Moms Gone Wild: Why Bill Maher is Wrong about Breastfeeding

On Friday's episode of Real Time, Bill Maher introduced one of his "new rules," "Lactate Intolerant," in which he argues against breastfeeding in public. As he explained, he doesn't want women showing their tits in public unless they are appropriately packaged for heterosexual male consumption. (Revealing what he thinks is appropriate, he made a snide reference to Britney Spears' body in one of the other new rules, drawing a good laugh. My goal here is not to defend her, but only to point out that Bill Maher's idea of an acceptable female body, along with many members of his audience, is incredibly narrow.)

For someone who claims to believe in science, Bill's queasiness around breastfeeding seems more than a little bit irrational. A huge body of evidence suggests that breastfeeding provides incredible health benefits to both infants and mothers. (For the FDA statement on this, click here.) It not only provides babies with antibodies that help them avoid illness, it also may protect mothers against breast and ovarian cancers later in life. There is evidence that breastfeeding provides psychological benefits to infants and that breastfed infants develop higher IQs. There's even evidence that breast-fed babies are less prone to obesity later in life -- and obesity is something that Bill Maher is clearly against. Breastfeeding saves on healthcare costs, and it is clear that advocating in favor of breastfeeding is in the interest of public health. And yet the vast majority of mothers do not breastfeed for the full 12 months recommended by Health and Human Services. In fact, less than 30 percent of mothers are breastfeeding when their babies reach six months of age.

Given that it's so good for their babies and themselves, why don't more mothers breastfeed? One reason is that there is inadequate maternity leave for most women, making it hard for women who want or need to work outside the home to establish breastfeeding. Another reason is that many employed women don't have enough privacy at work to pump milk. But we shouldn't underestimate the impact of people like Bill Maher who are squeamish about the fact that humans are mammals. Coworkers who don't want women leaving icky breast milk in the office refrigerator because it grosses them out. Those who can't handle the idea that babies should also get to eat when the family is at Applebees, even if they are having something healthier than what's on the menu. So Bill Maher says that breastfeeding mother's are too lazy to plan ahead, presumably because they can arrange it so that their babies don't need to eat while they're out. Obviously he has never had to manage life within small windows of opportunity between feedings or he would know that timing a baby's hunger is just not possible. Perhaps he would prefer that breastfeeding mothers never leave the house -- another recipe for reducing breastfeeding rates. Sometimes people, especially those without children, seem to forget that mothers are people too -- we need to have friends, social lives, and activities beyond the confinement of our living rooms.

Bill Maher obviously doesn't understand the benefits of breastfeeding to public health, since he claims that breastfeeding is not worthy of activism. He says that it's "petty and parochial." Apparently he also doesn't understand that supporting breastfeeding is not only good for public health, it's also part of reproductive justice -- along with the availability of contraception, the legality of abortion, the right to informed consent or refusal of medical procedures when giving birth -- all rights that many women currently do not have. When he claims that women's reproductive activities are yucky and should go underground, he is colluding with the people who want to control reproduction and sexuality -- not normally the folks he counts among his friends (with the possible exception of Ann Coulter). He may be in favor of the kind of sex he wants to have with the kind of bodies he wants to have it with, but his attitudes toward women are stuck in the Dark Ages.

Of course, so are his attitudes about babies, which he says are not special because creating a baby is "something a dog could do." First, Bill, dogs don't make human babies. But all babies, including puppies, are adorable -- they have to be so that we want to protect them. It's a survival thing. Beyond that, we can all respect that Bill Maher doesn't want to have children and perhaps we're all better off for that. But Bill needs to respect the fact that other people's children are the ones who will be paying into Social Security when he reaches retirement age. If anyone is going to make the scientific discoveries that help to resolve the problems that Bill cares about, like global warming, it will be other people's children. Parents, and especially mothers, are providing a public good by taking care of their children's health and development. So instead of criticizing them for making you queasy, maybe you should cheer them on.

