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
Loading comments…
Want to reply to a comment? Hint: Click "Reply" at the bottom of the comment; after being approved your comment will appear directly underneath the comment you replied to
Good Points Louise. I am a breastfeeding mother, and even if he was being sarcastic I think he really believes his own hype. I don't know any breastfeeding mothers that enjoy "flashing her tits" at anyone. If A boob is exposed, it's usually an accident. Just look away people. Nobody breastfeeds for entertainment of others as far as I'm aware. I don't get it anyway. Bloody crime scenes at 7pm on TV, violence everywhere and people get bent about a boob. Breastfeeding is the hardest thing I've ever done. It takes so much sacrifice. Especially in a country where the female body is so objectified that breastfeeding is considered by some to be "gross". What angers me about Bill's comments is that it just breeds more ignorance about breastfeeding. Bill is funny when he talks politics, but when it comes to breastfeeding he's a pretty ignorant, not-funny guy. Bad bit Bill.
I am not against breastfeeding, who is? I just don't want to have to watch you do it while I'm trying to eat my lunch. And sorry toots, but I do find the sight gross. That's just me and the last I heard, it was still a somewhat free country and I do have a right to my opinion.
I don't know if you really had to call this other woman "toots", even if you do have a right to disagree with her. I breast-fed for the full year and, believe me, it took a LOT of constant planning and organizing and I was never able to leave my home for more than 1 hour at a time during the first 6 months in order to spare the delicate feelings of people like yourself.
Yes, it was worth it. My daughter was perfectly healthy the entire time I nursed her and only started to catch things once I stopped. I did end up giving up my job and the nursing aspect contributed to my decision. This stuff actually has a strong impact on families and women's lives.
By the way, I disagree with Bill Maher, but I still dig him. Yes, he comes off as a 13 year old boy sometimes but I DO have a ribald sense of humor and I won't make a federal case out of it. I just wish people who will never nurse a baby (ie men without lactating breasts) would get about 1/10th of a clue as to what it entails, 6-8 times a day for months at a time. I didn't see the spot so I have no opinion as to whether he was "serious' or not. Just seems like there is lot of other material out there for him to, ahem, "cover'.
Yes, you have a right to your opinion, but it's still a bad one. Why is it gross to see a baby being fed? Maybe others find it gross watching you eat your lunch. Think about it.
Chacun a son gout, as the French say. I find the sight of breast feeding downright beautiful.
Okay, you find it gross. Look away. The point is, you don't have to stare. Most women are discreet because we don't want you to watch. My boob isn't in your salad. Eat your food. Besides, you said it. It's a free country, and I have the right to feed my baby in public. I have NEVER seen anyone's nipple staring at me while the baby feeds. If anything it's usually a flash of skin, and that's if you're staring directly at it (which you wouldn't be if you were enjoying your salad like a good boy).In about one second, all is covered by a shirt. It's like some urban-myth that breastfeeding women go around flashing their boobs at unsuspecting Americans everywhere. For the record, I always breastfeed (in public) in my car. I just felt better not being judged by ignorant people. I wonder what Freud would have said about people so offended by public breastfeeding. Hmmm...
I thought Bill's statements were funny and to the point. The Applebee's employee wasn't kicking the woman out of the restaurant or telling her not to breastfeed. She was simply asked to put a blanket over her breast, and she responded by suing the restaurant. Sorry, but if I'm eating at a restaurant, I don't want to see the actual act either.
Ms. Roth's post distorts Bill's statements in order to make a point. We progressives don't hesitate to point this out when right-wing nutcases do it, so we shouldn't ignore it when other progressives do it (admittedly, I don't know Ms. Roth's overall political sympathies).
"the actual act"???
It's FEEDING A BABY.
It's not a sexual act, it's not profane. It's normal and natural.
Maybe you would feel better if we all wore burquas?
Maureen, maureen maureen...
I am a woman..I was breastfed.
Like some of the others...I am all for breastfeed
even in more liberal Europe..th
it is NOT asking too much...
and bill is a chauvinist
Breasts = mammary glands. Repeat that ten times. Breastfeeding is not a sexual act. Repeat that ten times. Then stand in the corner for wanting to make the lives of nursing mothers more difficult.
Neither is picking your nose in a restaurant, but no one wants to see it.
