介绍:
Lincoln: A recent report shows an organization was shut down after being criticized for a post that features a woman being ridiculed for breastfeeding in public. Wu You, what’s the story here?
WY: A microblogger has posted a photo of a woman breastfeeding her baby on a subway and then commented, "Please do not show private parts in public", "Is this appropriate on the subway?" and "May I remind you this is the Beijing subway, not a bus from your village." And then, after the posting, many net users criticized the website and also the original microblogger. Most net users supported the mother, and then the website deleted the post and released an apology, and then the original microblogger also apologized to the mother for taking the photograph.
Lincoln: It’s a controversial issue in various places around the world. Other people are saying, well, you know, there’s issues of appropriateness, and of, you know, decorum – how you’re supposed to act when you’re in public, and things like that as well. Michael, maybe you can tell us a little bit about what the case is in the UK.
Michael: Yeah, well, in the UK, this is an issue that has cropped up quite a lot in recent years, actually. A group of mothers, actually, at a major shopping centre in the UK, in Manchester, actually fed their babies all en masse in front of a group of rather stunned shoppers, and that was to promote the launch of National Breastfeeding Awareness Week in June, which is backed by the NHS, the National Health Service in the UK, and I remember reading a story that featured in newspapers about a woman who was in quite an upmarket restaurant, and she was breastfeeding her baby at the dinner table, and the waiter came over and asked if she would, you know, be so kind as to drape a napkin over herself in order to protect her modesty. And, similar to the incident here that Wu You was just talking about, this went viral. I think the mother went to the newspapers to talk about this and say how embarrassed and ashamed she’d been made to feel, and a lot of people sided with her. So, you were talking about, on the one hand, people have the freedom to do this versus, on the other hand, there are standards of decorum and modesty, and it seems, in the UK, overwhelmingly, people are voting in favour of the former – you know, that people should be allowed to do this, that it’s nobody else’s business, you know – it’s a perfectly natural thing to do. I think, really, the issue is, on the one hand, yes, mothers should be able to perform what is a perfectly natural act, but I would question whether a lot of people actually want to do that, actually feel comfortable doing that in a public place.
WY: I think maybe the mother doesn’t have a choice, because she’s already in the subway, and then the baby is quite hungry, and earlier this morning, Michael also told me a story that in some buses, there has been a curtain especially for the new mums with their babies – they can directly use the curtain to cover one seat.
Lincoln: But the other thing is, then, why should there have to be a curtain? Why should there have to be a separate area for this person? If she is comfortable enough in public, and she’s doing something – you know, she’s not doing anything wrong; it’s a natural act. So why should she have to be made to feel ashamed for that? I think that’s the thing that people are questioning here.
WY: Yeah – directly about this, to make it more socially acceptable, this year, in May, in China, more than 80 mothers were seen breastfeeding in public in Fuzhou city in order to promote the benefits of breastfeeding, and also allow the practice to become more socially acceptable. I think that is the argument: whether the mother really wants to do it, or she doesn’t have a choice, the other people should accept it.
Michael: And I suppose this is an issue of necessity, as well. I mean, if your baby is hungry and crying, then, you know, you have to feed your baby, and sometimes there’s no other place to do that. I think, you know, when we’re talking about these curtains on buses, then yes – if you feel comfortable enough, and you think there’s no reason that you should be ashamed to do what’s a perfectly natural act, then yes – by all means feed your baby wherever suits. But, you know, for some people, maybe they feel a little more embarrassed, they don’t want to do this sort of act in public, then the option is there for them to maybe cover themselves.
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