Follow Louise Marie Roth on Twitter: www.twitter.com/louiseroth

Comments

[MIHOP]

Maher wasn't attacking the virtues or benefits of breastfeeding, he was attacking PUBLIC breastfeeding. All he said was, do it in private. If that makes it a little less convenient, oh well. It's part of motherhood. I'm no prude, but I agree with him.

[shades3]

If Bill is offended by seeing a woman breast-feed her baby at a family restaurant, imagine how I feel, trying to eat, while some overweight guy in a tanktop across from me goes up to the buffet for the third time.
Imagine how offended I am by the lack of basic table manners which seems to be becoming more and more acceptable.
I am more offended by those buxom women who have decided that wearing an item of lingerie like a camisole is perfectly acceptable as a blouse, with their voluptuous bosom almost totally exposed, while I'm trying to eat.
Imagine how offended I am by someone carrying on an entire conversation on their cellphone, while I'm trying to enjoy my meal.
Imagine how offended I am, even in a restaurant promoted as a family restaurant, by children running around unsupervised, behaving like undisciplined little savages.
Compared to those offences, a woman quietly breast-feeding her baby is hardly worth comment, whether she hides the process under a blanket or not.
Get over yourself, Bill, if you are offended by a woman performing a perfectly natural act, bothering nobody.
You are perfectly able to move to the seat on the other side of your table, aren't you?

[jaundicedview]

Sigh, Bill Mahr is nearing the end of his time as a gadfly.
He used to be thought provoking, now he's just slightly annoying. But hey, in a free(for the time being) society we put up with slight annoyances.

[Rockwell]

My sister and many of my friends breast-fed in public. They did it with a simple adept move, snuggle the baby, toss a light blanket over them then roll out the feast. They took care of the child and respected the public at the same time.

The woman at Applebees wasn't being forced to put on a burka. She was being asked not to flash her tit to the general public.

And by the way, if I was Applebees and a barechested guy sat down to graze, I'd expect the resturant to require him to put on a shirt.

Fairs, fair. Breastfeeding is not a license to flash.

[maddogbitesback]

Flashing is when men unzip thewir flies and whip out their penises to display them to women. It is illegal because the display of sexual organs in public is criminal. She did not pull up her dress and "flash" her crotch. She fed her baby.

[weslenforever]

No Bill Maher is NOT wrong about breast feeding. Yes there may be times when a woman has no choice but to feed her baby in public but there is no need to bare her breasts fully and openly in public. Women who are not prone to exibitionism keep most of the breast covered even when nursing. This does not mean you have to hide the baby. Maybe none of you ever heard of a breast PUMP. What do you think they are used FOR? Do you even realize there are women out there who are nursing and have to WORK? Don't you think they use breast PUMPS and leave their milk in bottles for their baby sitters to feed to the babies while they are gone? If you want to expose your breasts in full view of the public, get a job as a stripper or work at Hooters. No you shouldn't have to do it in a public restroom, but you shouldn't feel that you should be given special treatment either. Like the dipstick who thinks she should get extra hours of break time from college finals to feed her baby. The baby shouldn't even be there in the first place. I say this as a 59 year old mother who DID nurse both of my children but I would have never exposed myself in public to do it. STAY HOME OR USE A PUMP AND BOTTLE WHEN IN PUBLIC UNLESS YOU ABSOLUTELY CAN'T, MAYBE BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T BRING ENOUGH BOTTLES.
GET OVER YOURSELVES. YOU ARE NOT SPECIAL.

[whirly]

What if you try to give your baby a bottle over the course of a year, while breastfeeding, and he rejects it at every offering? Do you stay at home for the entire year, stop breastfeeding, or do you do the best you can with your situation? I am glad you chose to breastfeed, but please remember that not all children respond to pacifiers or bottles the same. As a mother you should know that every baby is different and requires a different style of care.

[r81801]

Cover up so people don't see your breasts while nursing your baby? I haven't seen any normal mothers who try to expose themselves while nursing. But those tarps you're supposed to cover your baby with so nobody is offended by a baby nursing are ridiculous and unless you're out in the snow, way too hot. What other healthy normal aspects of our bodies are we supposed to cover up because some people don't like it?

