Articles like this one make me think. (Thanks AL :-)
They also make me get angry. There are two things that I get angry about in conjunction with the whole breastfeeding/formula debate.
The first one is important but not as personal for me, and has to do with America, its empire, and the business practices of American companies. I was thinking (just today, actually) about how interesting it is that in large measure the classification of a nation as "developing" from an American perspective largely means "able to be exploited for profit, either by stealing their resources or marketing to them in an underhanded way." I think that this article about the aggressive advertising/unjust pushing of formula by these companies illustrates that point. Why do we think we have the right? Just because we have more money. And why do we have more money? Because we have a strong military and enough financial clout (though at least this seems to be changing, to some extent) to land unfair advantages when it comes to our money dealings with these same countries!
The second on is far more personal and much more important to me, and has to do with women and their phenomenal capabilities that are to a huge extent undervalued. It's no secret that our world is a patriarchal one (with some really cool but really rare matriarchal exceptions that are fast being labeled "primitive" or just plain stamped out). The work that women do goes unnoticed by pretty much everyone but them (unless they have exceptional husbands and families....which I like to think I do ;-). The fact that a group of doctors, nutritionists, and businessmen all got together and decided that they would be able to convince the child-bearing population that they (the men) could do a mother's job of nurturing her child better than she can, just pisses me off. And reflects the larger problem of a masculinist society's denigration of a woman's work in general, aimed at creating a self-deprecating self-perception within her.
So stand up. Tell them they're wrong. Breastfeed your baby.
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1 comment:
Sorry, Em. I hated breastfeeding. I did it because I thought it would be good for my daughter. If I had had to do it for more than 7 1/2 months, I would have lost my sanity. So I'm rather grateful that they make formula. They shouldn't give free samples to women in other countries so they can no longer breastfeed their children for sure. But formula isn't a bad thing, if you ask me.
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