Breastfeeding

[tracymort]

Does anyone know why TV deems it acceptable to show women from developing countries breastfeeding yet believe to be offensive to show a western woman feed? I ask because when i complained that Hollyoaks only showed babies being bottlefed (i know some may think thats silly but there are studies in the BMJ on the subject and how its a bad influence) they told me they don't show breastfeedging cos of the watershed!!! Like you need to show boobs to show that, plus hollyoaks show alot of flesh imo anyway! Anyway today the news at lunch time show a lady from Cambodia breastfeeding and that is fine. So whats the difference?

[kags]

Well it seems that the media as a whole in Western countries is obsessed with the breast as a sexual object, and having been brought up in this environment, many people are embarrassed to see public breastfeeding. As you say, this is ironic because the same people probably wouldn't bat an eyelid at a model thrusting her breasts out on page 3, whereas a breastfeeding mother will hardly reveal any breast at all. As for the pictures one sees on the news, these are generally of people in areas of famine and it would seem that the tv editors are satisfied that these starving and desperate woman will not in any way be seen as sexual by their viewers. They are therefore showing the footage for all the wrong reasons - of course the are sexual human beings just like everyone else, but they live in a society where breastfeeding is as natural as breathing. This gives a subtle message to women in the West - breastfeeding is for poor people with no choice. And because it is so difficult to breastfeed in public, young girls grow up with no idea about breastfeeding - and then they have all the wrong expectations about it. Of those that do breastfeed, many give up because they are fed up with sitting in public toilets to feed their baby!! We are lucky, we have a choice and breastfeeding isn't for everyone, which is fair enough - but we certainly don't make it easy.

[gnasher]

i hope hollyoaks starts listening to you !

[SavageMonkey]

There are numerous reasons why this is so, therefore I do not really see a huge unjust here:

- Breastfeeding on the news is different from an entertainment programme. News is meant to be factual documentation, whereas entertainment has been constructed specifically for said purpose. Putting breast feeding in could give the wrong impression of what the programme is about (ie. breastfeeding is shown so the viewers are getting sexual feelings because of breasts. Sad I know, but the programme directors know this is how the general public thinks).

- Breastfeeding on a film set would mean actors exposing themselves when they may not want to, causing more problems, when they could simply shove a bottle in the babies mouth.

- I doubt the babies you see in programmes like Hollyoaks are the actual babies of the female actors, so it's unlikely they would even consider breast feeding them. I know if I was a woman and mother, I would be the ONLY one to breast-feed my child.

About the watershed thing, if I've understood my research correctly, "natural nudity" is perfectly acceptable at any time of day. However, in almost all contexts, if you were to show breast feeding in "entertainment" it will be more than just "natural" as the programme is designed for that purpose.

I do not feel there is any descrimination between breast feeding on the NEWS from people in the developed world from those in lesser developed countries. It's simply that, like the other person said, we do not do breast feeding in public because of the taboo, which I agree, we should get over big time.

Hope my opion has helped you!

[Tj]

They showed breast feeding on Home and Away a few years ago. You basically just saw the baby's head in front of the girl's breast (I think it was...Chloe?), but it was obvious what was happening. She breast fed outside the cafe and that plank Alf came out and complained I think (Stone the flaming crows!), so sparking a similar debate to the one we are having about breast feeding in public.

[SavageMonkey]

Ahh, but what Tj is mentioning is part of the story and is crucial. If it wasn't to add to the story in any way, the issue would be completely avoided by simply not showing it I think.

[IndieSinger]

I fully support any cause to fight for the right to see women breast feeding on Hollyoaks.