Breastfeeding On Elle Causes Breastfeeding Supporters To Turn
/Nicole Trunfio recently posed breastfeeding her baby on the recent cover of Elle. While many saw this as a positive win for the Normalize breastfeeding movement some people are calling it porn, "Lacto-porn" to be exact. This isn't the first time a celebrity mom has received negative backlash after posting a breastfeeding selfie AKA Brelfie.
Alyssa Milano has posted quite a few breastfeeding pictures and has even spoken out publicly defending a woman's right to breastfeed in public however she chooses. It's always nice when celebrities step up support for breastfeeding.
Why are my knickers in a bunch over the negative backlash of Nicole Trunfio? Too often, the same people who are fighting for breastfeeding moms to be able to breastfeed however they choose are also joining in on the shaming of the celebrity moms. I find it hypocritical and feel like it's taking many steps back. We want society to stop viewing breastfeeding to be sexual yet we're so quick to shame and demonize a breastfeeding mom who even remotely looks sexy and happens to be breastfeeding too. Are moms only supposed to breastfeed with stained clothing and messed up hair in a pony? Are celebrity moms just exempt from the unconditional support that we're claiming to give, and what we're begging to get? Trufio wrote this statement about her photo and it seems to me that she is a working mom and she was excited to be able to combine both her job and breastfeeding to help normalize it in the process.
"I disagree that it normalizes breastfeeding. It does exactly what those who promote breastfeeding should be trying to avoid. It sexualizes breastfeeding instead of portraying it as what it is: a mother nourishing her child with no effort to titillate (the use of the word is not coincidental) the others around her."
Some breastfeeding supporters that usually fight alongside with me are some of the people involved in the shaming of Trunfio. I support all breastfeeding moms unconditionally, celebrity, or not. A confident, sexy, working mom breastfeeding her baby should not be demonized simply because of subjective perception.
Jeanna Hoch, breastfeeding mom who received some negative backlash of her own for a brelfie she posted on her twitter and Facebook, made a few comments on Nicole Trufino's behalf. Jeanna Hoch is a huge supporter of women and their rights in general you can find her on Twitter @PoliSciMommy
