in it nor reason to hide it.
If someone becomes uncomfortable or aroused by it to the point of destraction... they need to seek professional help.

[richlevy]

The New York Times has this article. Summary: Rich and middle-class working women have an easier time breastfeeding than hourly workers.

When a new mother returns to Starbucks’ corporate headquarters in Seattle after maternity leave, she learns what is behind the doors mysteriously marked “Lactation Room.”

Whenever she likes, she can slip away from her desk and behind those doors, sit in a plush recliner and behind curtains, and leaf through InStyle magazine as she holds a company-supplied pump to her chest, depositing her breast milk in bottles to be toted home later.
But if the mothers who staff the chain’s counters want to do the same, they must barricade themselves in small restrooms intended for customers, counting the minutes left in their breaks.

“I feel like I had to choose between feeding my baby the best food and earning a living,” said Jennifer Munoz, a former cashier at Resorts Atlantic City Casino who said she faced obstacles that included irregular breaks and a refrigerator behind a locked door. She said she often dumped her milk into the toilet, knowing that if she did not pump every few hours, her milk supply would soon dwindle.
The casino denies discouraging Ms. Munoz from pumping. “We have policies and procedures in place to accommodate the needs of all of our employees,” Brian Cahill, a Resorts spokesman, said.

This two class system brought to you by The Man.

So, it becomes necessary to appeal the that more reliable motive for businesses, greed.

Public health authorities, alarmed at the gap between the breast-feeding haves and have-nots, are now trying to convince businesses that supporting the practice is a sound investment. “The Business Case for Breastfeeding,” an upcoming campaign by the Department of Health and Human Services, will emphasize recent findings that breast-feeding reduces absenteeism and pediatrician bills.

[9th Engineer]

how long are we talking about per-pumping session? If it's 15-20 min every few hours then I can guess why it's not encouraged right now.

The two-tiered breastfeeding system?? Oh please. Guess what world? Cashiers don't get as many perks as the executives do, does this shatter your world? Get out more.

[xoxoxoBruce]

I disagree...not two tiered but multi-tiered.
Big companies will have corporate policy plus individual bosses within the organization will flex some. Small companies will go with the personal feelings of the boss tempered by his relationship with the employee. It also depends on what kind of job the woman is expected(paid) to do. There's probably half as many tiers as there are people affected.
So I'm saying there is no standard.

But ladies, if you wish to feed or pump, probably the best way to get permission from the boss is get him involved. Let him in on the action....I mean program....yes that's it, the plan... make him part of the plan.
Hell, it could even be a team building exercise.

[footfootfoot]

Originally Posted by 9th Engineer

The two-tiered breastfeeding system?? Oh please. Guess what world? Cashiers don't get as many perks as the executives do, does this shatter your world? Get out more.

The "golden rule" i.e. If you have the gold, you make the rules.

[richlevy]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

But ladies, if you wish to feed or pump, probably the best way to get permission from the boss is get him involved. Let him in on the action....I mean program....yes that's it, the plan... make him part of the plan.
Hell, it could even be a team building exercise.

You sir, are a very strange man.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Thank you....thank you very much.

[Aliantha]

I see no reason why any woman shouldn't feed her infant in public. However she does it is her concern. If you can't cope with it, look the other way. Anyway, I've seen some fully grown people eating in public who are definitely disgusting/obscene in the way they consume their food.

[BlacKat1980]

Originally Posted by glatt

But I can see how doing it in church or maybe at a restaurant table might cause some ruffled feathers.

Aren't churches family places? And we all eat at restaurants, why can't our babies. Like it was mentioned earlier, it's not like ladies are "whipping" them out swinging with tassles or yelling out for people to have a good old perve. It is done quietly and discreetly. If people are embarrased at seeing a baby have a meal then they should stay away from places where babies are "allowed" to.

[glatt]

Originally Posted by glatt

A little discretion, and it's fine in public.

I wish you had taken this message from my post. I'm in favor of breastfeeding, and would like more moms to be doing it for longer, and feel free to do it in public.

