Breastfeeding, Facebook, & Having an Opinion

I have never taken well to contradictions or someone implying that I'm wrong.  I mean, even if someone just disagrees with me it throws me into a bit of a turmoil.  I don't get angry at them, I just start questioning myself;

  "Have I offended them?".........."Are they right and I'm wrong?"......"Maybe they are right?"......."I shouldn't have said anything."........."Maybe I should just take it back."  etc, etc, etc.

It used to be really bad. I'd back down on almost anything.  But I have found that something has seriously changed as I've grown up, and now that I am pregnant it is changing even more.

The thing that is changing is my belief that I have a right to have an opinion.  Not just an opinion, but a strong opinion and standard for myself and the world.  I never want to be one of those that runs over the beliefs of others, but I also don't want to be a door mat.  I want to have some expectations of myself, others, and life in general.

You may be be asking yourself why this topic came up?  Or you may not care, haha, but I'm gonna tell you!  Yesterday I decided to share this picture on Facebook....

Care of thebadassbreastfeeder.com....

I guess this is kind of a 'pushy' message, but I definitely believe that it should be just as acceptable, if not more so, to breast feed openly in public, as it is to display sexual images of women.  Yesterday my boyfriend's nine year old daughter asked me, "Did you know Adam Levine is the sexiest man alive?"  First I asked her if she saw that on a magazine, the answer was yes, and then I asked her if she knew what 'sexiest' means.  She said it means he is pretty.  Perceptive kid...I then proceeded to tell her that she was right, and if she has any questions about that word to let me know.  I also told her it is an adult word, and that if she uses it she is liable to get in trouble.  But I digress....

Goddess willing, I will be able to breastfeed my child.  And I plan on doing it openly.  By openly I mean without a cover, in public.  Let me set the record straight; I NEVER thought I would do this.  While I didn't give much thought to it before pregnancy, if I did think of it, I always envisioned a cover up or hiding in the bathroom or car.  

But as I embrace my body, maternal instinct, and yes even sexuality during this pregnancy (because they are all invariably linked) I have realized that not only are there good reasons to breast feed in public without a cover, but I want to.  

I want my future step daughters to see it, I want my baby to know I'm not ashamed of his/her needs, I don't want to be ashamed of what my body is meant to do...more than anything, I want it to become the norm.  Things don't become the norm by people first accepting them and then people starting to practice the act...things become the norm because brave mothers dare to bare their breasts for their baby's sake!  And that is what I plan to do.

Here comes the Facebook section........

I have learned to post things on Facebook at my own risk, so I pick and choose carefully.  I felt this picture really represented my views and brought up a valuable question.  It was my sister, who I love and respect but do not agree with on many facets of life, that responded with:

"I think neither is appropriate." 

The mental me after reading this.....

My initial reaction was to delete the post because she disagreed with me.  Luckily that option is not very simple on my phone.  So, the whole drive to work I thought about it.  I eventually decided not to delete it, because I really do believe in this message.  Then I got kind of angry and thought of this (especially since my sister is kind of a cowgirl):

Queue imaginary voices in my head;

"OMG, that cow should soooo go to the bathroom to do that!"

"Throw a cover on that horse!  That is disgusting!"

I could post that on Facebook, but I won't.  I can anticipate a response of, "We aren't animals."  This is another differing belief of ours that probably stems from our different religious beliefs.  I'm a pagan, she is an evangelical christian.  I believe we are animals....I think she may believe we are higher than the animals.  I guess I shouldn't assume, but I still don't want to go down that road.

I finally settled on responding with this, "And I definitely respect your opinion, though I think the bottom picture is far more acceptable to me."

I wish I could have thought of something more witty and snappy, while still being respectful.  But that just isn't me.  Not backing down is enough of a victory for me to celebrate today.

Care of thebadassbreastfeeder.com