This is not a point about which we need "lighten up." The formula lobby is a big machine and would rather we all ignore the science of the benefits of breastfeeding. These same intolerant people who do not support breast-feeding will be the first to lamblast a mother for feeding her child a french fry. I was the annoyed business woman on the airplane, loathe to sit near anyone with a baby or toddler. As a mother, I now want all of us to scream out for the rights of our children against the annoyed. Bill Maher is not funny. Typically, it is embarrassing to watch the reactions of his guests to his routine. They are forcing the laughs which are coming so naturally from Bill, himself. I do not know why HuffingtonPost gives him so much attention. There are many out there who are much more clever.
Yeah, and didn't the Republican Party just pull an ad for breast feeding under pressure from the formula lobby?
It's called comedy. Jeez lighten up.
I'm in agreement with Ohsillydutchman. Whether or not breastfeeding is a good practice is irrelevant. Women's exposed breasts and nipples have no place in public restaurants. I am all for breastfeeding, but have a little respect for other people around you...plea
What a prude. Breast feeding is natural. Breasts are not sexual organs. In fact, millions of women and men do not consider breasts to be the main deal in sexual attraction. They know they are mammary glands and not sexual organs though men in North America have made a fetish of them. Maybe men in North America need to be taught the difference.
But they're ok in a public strip club that serves food? Now, that's respecting a woman! At least she getting paid for it.
Clearly, Bill was bottle-fed.
So was I. Do you suppose it's too late for me to reap the benefits if I start breastfeeding now? By the way, good to see you didn't get arrested over the weekend. And, thank you for making the effort. I'm feeling a bit ashamed of myself. I was too busy, what with football games and such...
Cheers, Sarge.
BTW, my kids (5, 7) got in the swing:
Tone-deaf megaphone woman:
"What do we want?"
Crowd:
"PEACE!"
Tone-deaf megaphone woman:
"When do we want it?"
Crowd:
"NOW!"
Tone-deaf megaphone woman:
"What do we want?"
MY kids:
"TO GO SWIMMING!"
Tone-deaf megaphone woman:
"When do we want it?"
MY kids:
"BY FOUR O'CLOCK!"
And yes, they WERE breast-fed.
... Oooh, sarge (words fail me, but the mental picture..!
I think what Ms. Roth and others here are missing is that the entire basis for Bill Maher's rant was that the women's protest was NOT because the employee asked the woman to leave, because he didn't, but rather they were getting their panties in a bunch because he discreetly asked her if she would cover up a little. I believe women should be able to breast feed whenever and wherever they want, because babies need to eat and are not beholden to society's prudishness. But when you're in public, use the baby blanket! Although he went a bit far, being a comedian with a rather edgy style that's what he does, his point was that the women were cheapening the real issue by freaking out over a woman being expected to cover her boob with a blanket when she's breastfeeding. I see women breastfeeding in public all the time, and they almost universally do it with the blanket. What's wrong with that? Why would you WANT to show your boob unnecessarily while breastfeeding? It's not necessary, and none of Ms. Roth's (correct) statistics explain why a woman must expose her breast while breastfeeding. It would appear that a woman who has a fit over being asked to cover up a little is a bit more concerned with the attention she gets than with her rights as a breastfeeding mother. Sorry.
And I agree with Maias, he was JOKING. It was funny because the strident nature of the protest did not match the "crime."
It's sarcasm, he's not serious!!!!
Thanks, Louise. I was pretty grossed out and angered by Bill on Saturday, and I usually think he's funny. He's really wrong on this one, and it's not a harmless view, as you point out. He wasn't just being politically incorrect, he was being very offensive and ignorant, and wallowing in his ignorance. Yich. I used to expect better of him.
Oh bah, youve completely missed the point of his rant. He has no beef with breastfeeding at all, he just doesnt want to have to see some mother completely tits out with a baby sucking away while hes trying to eat his burger. All hes saying is, put a blanket over if your going to be in an overtly public place. and like he said, Masturbation is a natural act as well, would you be able to enjoy your lunch if you looked over and saw Bill Maher making a playground of his body?
Oh and as a busser, i very kindly ask that if your baby cant eat solid food. keep him out of restaurants, because its quite obvious your just trying to ignore the fact that you have a kid. People need to stop dragging their babies with them everywhere they go like luggage. I'll catch flak for this but so what. Im over parents who refuse to alter their lifestyle even an iota after having a child.
Yeah those people are terrible.
Oh, hang on, how do you know that's what they're doing? Unless you're working in a night club at 1am, how do you know they're ignoring the fact...
how do you know that's not the first night in a month they've been out?
I have two words for you: just wait, my son, just wait.
