....thanks for the physiology lesson.

When it comes to the general subject of breastfeeding in public I think it's none of anyone's business what I do with my hypothetical tits, if you don't like it then stop staring. You don't have the right to tell me to stop doing something completely harmless because you're an uptight asshole.

As for the specific case mentioned, I'm not sure how I feel about it exactly, though it's certainly more complicated than breastfeeding in a public park or whatever. Seems to me bringing the kid there in the first place is a much bigger distraction though.

It's obviously unnecessary. She was just trying to make a point. Personally I think it's crazy women can only take their titties out in public if they're going to put a baby on them. Titties should just be out without all these rules.

The girls that I have always put dollar bills between them, seemed to appreciate it, just saying.

Don't know -

Lots of things could have been a problem that day, having raised three myself.  It is sometimes hard to figure out what to do and sometimes, stuff happens unexpectedly in a what the hell else could possibly go wrong today?  And then, of course, something else goes wrong.

You can have back up sitters, sick day sitters, back up sick day sitters and everyone is unavailable all at once.  Happens.  And day care/sitters have become sticklers for not allowing any child with any fever, no matter how minor, no matter if there are no other symptoms, no matter if there is a reason that is not illness for the fever.  I kind of understand as some mothers would drop off their kids if they were breaking out in spots and therefore infect the entire day care.  But it can be annoying when you know the child is not contagious and the fever will likely clear up without any problems later in the day.

Should she have called in and had someone else teach or just cancel class?  Possibly.  Maybe.  How many times can you cancel class before it becomes an issue with the students and/or administration?  I would have been hesitant to take a baby into a lecture hall and would have brought a play pen, safe toys and juice or something.  But that is me - I learned the hard way to never ever criticize or critique or offer suggestions to another mother regardless of our relative ages.

She knows her child.  I'm reasonably certain that if the child were really ill, not just a little fever, but seriously ill, she would have made other plans.  Like a doctor visit and canceling class.

as the father of an infant with a breastfeeding wife, i sympathize with this lady.  i don't think she was trying to "make a point."  anybody who's ever had an infant knows it's impossible to plan ahead with them, so i hardly think she plotted some dastardly, ultra-feminist display to stick it to the chauvinists.

ok, maybe she should have handled it differently--i for one think she was perfectly within her rights and any uptight puritan asshole can just leave the room and get the notes from his buddy later--but just for the sake of argument, i'll consider it.  she has a sick baby, a new class opening up, and who knows how late she had to stay up comforting the kid--do you really expect her to think straight?

thank god i live in europe now.  my wife is pretty shy about breastfeeding, but at least here nobody looks at you like you're a piece of shit if you feed your baby in a restaurant, in a store, in a park, on the street, on a bus or train, or in your car in the parking lot, as long as you have some decorum about it and don't call attention to yourself.  most people politely look away and go about their business.  seriously, if you're an american, live in europe for a couple years.  you'll realize americans really are fucking assholes. 

now, a teacher breastfeeding while lecturing would be considered unusual even in europe, but i really think if a woman just explained what was going on and apologized before beginning, there's a 99% chance nobody would hold it against her.  it certainly wouldn't be in the news.

then again, for some reeeaaason that would never happen over here.  let's see, why...ugh, this is gonna drive me nuts...OH YEAH!  it's because in most european countries, employers are required to give around 3 years' paid maternity leave!  and hospitals keep new mothers for at least 4 days while they run extensive tests on the baby!  and it doesn't cost us jack shit because we have compulsory health insurance also paid for by our employers!  and if you're self-employed, you pay like 40 dollars a month for the shit!

while in america, you might as well start saving for your hospital delivery bill at age 13 and delivering a baby is damn near an out-patient procedure now.  so how about we fix the fucking problem before blaming a mother for having to feed her sick baby at work.  something tells me if she COULD have taken off sick to be with her kid, she WOULD have.  oh yeah, and over here, if my son gets sick and my wife takes him to the doctor, the law says i can take off work and come along too, and my day is still paid.  quite frankly, the last place i would want my wife to give birth, outside the developing world, is the united states. 

The woman is teaching a course called “Sex, Gender & Culture” but she's also kind of oblivious to how her actions might be viewed. It's possible. I don't think so but I can't rule it out.

this is the kind of modern attitude to teaching that has developed over the last 40 years or so that i can't stand.  originally, the whole idea of tuition was that it was the least you could do to support your teacher somewhat while you had the privilege of studying under him.  it was not a transaction between equals, and it certainly wasn't considered a commercial transaction.  your teacher had no obligation other than to impart his knowledge when and how he deemed it appropriate.  it wasn't his job to entertain you, inspire you, or motivate you.  if you didn't have the motivation to learn, that was your problem.  if you found your teacher's methods "distracting," that was your problem.  you were free to leave anytime you wanted.

we can see this situation recorded as early as the vedas.  the upanishads frequently mention a prospective student bringing fire wood when he came to ask a teacher to accept him.  in these early days of teaching, "tuition" was basically cooking and cleaning for your teacher, and doing any other tasks he asked of you.  as time went on and the first universities began to open, of course standardization of teaching methods began, and teachers became accountable to their superiors.  their superiors, mind you, not their students.  as time went on and money became the dominant medium of exchange, then tuition began to be paid in cash rather than in kind.  still, it was seen as a given, the least you could do for being granted the honor of an expert's time and wisdom.

now i have no objection to teachers being held accountable to their superiors for how well they execute their craft, and i believe student feedback is valuable to a degree, particularly at the university level; what i object to is this idea that paying college tuition is the same thing as buying a new lawnmower or something.  times have changed, and students who pay a premium tuition should expect a premium education, but expecting their professors to exclusively pay attention to them even in extraordinary circumstances or family problems is ridiculous and shows a lack of respect for professors.  they are not wage workers for the students, nor should they be looked on as the help.

i remember once, as a freshman, i (good-naturedly) made fun of a prof for being habitually late as we were all waiting on him to arrive.  half the class started chewing me out for showing a lack of respect.  looking back, i know they were right.  and i went to a prestigious private school that cost over 30,000 a year.