Well now, here’s an interesting quandary. Women in Pittsburgh have apparently been faced with some hostility while breastfeeding in public settings. An art instructor at Carnegie Mellon University has decided upon a confrontational approach to dealing with this situation.
Ms. Jill Miller has decided to create an emergency response unit to come to a nursing mother’s aid when she is pressured while publicly nursing her child. This unit will consist of a refurbished ice cream truck with pictures of women nursing on the sides and a breast(s) on the roof. It will have an awning that will unfurl to offer shade as well as chairs that can be set out underneath as well as a comfortable interior if the mother would care for something a little more private. (This would seem a little oxymoronic since they had already been exposing their breast in public to start the whole cycle.)
The plan is, when a woman is harassed she would call for assistance and this garish truck would pull up outside of the establishment. Then a flash mob orchestrated through Twitter and/or Facebook would show up as well, in an attempt to make an even bigger scene. To quote Ms. Miller, “Thought the nursing mother created a spectacle? Meet ‘The Milk Truck’!”
The idea is, to make it more painful for the offending establishment to harass the nursing mother than it is to let her offend a few patrons and possibly the owners and staff.
In a way, I kind of like the idea.
Of course the business owners ought to have the right to control what goes on inside of their establishment. If they don’t want a woman exposing her breast, even if it is to feed her off spring, it ought to be the business’s right to ban such a practice. On the other hand they need to be aware that such actions might expose them to public protests which could lead to even larger embarrassments, such as ‘The Milk Truck’ setting up camp in front of their business.
My real question here is concerning Ms. Miller. When I first started reading this I thought, hey this is kind of a novel approach to addressing such a problem. As I read further I’ve come to consider the possibility that Ms. Miller may be motivated by a little more self-serving interest.
While she recounts that the ‘Milk Truck’ will provide the mother with a supportive place to nurse her child, it will coincidentally be part of an art exhibit at the Andy Warhol Museum. Additionally, it will be available for appearances at events (Lilith Fairs and the like, no doubt).
The more cynical side of me keeps whispering “She’s a self-promoting publicity whore who’s found a way to get her name in front of her target audience without any real cost to herself!”
I don’t know a single thing about Ms. Miller other than she teaches at a university and her area is art. But I would be willing to bet you dollars to donuts that she is a strident feminist socialist.
She is currently in the process of raising money from OTHER people that she can use to further a feminist agenda while elevating her status as a champion of feminist/liberal causes AND getting a piece of her work and her name in the Andy Warhol Museum.
Had this idea come from someone who was not an “artist”, but rather a frustrated mother with no art background, someone who just wanted to do something. Had it not been scheduled to appear at an art museum, or available for public appearances, I would probably feel differently. But as it stands, I’m going to have to stand with my cynical side.
I could be wrong, at which point I would owe Ms. Miller an apology. But I seriously doubt that will be necessary.
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