How do i know, cause i have two eyes and a functioning brain. Ive seen it a million times two women out having lunch both with little kids theyre pointedly ignoring.
Feeding a baby is not the euquivalent of masturbating. It is feeding a baby. Grow up and get with science.
I breastfed my two kids in many restaurants. Never got as much as a sideways glance, let alone such a rude comment from a busser.
No.one.eve
Absolutely. Even a first-baby breast-feeding mom can easily feed her baby without anyone being aware. I loved breast-feeding my kids because I knew I was doing something positive for their health and making my own life far easier in the process. No one ever complained because no one ever had to. I have, unhappily, seen some women make such a production that it was clear they wanted everyone to see, notice, applaud or something.
That's got nothing to do with the bond between mother and child or healthful, natural child care, and everything to do with some sort of weird egotism. Also, and again I'm a menapausal woman nostalgic for lactation, if your kid can walk and talk, I certainly don't want to watch you breastfeed him/her which I once saw happen in an Applebees. Four year olds can be told "wait until we get home."
Hmm maybe cause its uncomfortable to look at someone whose breasts hanging out while eating? Or to save you the embarrassment of having a busser say "Excuse me, could you put that thing away people are eating here."
It's quite obvious, dutchman that you're not a parent. Having a child alters your lifestyle in ways you can't imagine. So until you've had a taste of the mental, physical and emotional upheaval that childrearing brings, keep your ignorant whining to yourself. Oh, I'm sorry if my wife and I choose not to be shut-ins for the first year and a half of my kid's life. I'm sorry if that's a big inconvenience for you. Guess what? Bussing tables is a crappy minimum wage job and part of that crappy minimum wage job is cleaning up after others. Deal with it.
As far as breastfeeding goes, sadly it doesn't quite fit into a modern two-job household very well. We tried...to
And bussing's actually not that bad, despite having to deal with self entitled parents like yourself. Having a child alters your lifestyle? Really? I never could have imagined. I kinda thought that was a given and one of the sacrifices people make when they decide to have children? Silly me. I kinda thought having the night out is one of the reasons why Babysitters are so popular. Apparently its easier to just schlub him along and make your busser clean up after him included in the fee for your dinner. Yes im the ignorant whiner here. Love your statement about my job though, speaks volumes about who you are.
Yeah, he's not against breastfeeding. He was against activists making a ridiculous civil rights claim because Appleby's gave the woman a blanket to cover up with. I think he's got the makings of a point.
Maher's crime is that his routine wasn't unfair, it was unfunny.
New Rule:
You can't say anything about boobs if you ARE one.
("But I kid the good late-nite host," as Bill himself would say.)
Oh my god!!! Such a great reply!!! I've been blown off the stage...
I love liberal cognitive dissonance. But, I'm going to have to side with Bill here.
You are allowed to breast feed in public, just cover up so people don't have to see breasts in Applebees.
I have to agree. I know many women who have breastfed. They do use a shawl or something lightweight to cover up with if they are out in public. The argument that you can be bare breasted anywhere because it is "natural to breast feed" is disingenuous. There is a decorum issue here. Like Bill said, mastrubation is natural too, but he doesnt pull it out in public. There is nothing wrong with breastfeeding in public. You don't have to hide in a bathroom or anything. Just throw something over your shoulder. Only your baby needs to see it. The rest of the public with rather not. Look at the heart of the argument. Breast feeding advocates want to breast feed in public. OK...you got it. No problem. So whats the big deal. Are you fighting for your right to show your body parts to the general public? Come on.
Actually, breastfeeding is a fairly discreet act by definition. The top of the shirt covers the top of the boob and the baby covers the nipple and the bottom of the boob. About the most that's ever exposed is a bit of side flab (for those of us who are recently post-partum).
The woman at Applebee's was sitting in a BOOTH at the BACK of the restaurant, which means that she wasn't exactly flashing the crowd.
I breast fed a baby who refused to be covered by a blanket. She hated anything over her face and would either scream or remove the blanket. So I never used one. In spite of that, I DARE anyone to tell me that I wasn't being "discreet.
Why?
Bill has bad opinions like everybody else. The difference is he doesn't have as many faulty opinions as the neocons.
Quite a hypocritical opinion for Bill Maher. He opposes the unnatural foods pushed upon us by big industry, but also the natural feeding of babies in public. He says whatever he pleases, but believes mothers should shut up about feeding their babies in public. Very disappointing.
You must be logged in to comment. Log in or connect with
