How much does this suck?!

Woman kicked off plane for breast-feeding baby
Files complaint saying she was being discreet, airline disagrees

BURLINGTON, Vt. - A woman who claims she was kicked off an airplane because she was breast-feeding her baby has filed a complaint against two airlines, her attorney said.

Full story here.

The airline spokesperson graciously notes that women have the right to breastfeed in public "providing she is feeding the child in a discreet way." Ummm, the law doesn't work that way. Though admittedly the laws protecting breastfeeding in the States are not as consistent as those in Canada (yay Canada!) I guarantee you that not one of them mentions that a blanket is necessary! I'm sure the mom was trying to be discreet but really, that's not the point. The word discreet does not even belong in a discussion on breastfeeding in public - who comes up with the definition of discreet? What is discreet to me is not to you. What is discreet to a mom nursing twins (yes, I've been there!) is not to a mom of a singleton who likes to cover up with a blanket. The right to breastfeed is just that - a right to breastfeed, there are no "only if" or "as long as" that accompany that right. If we get into that, we get on a slippery slope where others (and if we're talking lawmakers, we're usually talking older white men) define our breastfeeding relationship with our children and the where and the when and the how. And that should be a problem for all women, not just lactating ones.