Publishing Picture and Inviting Comment Tacky
May 14, 2007 by Amy Spangler | one question or comment
Maggie Gyllenhaal was recently captured on camera breastfeeding her baby. I don’t care that Maggie Gyllenhaal is a Hollywood star. I do care that Maggie Gyllenhaal is a mother. And like all mothers she deserves respect and support.
I can only guess at the motivation of the photographer who snapped the image and the websites that published it, including Babble and Gawker.
What’s “tacky”, isn’t breastfeeding in public, it’s publishing the picture and inviting comment. Barbara Behrman author of The Breastfeeding Cafe said it best, “It’s a breast. It’s a baby. Enough already.”
Though trash papers may want to encourage people to comment negatively, in the end I believe more mothers will condemn the riducule and- as a result of Ms. Gyllenhaal’s actions- be less shy about breastfeeding in public places. All publicity is good publicity, right?