By Lisiane, GoTopless activist in France
Tensions escalated in France following high-profile summer incidents—such as a mother ordered out of a municipal pool area in the Vendée region of France by a lifeguard claiming breastfeeding “traumatized children” and violated hygiene rules, see full story here.
The Vendée incident is not an isolated occurrence and it has led to the creation of a collective called #jaifaimjemange (#ImHungryIEat). Since 2021, campaigners and petitioners in France have been pushing for a specific criminal offense to penalize the harassment, humiliation, or obstruction of mothers breastfeeding in public. While public breastfeeding is not explicitly illegal in France, frequent social friction and a lack of clear legal protection leave nursing mothers vulnerable to discrimination without explicit categorization as an exception to indecency laws.
The issue is not so much that women want to breastfeed their babies, but that they want to do so in public, thereby exposing their breasts. This is where “sensitive souls”—or more accurately, conservative and puritanical minds—falter at the sight of a breast, crying indecency. Yet, a baby sees its mother’s breast without faltering and feeds. On the contrary, nursing provides the baby the ideal, happy, nutritious meal.
In 2018, Rael Maitreya, founder of GoTopless and international leader of the Raelian Movement published a comment following a surge of backlash against a young Indian model who posed topless to promote breastfeeding:
“This is the most beautiful and natural image ever. It is a pity that some people, victims of Christian puritanism, think that breastfeeding should be banned in public. Furthermore, it is a key element in ensuring that babies have a strong immune system.” – https://www.facebook.com/rael.maitreya/posts/10156357961674345 (March 2018)
GoTopless encourages all breastfeeding women to participate in the many GoTopless Day events around the world on Saturday Aug 22 to educate the public about the fact that women’s breasts are not indecent.
