Okay, sorry about that. I’m actually being serious here when I ask the following question: what is with the preponderance of articles on breast feeding? Is it just me, or has The Media become obsessed with breast feeding as of late?
I say this because of two articles that have been recently published on the subject. The first is Jill Lepore’s “Baby Food” from the January 19 issue of The New Yorker, and the second being “The Case Against Breast Feeding” by Hanna Rosin in this month’s issue of The Atlantic.
So whats up with this? While the two articles have bunches in common–both talk about how it fell in and out (and back in again) of vogue throughout the century, the “proven” health benefits for the babies, and what it does (or doesn’t do) for the mothers who are breast feeding–Lepore’s is a broad survey of the place of breast feeding within society, whereas Rosin’s tackles the subject from her own perspective: that of a harried, busy, and real, mother of three. Still, the fact that the topic of breast feeding has inspired these two pieces within just a few months of one another has made me stop and think about why this is the case. And why I even care. So I thought it out…
My first idea has to do with the fact that, apparently, the country is going through a tiny boom in baby making. The past couple of years has welcomed lots and lots of little ones into the world. So more babies = more talk of baby related stuff, and just like that, you have talk of breast feeding. But that is a bit too facile, let’s face it.
Which brings us to Theory #2, the one that’s a touch more real. So you know that whole doomsday economy scenario thats happening right now? Well, I’ve heard from multiple people (but was too lazy to do a good, linkable search), that the most commonly stolen goods are baby diapers and formula. Because not only are they indispensable items if you have a baby, but they are also, like, really REALLY expensive. As are all of those scary looking breast pump apparati that I stupidly Google-image searched. (Don’t do it….trust me). So perchaps this upswing in breast feeding journalism has to do with the socio-economic implications of breast feeding, what with the state of the economy being the only thing people are allowed to talk about these days.
Whatever the reason both of these articles emerged so close to one another doesn’t really matter. I suppose I’m only dwelling on it because I’m trying to figure out why this topic is so meaningful to me. I mean, I don’t have to worry about whether or not I’m going to breast feed right now, and I certainly hope that particular dilemma doesn’t arise for many years to come. Maybe it’s just the whole I’m-a-lady thing. But I don’t think thats it. I guess I don’t have to think about it too hard to realize it’s mostly because my mom was recently declared free of breast cancer, and that talk of breasts and motherhood and how they are inextricably linked is a pretty moving topic for me right now.
Just some thoughts. And now, for what you were promised…boobies!