Bill seems to be one of those aging adolescent men who never grow up in the relationsh­ip/sexuali­ty department. Sad for someone so talented to be so stunted.

[HumanitiesProf]

Bill's show is one of the smartest out there, so it really disturbs me when I see him act misogynistic...he has said a number of things throughout his career that really lacked sensitivity about the issues of women....and for those who have said patronizing remarks like "Where's your sense of humor?" I say this:
We live in a warped, repressed society that displays extreme violence in its fiction and in its reality, and along with that comes CONSTANT objectification of women's bodies. (The highest occurrence of rape in the world is through the US Army, and yet we hear nothing about that....but we're still dealing with lawsuits about Janet Jackson's nipple).
When you see the violent, objectifying images day after day, and see how they numb and manipulate people's minds and hearts, it puts a dent in your sense of humor.
Another joke about Britney Spears being gross. Ha-ha. Let's denigrate her and denigrate her and continue to let 11 year old developing girls know that they are nothing but their bodies. Britney is merely just one more symbol of our violent, objectifying, consumer-obsessed, warmongering society.
Bill is so wonderfully concerned for animals...include the female mammals. Your show is way too smart, Bill, for crap like that. I beg of you to think more about this.

[whirly]

Very eloquently said.

[ifeelfine72]

I agree with you Louise. I was a little offended by Bill's statement when I saw the show as well and feel that women should be able to breastfeed whereever they want (Typically I think Bill is spot on and his show is one of the reasons I subscribe to HBO). That being said, the Applebee's lawsuit seems a little ridiculous. She was asked to cover up, not stop or leave. She shouldn't have been asked but a lawsuit because of it? That's just not necessary.

[maddogbitesback]

Her lawsuit was justified. She was unfairly asked to do something inappriate. Her lawsuit got a whole lot of attention. Viz this blog.

[rpence]

Maher's wrong about lots of things. He comes up with some very good insights, often amusing, but he comes up with an equal number of non-insightful cheap shots, just like any other middlebrow comic.

He sure isn't a progressive or a feminist, either. The guy is on record as idolizing people like Hugh Hefner because the old man still screws porn stars.

Bottom line is, Maher's selling something. Let's keep that in mind before we take his social critiques too seriously.

OK, Maher smokes dope and hates religion. That's not enough to keep him from being very, very overrated. But this dissenting blog on breast feeding is one of the reasons the Huffpost is so good. There's a real dialogue going on here.

[redanemone]

American are so mesmerized at the first sight of a breast the can't turn their gaze. Uncomfortable people out there look away! I swear your eyes don't have to see anything that makes you queasy! Relax it's just a breast! Remember trough where you pass at birth. That will give you some perspective. As for Bill Maher he is just jealous to see his beloved repurposed!

[JelcoCathlon]

But since the conservative people are making more babies and liberals arent'n, It is therefore good policy to have those future conservatives in a worst health than liberals.
Of course liberal "granolas" will keep on breast feeding, ultimately saving the liberal race while the conservatives will die young, victims of all sorts of imunological deseases.

[blindjester]

He never said he was against breastfeeding -- he said he was against breastfeeding in public. And he certainly never said you shouldn't take good care of kids, or have kids.

Most people feel awkward when they see a woman breastfeeding her child at a restaurant or party. It's embarrassing to those who don't expect to see it, like seeing an elderly relative in their pajamas, or sitting behind a couple making out in a movie theater. A private moment made public.

It makes a lot of people feel like they're intruding, and eventually they'll get bugged about it.

Many women, my wife included, succeed in breastfeeding at home, and expressing during work, without freaking anybody out. It's not that hard to be discreet, or polite.

[maddogbitesback]

You try it when the baby needs to be fed. Should she have gone to the washroom or asked that all the other guests withdraw to the washroom. Maybe others should respect her values.

[whirly]

I'm sorry, but this argument is a bit of a cop-out because some of these folks who are against breastfeeding in public will go home to their computers and pull up Pam Anderson's sex video, which was an intimate moment put in a public forum against her wishes. To me that is even worse, but in that case it's not embarrassing because you are protected in your home. It's hypocritical. When it comes to breastfeeding, it's not hard to be discreet, but then again, no one ever offers a braless women with a tight, low-cut top a shawl in a cold restaurant either.

