Friday, April 25, 2003

Breast as Sexual Object


A remarkable couple of entries over at Alas, A Blog on breast-feeding.

Breast-Feeding at a Business Meeting (Ampersand)

More on the Trials and Tribulations of Breast-Feeding (Bean)

Bean's right. The breast has been sexualized so thoroughly (at least in white American culture) that you literally cannot see a breast without it automatically being perceived as sexual.

A breast doesn't exist for you to oogle. Breasts exist as vehicles for milk delivery to potential offspring. Female mammals have 'em. Period. Full stop.

So, what choice can a reasonable mother make -- nurse or let baby go hungry because some asshole who can't see past his elbow to the fact that all that sexualization of the breast is not only gravy but completely irrelevant to the task at hand, might get a stiffy? Aw, poor stiffy. It makes about as much sense as getting turned on by watching someone drink from a bottle of water.

Is it the bottle of water that's the problem, or the eye of the beholder?

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