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The way to break the taboo is to do the taboo thing: breastfeeding in public and citizen activism in the UK

The way to break the taboo is to do the taboo thing: breastfeeding in public and citizen activism in the UK
The way to break the taboo is to do the taboo thing: breastfeeding in public and citizen activism in the UK
Like other forms of infant feeding, breastfeeding is a fundamental act of care. Yet despite being the
recommended way of feeding babies, breastfeeding is not always easy to do. In addition to lack of
support, bio-physical problems and the need to return to work; discomfort with breastfeeding in public
is a factor shaping infant feeding choice (and the decision to stop breastfeeding specifically). With
increased awareness of breast milk’s health benefits in recent years, there has been a rise in efforts to
make breastfeeding in public more commonplace and socially acceptable (including through lactation
advocacy or ‘‘lactivism’’). This paper considers breastfeeding in public and lactation advocacy in the UK
through interviews with lactation activists, non-activist breastfeeding mothers, and participantobservation
at two breastfeeding picnics held in 2009. Building on existing scholarship in Geography, I
suggest that lactivism can be understood as an effort to expand the boundaries of where care-work is
allowed to take place: thus constituting a form of ‘‘care-work activism’’.
1353-8292
430-437
Boyer, Kate
58353460-e5b0-47f3-a7a3-27df98b2318b
Boyer, Kate
58353460-e5b0-47f3-a7a3-27df98b2318b

Boyer, Kate (2011) The way to break the taboo is to do the taboo thing: breastfeeding in public and citizen activism in the UK. Health & Place, 17 (2), 430-437. (doi:10.1016/j.healthplace.2010.06.013).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Like other forms of infant feeding, breastfeeding is a fundamental act of care. Yet despite being the
recommended way of feeding babies, breastfeeding is not always easy to do. In addition to lack of
support, bio-physical problems and the need to return to work; discomfort with breastfeeding in public
is a factor shaping infant feeding choice (and the decision to stop breastfeeding specifically). With
increased awareness of breast milk’s health benefits in recent years, there has been a rise in efforts to
make breastfeeding in public more commonplace and socially acceptable (including through lactation
advocacy or ‘‘lactivism’’). This paper considers breastfeeding in public and lactation advocacy in the UK
through interviews with lactation activists, non-activist breastfeeding mothers, and participantobservation
at two breastfeeding picnics held in 2009. Building on existing scholarship in Geography, I
suggest that lactivism can be understood as an effort to expand the boundaries of where care-work is
allowed to take place: thus constituting a form of ‘‘care-work activism’’.

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Published date: 1 March 2011
Organisations: Geography, PHEW – C (Care)

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 177755
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/177755
ISSN: 1353-8292
PURE UUID: 2e6b9376-b96c-47f4-ad93-38f8f1882832

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Date deposited: 22 Mar 2011 15:05
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 02:43

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Author: Kate Boyer

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