City Hall
Moms Turn Out in Favor of City Breastfeeding Proposal
In a council committee meeting that was as w as a group hug (city civil rights office director Julie Nelson called it "life-affirming and life-giving"), woman after woman lined up this afternoon to tell the council's public safety committee about the benefits of breastfeeding---a response to a proposal by council member Bruce Harrell to allow women to file a complaint with the city's Office of Civil Rights if they are asked to leave a public place or cover up while breastfeeding.
Thanks to legislation that passed back in 2009, breastfeeding mothers are already protected under state anti-discrimination laws, but those laws only allow women who are discriminated against to file a complaint to the state human rights commission. Harrell's proposal gives Seattle women a second option.
"I have been in a situation where I was told that I needed to go to the restroom and feed my child," a mother named Letecia Brooks testified. "When I think back to that moment, my heart breaks. Who wants to feed their child in a bathroom stall? Would you eat your lunch in a bathroom stall? I don't think so."
However, some council members expressed concern that the legislation doesn't include any specific outreach and education strategies to make sure that restaurants and other public facilities don't discriminate against breastfeeding women. And, perhaps reflecting the problem the legislation was intended to address---the fact that breasts are sexualized in the US, to the point that breastfeeding women are frequently accused of "whipping them out" to titillate men---Harrell decided not to comment on his own legislation, noting that his mother was watching. "I'm uncomfortable talking about breastfeeding in front of my mother," Harrell said.
Clearly, we still have a long way to go.
Thanks to legislation that passed back in 2009, breastfeeding mothers are already protected under state anti-discrimination laws, but those laws only allow women who are discriminated against to file a complaint to the state human rights commission. Harrell's proposal gives Seattle women a second option.
"I have been in a situation where I was told that I needed to go to the restroom and feed my child," a mother named Letecia Brooks testified. "When I think back to that moment, my heart breaks. Who wants to feed their child in a bathroom stall? Would you eat your lunch in a bathroom stall? I don't think so."
However, some council members expressed concern that the legislation doesn't include any specific outreach and education strategies to make sure that restaurants and other public facilities don't discriminate against breastfeeding women. And, perhaps reflecting the problem the legislation was intended to address---the fact that breasts are sexualized in the US, to the point that breastfeeding women are frequently accused of "whipping them out" to titillate men---Harrell decided not to comment on his own legislation, noting that his mother was watching. "I'm uncomfortable talking about breastfeeding in front of my mother," Harrell said.
Clearly, we still have a long way to go.