However, while I can imagine a discreet breastfeeding in church being just fine, I can also imagine a feeding in church being less than discreet and being distracting, taking attention away from where it belongs. You wouldn't eat a pizza in church would you? There's a time and place for everything. Also, I was imagining a fancy restaurant when I wrote that part about restaurants. It's really a moot point, because people typically don't bring babies to fancy restaurants. But I think a baby should not be fed at the table in a fancy restaurant. There is a certain atmosphere that others are expecting, and a breastfeeding baby doesn't fit in with that expectation. Unhealthy food aside, a mom breastfeeding in McDonalds would be just fine.

With a minimal amount of discretion, breastfeeding in public is just fine, and I support it.

[BlacKat1980]

If people are distracted from the sight/sound of a baby feeding while in church then they probably weren't really concentrating in the first place. Babies decide when they are hungry, which is more distracting-a screaming hungry child or a woman with a baby attached to her breast for twenty minutes? I know of a few churches in my area that actually have a room where they can see and hear the whole service from and can sit with babies/children who might be noisy or causing distraction (because lets face it, kids hate sitting quietly for an hour or more!). Why should mums have to miss out on socialisation simply because they've had a baby? Is that fair? breastfeeding isn't dirty or unhealthy, or unsanitary.

[footfootfoot]

You can't preach to a hungry congregation. Noone is interested in their soul if their belly is empty.

To infants, nursing is the only sacrament there is.

[BigV]

Lyle Lovett
Church from Joshua Judges Ruth

I went to church last Sunday
So I could sing and pray
But something quite unusual
Happened on that day

Now church it started right on time
Just like it does without a doubt
And everything was all just fine
Except when it came time to let us out

You know the preacher he kept preaching
He told us I have one more thing to say
Children before you think of leaving
You better think about the Judgment Day

Now everyone got nervous
Because everyone was hungry too
And everyone was wondering
What was the next thing he would do

And the preacher he kept preaching
He said now I'll remind you if I may
You all better pay attention
Or I might decide to preach all day

And now everyone was getting so hungry
That the old ones started feeling ill
And the weak ones started passing out
And the young ones they could not sit still

And the preacher's voice rose higher
So I snuck up on the balcony
And I crept into the choir
And I begged them brothers, sisters, help me please

I said when I give you a signal
I said when I raise up my hand
Won't you please join with me together
And praise the Lord I have a plan

And the preacher he kept preaching
Long is the struggle, hard the fight
And I prayed, Father please forgive me
And then I stood up and with all my might
I sang

To the Lord let praises be
It's time for dinner now let's go eat
We've got some beans and some good cornbread
And I listened to what the preacher said
Now it's to the Lord let praised be
It's time for dinner now let's go eat

Yes and I did give a signal
Yes and I raised up my hands
And then joined with me the choir
Yes every woman, child, and man
They sang

To the Lord let praised be
It's time for dinner now let's go eat
We've got some beans and some good cornbread
And I've listened to what the preacher said
Now it's to the Lord let praised be
It's time for dinner now let's go eat

And the preacher he stopped preaching
And a hush the church did fill
And then a great white dove from up above
Landed on the window sill

And the dove flew down beside him
And a fork appeared right in his hand
And with everybody watching
The preacher ate that bird right there and then

And now everyone got really nervous
And the preacher he did start to glow
And as we watched in disbelief
These were the words he spoke

He said now Mama's in the kitchen
And she's been there all day
And I know she's cooking something good
So let's bow our heads and pray
And he sang

To the Lord let praises be
It's time for dinner now let's go eat
We've got some beans and some good cornbread
Now listen to what the preacher said
He said to the Lord let praised be
It's time for dinner now let's go eat

And the moral of this story
Children it is plain but true
God knows if a preacher preaches long enough
Even he'll get hungry too
And he'll sing

To the Lord let praises be
It's time for dinner now let's go eat
We've got some beans and some good cornbread
Now listen to what the preacher said
He said to the Lord let praised be
It's time for dinner now let's go eat

Amen!

[mrnoodle]

We might not be on top for whale penis anymore, but we own the internets when it comes to utilitarian boobs.