What Do You Think of TIME‘s Breastfeeding Cover?

aishah · 05-11-2012, 04:56 PM

women tamed dot com (don't really care to give them hits from here) is one of a BUNCH of anti-feminist websites discussing how women are trying to make sissies out of boys, if anyone's not familiar with that rhetoric. it's a very common thread in conservative thought nowadays.

along with the sexualization of women's bodies, there's this whole undercurrent of oedipus complex/sexualization of the mother/son relationship that kind of drifts underneath breastfeeding discussion (particularly past the age of 1) a lot of the time, and i think it ties into the blaming of women for "sissifying" men. it's disgusting that that is what shapes popular opinion about breastfeeding, but it does. that's the first thing i thought of when i saw the cover of time.

i agree with others who've said it's staged and used to create shock value. i don't read time, partly because of stunts like this. i don't think there's anything wrong with breastfeeding or not breastfeeding, and i think women should be able to feed their kids anywhere they want.

princessbelle · 05-11-2012, 06:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aishah

snip~

i agree with others who've said it's staged and used to create shock value. i don't read time, partly because of stunts like this. i don't think there's anything wrong with breastfeeding or not breastfeeding, and i think women should be able to feed their kids anywhere they want.

Already posted here but wanted to high five this.

I'm sick to death of some people saying we don't mother correctly or we don't breastfeed long enough or we breastfeed too long. Measure, measure, measure, constantly.

Seriously? Know what? Pretty darn sure we WOMEN can figure it out and have over a billion years ago. QUIT measuring us!!!

Leave us alone, Time, and quit trying to make us look bad, no matter which side we are on. We do the best we can with the resources and time that we have with our kids.

Geeze.

girl_dee · 05-11-2012, 07:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by princessbelle

Already posted here but wanted to high five this.

I'm sick to death of some people saying we don't mother correctly or we don't breastfeed long enough or we breastfeed too long. Measure, measure, measure, constantly.

Seriously? Know what? Pretty darn sure we WOMEN can figure it out and have over a billion years ago. QUIT measuring us!!!

Leave us alone, Time, and quit trying to make us look bad, no matter which side we are on. We do the best we can with the resources and time that we have with our kids.

Geeze.

You said just what i was trying to convey (only in pretty puffy pink font) that when we were stay at home moms we were unfit, when we went to work we were unfit, now we are back at home nursing our babies and we are yet wrong again.

Blah!

BrutalDaddy · 05-11-2012, 07:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cajun_dee

You said just what i was trying to convey (only in pretty puffy pink font) that when we were stay at home moms we were unfit, when we went to work we were unfit, now we are back at home nursing our babies and we are yet wrong again.

Blah!

I do find it almost amusing that there seems to be no satsifying the whole "what makes a perfect mother" scenerio. My mom did the very best she could with what she had and considering the sperm donor was a dick, she did pretty damn good in my mind.

Damned if you do. Damned if you don't. Screw what society feels if you're doing the best you can for your own. That's my view.

Brute.

girl_dee · 05-11-2012, 08:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrutalDyke

I do find it almost amusing that there seems to be no satsifying the whole "what makes a perfect mother" scenerio. My mom did the very best she could with what she had and considering the sperm donor was a dick, she did pretty damn good in my mind.

Damned if you do. Damned if you don't. Screw what society feels if you're doing the best you can for your own. That's my view.

Brute.

Exactly.....how often have you seen or heard the term deadbeat mom? Not very.

~ocean · 05-11-2012, 08:27 PM

^ 5 cajun

)))) ** kicks the June Cleaver act off the stage ** lol

princessbelle · 05-11-2012, 08:40 PM

Exactly Dee!!!!!

And the more i think about this the madder i get. They print this right before Mother's Day with the headline "Are you Mom enough"

You know, here is a good opportunity to share a story regarding what Mother's Day is all about....praising our moms. But, instead they take the route of trying to shame us, divide us, make us feel less than no matter what we think of the picture.

Wouldn't it have been lovely to show the beauty of mothers and how many, if not most try and try and try to do good by our kids. Our decisions to work or not work, breastfeed or not, the struggles, the decisions, the kisses, the hugs, the love, the goodnight stories, the open arms...

Mothers are to be honored this week. None of us were perfect, IMO. But, damn it we freaking tried. It would have been nice, oh powerful Time, to have read stories about moms that actually pulled us all together and made us proud of our diversity, perseverance and love for our kids.

Just really pisses me off.

Off soap box.

SugarFemme · 05-11-2012, 08:04 PM

When my daughter was a baby, my Mom was always giving advice. shes on the breast too long. Shes on the bottle too long. She should be potty trained. She should be done with binky....all these "shoulds". I parented by instinct and my childs needs. But, the best advice I ever got was from cousin....."as long as your kid isn't drinking out of a bottle, sucking on a binky , or wearing diapers when they are 21, quit worrying about the shoulds as it all evens out". Of course it was said with tongue in cheek, but he was right.

Quote:

Originally Posted by princessbelle

Already posted here but wanted to high five this.

I'm sick to death of some people saying we don't mother correctly or we don't breastfeed long enough or we breastfeed too long. Measure, measure, measure, constantly.

Seriously? Know what? Pretty darn sure we WOMEN can figure it out and have over a billion years ago. QUIT measuring us!!!

Leave us alone, Time, and quit trying to make us look bad, no matter which side we are on. We do the best we can with the resources and time that we have with our kids.

