Breastfeeding Moms Stage Mass Protest After Mother Asked To Leave Food Court For Making People ‘Uncomfortable’

A shopping mall’s food court became the stage where dozens of mothers came together to publicly breastfeed their babies after hearing how one woman was asked to leave the same food court because her breastfeeding was making people “uncomfortable.”

Bendingo Shopping center is at the center of the controversy after a staff member approached Luci White on Tuesday afternoon while she was breastfeeding her son and asked her to leave the food court. The staff member apparently directed White to go to the family room for such a task after receiving complaints from two other patrons at the shopping center.

Bendigo Marketplace full of breastfeeding mums! Beautiful, peaceful protest about mothers' rights to feed in public. pic.twitter.com/oH8r0scmfi

— Kristy Mayr (@KristyMayr7) February 26, 2016

The embarrassed mother later relayed the tale to a friend who took to social media to express her ire at the treatment. Samantha Purden posted the story to Facebook, explaining how “disgusted and appalled” she felt knowing that her friend had been treated that way. The woman also called for a mass breastfeeding session in the food court in protest and solidarity. Purden also wrote in her post that it would be an opportunity to educate persons who still hold the view that breastfeeding is something to be ashamed of an hidden away.

“To educate the Neanderthals out there that no-one has the right to tell a mum where to feed her child. It’s illegal.”

The Facebook post caught the attention of another mother, Michelle Van Zyl,who then decided to be the one to organize the mass breastfeeding protest at the Bendigo shopping center in a show of support not only to Luci White, but for other breastfeeding mothers as well. In an interview, Van Zyl had revealed that she is a mother of two who currently has a baby who is still breastfeeding and hearing how White was treated resonated on a personal level and hearing ow horrible mothers are treated for “doing what comes so naturally by feeding your baby” truly made her angry. The mother went on to state that while she herself had never been asked to cover up and told to “move on,” she had been “targeted” by others for breastfeeding in public before.

The protest organizer had also mentioned that persons who are uncomfortable with the sight of a breastfeeding mother have the option to look away. The attempt to keep a baby happy and healthy should not be greeted with such behavior. White herself had mentioned to Yahoo7 News how the fact that she was forced to stop feeding her son had affected both him and her that day.

“I was really upset because once he was removed from my breast he was hysteric and was like that for 45 minutes, it was really distressing for me.”

On Friday, the food court of the Bendigo shopping center was filled with mothers quietly breastfeeding their babies in protest and solidarity. The managers of the shopping center have since issued an apology to Luci White and made a claim that it regrets the discomfort and embarrassment that was caused by their staff’s actions.

https://twitter.com/geraldinehewitt/status/703199820140277760

Rebecca Naylor, CEO of the Australian Breastfeeding Association, advised that the negative and positive experiences that breastfeeding mothers have in any given community is largely due to the public’s perceptions of breasts. The fact that many see breasts as serving a private and sexual purpose instead of “being a functional organ of the body, whose primary purpose is to feed a baby” influences intolerances.

According to ABC Australia, Naylor went on to advise that asking a breastfeeding mother to move from a public space is illegal. Anywhere a woman is allowed to have her baby with her is a space she should feel free to feed her child. The CEO also stated that while there would always be persons who are uncomfortable with women breastfeeding in public the responsibility laid with businesses and communities to react in the proper manner. While business should provide for those who prefer to feed in private women still have the right to breastfeed in public.

The Bendingo Shopping center has stated that all staff have been reminded of the breastfeeding policy which the company holds, to welcome and support all mothers.

[Photo Courtesy of Alden Pellett/AP Images]