Women's Fight for Equal Rights: A Historical Struggle - Essay Sample

Introduction

Society tends to be discriminative towards women, even throughout history. Women have been marginalized, and their actions have been questioned from time to time. History shows that women had been denied the right to vote until they fought for it. They were denied equal opportunities in society in terms of employment until they fought for their rights. History shows that women have been marginalized and discriminated against because of their gender and had to fight for their rights.

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Today, women are fighting for their rights or freedom to breastfeed their children. In America, breastfeeding a child in public brings about different reactions from people, depending on their views and beliefs. Some people believe that women should not breastfeed in public and have stigmatized women from doing so (Victora et al., 2016). Sadly enough, this action is taken by men and some women. These are women who do not believe in breastfeeding and have used formulae for their children. Breastfeeding is a natural thing in the world and is the best way for a child to grow, and women should not be discriminated for bringing to feed their children.

Article

This article was written to discriminate and illustrate how society views women and breastfeeding. The article points out how society views women in society and how women need to band together to fight for their rights. More importantly, the article points out that women in society, especially in America, have faced stigmatization because of breastfeeding.

One way that women and breastfeeding have been stigmatized has been explained through the role of the breast. The article points out that showing breasts in public has not been an issue. Most films would show the breasts of a woman, and no negative reactions would receive. Whenever the breasts are portrayed as tools of pleasure or for sexual gratification, society has no problem with that. However, when the breast is shown for its other natural role of breastfeeding, then a problem is issued. When a breast is used to nourish a child, then suddenly the breast becomes something that the society does not need to see ("Why breastfeeding is a feminist issue. - Multicultural Centre For Women's Health", 2020). The article portrays the hypocrisy of society and how the community needs to ensure that women receive fair treatment from society. From a different perspective, it would show how women have been objectified in the sense that their bodies are only attractive when they are to be used as sexual objects. As soon as they become mothers, then their bodies, especially their breasts, become something that the society does not need to see.

Another point that the article points out is that women need to fight. Women need to fight for the rights and freedom to breastfeed. In countries like Australia, discriminating against women because of breastfeeding was prohibited. The article points out that women should stand together, and fight for their rights as human beings ("Why breastfeeding is a feminist issue. - Multicultural Centre For Women's Health", 2020). More importantly, women should come together to fight the stigmatization of women in society because of breastfeeding. The society should come together and fight for the freedom for women to breastfeed without any discrimination or stigmatization. Women should be able to make free and active breastfeeding choices without fear of discrimination and stigma.

Interview

An interview was conducted on a black woman who has a seven-month baby girl. The woman shares her experiences as a new mother and the stigma and discrimination that exists in the community. She lives in Brooklyn, a diverse location in New York. The lady, Christine, has been breastfeeding her baby since she was born. She states that for the past two months, she has been mixing formulae with her breast milk as she prepares to go back to work.

Challenges of Breastfeeding

One of the challenges she highlights she went through during her first weeks was nipple infection. During those early days, she had some infections. She also states that she has had problems with milk production, where she felt she was not producing as much as her baby wanted. She went through a phase where the milk she was producing was limited because of poor dietary and mental breakdowns. Another challenge she reveals she went through was shock and discrimination from her friends. She states that when her friends first went to visit her, they were shocked to see her breastfeed her baby. One of her friends even stated that she was disgusted and that she should have waited until they left. She states that it was her first experience of stigma and discrimination for wanting to feed her child.

When she started using the formula, Christine states that she was having money problems. One of the main challenges of using the formula is that it was proving to be costly for her. Since she had not been to work for more than eight months, she states that it was financially straining. She states that if she went back to work, then the financial strain on her and her boyfriend would be over. Her only issue with the formula was the financial strain it had on both of them. She states that going back to work and getting the extra commissions will be helpful for her, and will help solve their issues.

Reasons Women do not Breastfeed

One of the reasons that women do not breastfeed is because of the effect on their bodies. Breas feeding gas has been accused of making the breasts sag for a woman. When a woman is breastfeeding, they are also inclined to consume much food to produce milk for their children. As a result, the women get fat, and their bodies lose the feminine shape (SmithBattle, Phengnum & Punsuwun, 2020). Most women, especially models, would prefer not to breastfeed to protects and maintain their bodies. Others would refrain from maintaining their shape and avoid ridicule from society about being fat.

Another reason that women do not breastfeed in public is because of the discrimination from people. The society terms of breastfeeding as disgusting and most mothers are facing discrimination for their actions in public (McFadden et al., 2016). Most women, especially immigrants whose culture demands breastfeeding, suffer because of the negativity surrounding breastfeeding in America.

Thirdly, women struggle to breastfeed because the country has not put structures in place for them. In other countries, some laws protect breastfeeding women. Some workplaces have found ways to make the work shifts more flexible for women who are breastfeeding (Rollins et al., 2016). The lack of structures to help breastfeeding women in their workplaces is seen as a lack of gender equality and consideration for the staff. Lacking this infrastructure makes it difficult for breastfeeding women in the society.

Conclusion

In conclusion, society needs to find new strategies that will ensure that breastfeeding women are considered. The rights of women who are breastfeeding should be fought for, and these women need not be discriminated against. Discrimination and stigmatization of women who are breastfeeding should stop in society. People need to see breastfeeding as a baby taking their lunch, instead of a women's breastfeeding someone else.

References

McFadden, A., Gavine, A., Renfrew, M. J., Wade, A., Buchanan, P., Taylor, J. L., ... & MacGillivray, S. (2017). Support for healthy breastfeeding mothers with healthy term babies. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, (2).

Rollins, N. C., Bhandari, N., Hajeebhoy, N., Horton, S., Lutter, C. K., Martines, J. C., ... & Group, T. L. B. S. (2016). Why invest, and what it will take to improve breastfeeding practices? The Lancet, 387(10017), 491-504.

SmithBattle, L., Phengnum, W., & Punsuwun, S. (2020). Navigating a Minefield: Meta-Synthesis of Teen Mothers' Breastfeeding Experience. MCN. The American journal of maternal child nursing.

Victora, C. G., Bahl, R., Barros, A. J., Franca, G. V., Horton, S., Krasevec, J., ... & Group, T. L. B. S. (2016). Breastfeeding in the 21st century: epidemiology, mechanisms, and lifelong effect. The Lancet, 387(10017), 475-490.

Why breastfeeding is a feminist issue. - Multicultural Centre For Women's Health. Mcwh.com.au. (2020). Retrieved 6 March 2020, from https://www.mcwh.com.au/why-breastfeeding-is-a-feminist-issue/.