Awful

Outrage Over Servicewomen Breastfeeding Is B.S., Plus: Slideshow Of Military Dads

 

This photo has been circulating around the Internet for the past few days, along with some vulgar comments. Some people have compared these two women breastfeeding their children to them having sex or defecating in public while wearing their uniforms.

“Breast feeding is a very natural way to feed your child. Just like sexual intercourse is a very natural way to conceive a child. So we just should do it all in public!,” on misguided commenter wrote.

(Side note to people who think breastfeeding is in any way sexual: Your repressed, Freudian sexuality is the issue here, not mothers feeding their children)

I was almost won over when I learned that there are specific rules against public displays of affection while in uniform, but then I remembered that the Internet loves a touching photo of a military dad. A rule doesn’t count as justification for outraged if it’s only enforced when there’s something else sparking said outrage — in this case, boobs.

There’s another rule against promoting a civillian cause while in uniform (the photo appeared as part of a campaign to raise awareness for Mom2Mom, a breastfeeding support group), but it’s pretty clear that this level of outrage wouldn’t have been sparked if the women were raising money for charity, or some other cause that doesn’t involve the vulgar filth that is a woman’s body.

The truth is that people just (still) don’t really know how to deal with female soldiers. It’s OK for women to serve in the military as long as they blend in with the men. But nothing says “woman” like breastfeeding. The image shattered the carefully constructed walls of denial and forced people to remember that no matter how tough, these servicewomen are still women.

In support of everyone who’s both a parent and a soldier, here are some images of military dads who, as far as I know, haven’t outraged anyone by loving their kids:

TAGS: military dads | military moms breastfeeding | outrage | servicewomen in uniform

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