On Lactivism.

I support breastfeeding. I ensdorse nursing into toddlerhood, and even young childhood, if the child and mum are both game. I vehemently defend my son's right to eat whenever, wherever he chooses. I do NOT think a date or milestone (first birthday, teeth, walking) should be arbitrarily made the weaning mark. I love the idea of child-led weaning, although my son DOES need to start drinking water and pumped milk from a cup before I go to work. If you ask me about nursing, I will tell you any of these things. If you confront me about nursing in public, I will invite you to read the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. If you give me a hard time about nursing my almost-1-year-old son, I will invite you to discuss the health benefits of breastmilk over cow's milk until the age of 2. If you suggest that he should be on formula, well, I probably won't be diplomatic anymore and will just walk away from you, most likely preceded by a comment about how rude and ignorant people can be.

Now, having said all of that, there are a couple of groups on facebook that are giving lactivists a bad name. I'm a member of two of these groups, and the tactics used by some of these women (and men!) to increase awareness and acceptability of breastfeeding are vile. Being deliberately and obnoxiously confrontational is a reprehensible and juvenile behaviour pattern. Furthermore, all it does is give credence to the idea that women who breastfeed in public are all exhibitionists who just want to shove their breasts in your face. These people are actually a detriment to the fight to make breastfeeding not just acceptable, but invisible. The end goal of any true lactivist is to make it so that breastfeeding is no longer something we have to get all up in arms over. It should be about as remarkable as tying your shoe.

Of course, I could be blowing this all out of proportion. It probably doesn't help that I detest, nay, despise the word titty.