[loril]

Yes, I made the choice to stay at home 95% of the time when I was nursing my daughter during those first 4 or 5 months and I had to whip out the boobs every few hours 24/7. I just don't know if, in today's world, we have to force every woman to stay home by herself with the baby quite so much. And certainly no mother of an infant ever leaves the house without a bag stuffed with diapers, burp rags, blankets and assorted paraphanalia...so almost every nursing mom does, indeed "cover up". Expressing works...but some days you just have more milk than other days and some days your kid is just hungrier than other days and it is not quite an exact science.

However, the occasional wardrobe malfunction will happen and we just get sooooo much more worked up over it here than in other parts of the world...but porn and violence...not so much.

[dharmamom]

I don't know why I am bothering as every aspect of this issue has been tossed around, but having raised three kids and having bottle and breast fed them both (bottle fed baby has higher IQ than her breast fed siblings, not judging, just the fact, and don't recall her ever being any sicker), I agree with Bill. Everybody thinks their rights must be paramount in a pluralistic society, thus all the sueing and litigation (money wasting and makes lawyers rich). Just cover the darn milk ducts up or stay out of the restaurent during your nursing scheduled times. Give it a break , we all suffer when individuals think they need resistution for being insulted. That's life, get over it, use a blanket or stay home. This breast feeding thing is just one aspect of people thinking they 're the sh.. about their personal habits.

[Jami]

I agree with you dharmamom. I was a working single mom who breast-fed my child. I choose not to feed in public. Of course that required a little planning and discipline as do many other aspects of raising children. I have asked all of my younger friends who breast feed their children. All prefer the intimacy of breast-feeding their child in a more private place. I've been a proud feminist since the beginning of the fight to get equal pay. Requesting a nursing mother to be descreet at a family restaurant isn't a sexest act, it's simply a request to show some respect for others. I confess that I'm a radical in that I think our children are being damaged by parents who are too selfish to alter their life-styles for the benefit of their children. Young children need peace and a calm, steady routine. When I wasn't working, I was at home with my child. He had my full attention and it was my joy to be able to have that time with him. One can argue that this mother needed a break from being at home with her child, but I have observed that those I hear complaining that they need a break usually spend very little close time with their child.

[shades3]

I'm more disturbed by Maher's attitudes toward women generally than I am about his criticizing women for breast-feeding in public, although the two are related.
I know that he's "just kidding around." After all, stand-up is what he is famous for doing.
But, with his social comments being treated as legitimate now, and they should be, he should possibly realize that there are some things that he says that would be acceptable as a joke, but are not acceptable as social comment, but more an indicator of his puritan repressiveness.
Women's breasts' primary function is to feed their babies, not to titillate the men among us.
So Bill, if it makes you uncomfortable to see a mother breast-feed her baby, avert your gaze. How difficult is that to do??
They are not feeding their baby in order to make you uncomfortable.

[lillianjane]

I don't have children, so mine function as titillators, and thank goddess for that.

[jpshotwheels]

I think you completely missed Bill's point. He wasn't saying not to breast feed, nor was he saying not to do it in public, just show some courtesy to others in Public and cover it up. An Activism movement or a protest of thousands of women standing in public with their breast exposed feeding their babies is a bit tacky & extreme to me, to prove a point.

One day I was at the Mall, standing in line at the food court. There was woman standing right next to me, in line to order food for herself, completely exposed, breast feeding her baby. There were tons of people around, walking by her, staring at what she was doing. Breastfeeding is also a personal bonding time with your baby, standing in line to order food for herself, in my opinion was quite selfish. Feed your baby first then feed yourself. There is a time and place for everything and this was not a time for multi-tasking.

We live in a World of numerous opinions, religons, cultures, etc... To some this may not be appropriate, so what is the harm of showing some respect for other people in Public to just cover up. I believe that was all Bill was trying to say.