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52 responses total.

My sister-in-law does it (at least around the house with extended family)
and i think i've seen it done somewhat publicly by other women (back of
the church during services & other not-many-strangers-looking-your-way
situations).  Not something that i keep my eyes on, but the basics seem
to be wearing tops built for it (strategically located flaps) and a not-
too-modest attitude.  (Mom once quipped words to the effect that dealing 
with real babies that get real hungry in the real world weans moms off 
excessive modesty real quick.)  

I'd go by how comfortable *you* are with feeding in public.
If someone else is uncomfortable seeing a female
breast they can always look away.  Besides, it gives
people who are too tightly wound something to complain
about.  So you're actually doing them a favor. ;-)

I'm never shocked to see someone feeding their baby in public - it just seems
so *natural* to me.  Like a kitten walking up to its mom and suckling. 
<shrug>  I would definitely go with your level of modesty and what works for
you.  I agree with Mary; Whoever doesn't like it can look away.  

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Hmm. But what about breast pumps? Can you express the milk and save it for
later? Awhile back I walked into a restroom and heard this funny whirring
noise. In the corner was a woman with her little electric breast pump (though
nothing was being exposed). She said, "Sorry y'all... but if I don't do this
now I will be dying by 2:00!" Hee!

I agree with Valerie, it seems even though you try to be discreet the whole
world knows what you're really doing. I know breast milk is best for both mom
and baby but it seems a bottle is so much more convenient.

Reminds me of an old Designing Women episode where Suzanne (Delta Burke)
complained about seeing a woman nurse in a restaurant. She said, "Can you
imagine if I whipped out one of these in public?! All hell would break loose!"

I heard a great story a while ago about a woman who was kicked out for
breastfeeding in public in an art gallery.  Pointing to the giant nude
portrait on the wall across from her, she said, "With all those around here,
who's going to notice me".

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That's a great story!  =)

I agree with beeswing about the breast pump.  That will save your modesty in
public, but will still assure that your baby will get breast milk.

A "Friends" episode once had two men walking in on a woman
breast feeding and immediately turning away.  "But it's the
most beautiful, natural, thing in the world," she protests.
One of the guys responds, "Yeah, but it's got a *baby*
attached to it."  Exaggerated but fairly typical male response.

Haha, Joey and Chandler  :D

For me it entirely depends on the situation or even my mood.
I'd rather see a stranger breastfeed her baby than my sister in
law. I don't want to be confronted with her nudity, even if it's
only a breast.
But I guess I am a little bit prudent, for I don't like to expose
myself in public either (e.g. shower rooms after playing indoor
soccer, or even while it is legal in parts of Europe: nudist beaches).
My privates are for reserved for very few eyes. Not that I think I got
a hideous body or so. It just feels that way.
At times other people's nakedness embarassess me too.

I was quite modest prior to having my two children, Valerie.  But when it came
to feeding my babies, I guess I lost some of my modesty since my breasts seems
to loose their sexual preeminence and became survival objects.  It was the
most natural thing in the world to breast feed my girls.  I also did not want
to stay at home all the time and didn't want to loose the closeness of feeding
them directly due to someone else's issues about not wanting to see me feed
them.  I always looked for a private place to do so and was very discrete.
I had a close male friend who said that in the six months of my breastfeeding
each of the girls, he never actually saw my breasts.  And I did it in front
of him a good deal of the time.  Wait till you have a babyt and see how you
feel about it.  You dont have to make any decisions now.  Besides, even if
you did, you would probably change your mind after you have the baby and get
used to feeding it.  I bet it all has to do with how comfortable one is
breastfeeding in total.

One warm day last summer I saw three women breastfeeding in public in about
three hours - one at a yard sale she was running.  Nobody seemed to care. 
Maybe people don't notice you unless you look and act embarrassed?

Maybe all people just pretend to not see it, and just ignore the whole thing.
In the way of an ostrich sticking its head in the ground.
Come to think of it, many of oy friends are starting having children now and
I never caught one of the wives (also friendss btw.) breastfeeding.
It might very well be that Dutch women simply don't do it in public.
We aren't called calvinists for nothing.

