Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Is Breastfeeding The Most Controversial Form of Nudity?


The latest Time magazine cover features Jamie Lynne Grumet, a pretty California-blonde 26-year-old mom, breastfeeding her almost 4-year-old son, Aram.  The title “Are You Mom Enough?” teases an article where Grumet is interviewed about the modern relationship between mom and baby. 
Well, social media blew up with discussion over the magazine cover.  Within hours of hitting the shelves, the image had been mocked, praised, criticized, and photoshopped into many satirical iterations.
Doctors, specialists and mothers everywhere chimed in on their thoughts about health, social growth and bonding between mother and child.  Surpassing that, however, was the controversy over the cover image itself.  The photograph was divisive to say the least.  Some applauded, others were appalled.
What is it about breastfeeding that causes such uproar?  We have certainly seen more nudity than this on the front of MOST magazines.  It is interesting that the public seems to handle sexualized images with a grain of immunity, but this image of a child past the standard age of breast feeding causes such commotion.
Do you think the image is appropriate or offensive?

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