Geeze.

BrutalDaddy · 05-11-2012, 07:08 PM

Got no issues at all with a mother breastfeeding her kid. Not my place at ALL to decide when it should stop, etc. I do have questions on when I wonder where you have to draw the line due to having been exposed to a five year old eating a waffle then looking at the mom and saying, "I'm thirsty!" So mom lifts off half the top and kid grabs a tit and begins sucking away. Customers were very uncomfortable and I could totally understand why. Pump it out and put it in a bottle? Is it really different then just spending time with the child, reading, cuddling, listening to music, etc.? Yet it isn't my decision to make and I get that.

With that said I do have a major problem with the cover in regards to how things can be "percieved". Normally I don't give a shit. I go against society's standards of "norm" with how I look and the fact I'm in the wrong body, etc. Yet each single time I look at this cover I can't help but think of how this is simply "legal" child porn for some pedophile to jack off to.

Seriously. There are so many ways to get a point across then this, in my opinion. Nothing more then a way to garner attention (for the magazine) and give pedophiles a chance to get off with a magazine that won't get them thrown in jail just because the picture is being touted as an "educational" tool.

Just a Tool,
Brute.

05-11-2012, 08:40 PM	#7
princessbelle Infamous Member How Do You Identify?: femme Preferred Pronoun?: femme ones Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Tennessee Posts: 6,100 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 29,380 Thanked 30,496 Times in 5,198 Posts Rep Power: 21474858	Exactly Dee!!!!! And the more i think about this the madder i get. They print this right before Mother's Day with the headline "Are you Mom enough" You know, here is a good opportunity to share a story regarding what Mother's Day is all about....praising our moms. But, instead they take the route of trying to shame us, divide us, make us feel less than no matter what we think of the picture. Wouldn't it have been lovely to show the beauty of mothers and how many, if not most try and try and try to do good by our kids. Our decisions to work or not work, breastfeed or not, the struggles, the decisions, the kisses, the hugs, the love, the goodnight stories, the open arms... Mothers are to be honored this week. None of us were perfect, IMO. But, damn it we freaking tried. It would have been nice, oh powerful Time, to have read stories about moms that actually pulled us all together and made us proud of our diversity, perseverance and love for our kids. Just really pisses me off. Off soap box. __________________ ~ I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. ~ Maya Angelou

05-11-2012, 04:56 PM	#1
aishah Member How Do You Identify?: queer stone femme shark baby girl Preferred Pronoun?: she, her, little one Relationship Status: dating myself. Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: dallas, tx Posts: 1,495 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 13,823 Thanked 6,442 Times in 1,288 Posts Rep Power: 21474851	women tamed dot com (don't really care to give them hits from here) is one of a BUNCH of anti-feminist websites discussing how women are trying to make sissies out of boys, if anyone's not familiar with that rhetoric. it's a very common thread in conservative thought nowadays. along with the sexualization of women's bodies, there's this whole undercurrent of oedipus complex/sexualization of the mother/son relationship that kind of drifts underneath breastfeeding discussion (particularly past the age of 1) a lot of the time, and i think it ties into the blaming of women for "sissifying" men. it's disgusting that that is what shapes popular opinion about breastfeeding, but it does. that's the first thing i thought of when i saw the cover of time. i agree with others who've said it's staged and used to create shock value. i don't read time, partly because of stunts like this. i don't think there's anything wrong with breastfeeding or not breastfeeding, and i think women should be able to feed their kids anywhere they want.

05-11-2012, 08:27 PM	#6
~ocean Infamous Member How Do You Identify?: femme blows a kiss off my finger tips * Preferred Pronoun?: ~ hey girl ~ Relationship Status: ~ single & content ~ Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Massachusetts ~coastal Posts: 7,905 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 22,958 Thanked 16,040 Times in 4,727 Posts Rep Power: 21474859	^ 5 cajun )))) kicks the June Cleaver act off the stage lol

05-11-2012, 07:08 PM	#9
BrutalDaddy Member How Do You Identify?: Her Asshole. Preferred Pronoun?: Him, hym, he, whatever. Relationship Status: Bitch has no more excuses now. Join Date: May 2012 Location: Lower Alabama Posts: 519 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 206 Thanked 2,785 Times in 499 Posts Rep Power: 21474850	Got no issues at all with a mother breastfeeding her kid. Not my place at ALL to decide when it should stop, etc. I do have questions on when I wonder where you have to draw the line due to having been exposed to a five year old eating a waffle then looking at the mom and saying, "I'm thirsty!" So mom lifts off half the top and kid grabs a tit and begins sucking away. Customers were very uncomfortable and I could totally understand why. Pump it out and put it in a bottle? Is it really different then just spending time with the child, reading, cuddling, listening to music, etc.? Yet it isn't my decision to make and I get that. With that said I do have a major problem with the cover in regards to how things can be "percieved". Normally I don't give a shit. I go against society's standards of "norm" with how I look and the fact I'm in the wrong body, etc. Yet each single time I look at this cover I can't help but think of how this is simply "legal" child porn for some pedophile to jack off to. Seriously. There are so many ways to get a point across then this, in my opinion. Nothing more then a way to garner attention (for the magazine) and give pedophiles a chance to get off with a magazine that won't get them thrown in jail just because the picture is being touted as an "educational" tool. Just a Tool, Brute.