If you have a co-operative baby & are dressed for it, only the beginning 
of the process involves exposing yourself.  Several times I had people
ask me if the baby were asleep, especially when we were using a sling.

I have two aunts who used to drape a light blanket over the baby's head and
her breast; It appeared as though they were rocking the baby to sleep, and
it was very discreet.

Been there, done that.  It is all so easy when you want to do it.

i have a strange aversion to breast feeding at all.
the whole idea of myself suckling a baby is revolting.
a bottle would be fine, but breast feeding just seems so..
so.. parasitic!

How do you feel about a placenta attached to you, *inside*?

the exact same way!
there has to be a more civilized way to reproduce.

Well, i'd say that leaves you two choices: 
 - Find a suitable host mother/nursing nanny and put with up the expense,
invasive procedures, risks, and loss of control.
 - Try to perfect binary fission.

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Parthenogenesis (see the dowsing item, Agora 66, it has really drifted).
Various diseases can be passed on during nursing, even from the baby to the
nurse (I think syphilis was one of them, see Agora 94).

<laugh>
How about having your offspring burst forth full-grown from the father's
forehead?  Then you get to skip pregnancy _and_ nursing...

This sounds rather hard on the father.

I'm still shocked at the picture of Valerie listening to Shriekback.  =)

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Yeah, sure Valerie.
Admit it: you are a child of the eighties.
I think I even got some squibbles from one of their songs on my desk at home.
As a student, you know, I practiced a little in graffitti and so.
It was from a song called "Are you ready? Ready for this?"

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When was the Me Generation?

Babyboomers...
I am from 62, still I regard myself a babyboomer.
By child of the eighties I meant, that was the time, I guess, most significant
things may have happened.
University, first affairs etc. etc.
But also I see myelf a child from th eighties, especially when you take into
account that I have lived my punk/goth time to the full.
Shriekback, were no exception to the criterium. So... :)

Would somebody please define punk and goth?  The impression I got from a book
in the library is that goth means you paint your face white and wear black,
and talk about things unintelligible to your elders.

<laugh>  I think _everyone_ talks about things unintelligible to their elders,
at some point or another.

Since my educational level was quite a bit higher than my elders, it wasn't
too hard to sound unintelligible. But then I 'd be giving them not enough
credit. 
I did not paint my face white, but dyed my hair black, mostly wore black,
painted some fingernails black and sang black songs in my punk/goth band
(never could really make out what kind of music we played, we were sooo bad).
In short: I led a black life, haha.
Even now, you can, if you know my past, recognize the traces from that time,
if only for my cd-collection and my preferences when it comes to clothing
(even my suits tend towards blackness).
My punkdom was mostly a political, I guess. (never went into mohawk mode)

Do goths dress to please their peers or annoy their elders?  It seems like
you can annoy elders pretty easily, by cutting your hair short (or shaving
it off), when they rebelled as youngsters by growing theirs long (their
parents wore crewcuts).  ANyone remember a news story about a; kid getting
thrown out of school for having 'long' hair (like the Beatles)?  Are there
now any school dress codes forbidding shaving your head?  Or green hair?

Well, I'm at Community High, where the only dress code that I'm aware of is
that they'll look at you funny if you run around naked.  The other two public
high schools in Ann Arbor have bans on hats, for some unknown reason.

I think the administrators have to ban something to feel in control.

Hats were banned at our school because it's still a societal custom to remove
your hat in a building.

I dress goth once in a while because I look good in it, not because I want
to look like a vampire.  I never paint my face, but I've been known to wear
dark lipstick and eyeliner.  The style fits me with my naturally dark hair
and grey eyes, so I usually go with it, but not so obvious that people say,
"Oh...there's another wannabe."  ;-)

It used to be a societal custom, until recently, to wear your hat in a
building, before central heating.  I still wear my wool cap because my apt.
in 60 degrees.  In many societies you are required to remove shoes inside.
(Wonder what this item used to be  about?).

- Backtalk version 1.3.30 - Copyright 1996-2006, Jan Wolter and Steve Weiss