Explained: The stigma around breastfeeding in public as Disneyland Paris controversy reignites debate

In July 2021, “the Happiest Place on Earth,” the Disneyland in Paris, was embroiled in a controversy around a breastfeeding mother who was told by two security guards that she could not feed her infant in public. While caregivers with babies have the choice to breastfeed in public at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida and Disneyland Resort in California, this is difficult to achieve at Disneyland Paris.

The theme parks that celebrate the Disney universe, attract thousands of visitors from across the globe which include a number of families with children, young adults and infants. Baby Care Centres have been set up at each park to provide a relaxed and comfortable space for women who wish to feed the young, equipped with facilities like breastfeeding seats.

A tweet describing the recent incident at Disneyland Paris stated that a mother breastfeeding her two-month-old child in public was asked to stop doing so as it might ‘shock foreign customers.’ Following social media uproar, the park apologised to the mother and emphasised that while there was no restriction on breastfeeding at Disneyland Paris, dedicated spaces have been created for those wishing to nurse their children.

Nous regrettons profondément cette situation et présentons de nouveau nos sincères excuses à la maman concernée. La demande qui lui a été faite n’est pas en phase avec notre règlement intérieur et nos valeurs. Il n’y a aucune restriction sur l’allaitement à Disneyland Paris (1/2)

— Disneyland Paris (@DisneylandParis) July 6, 2021

This response by the park has brought into spotlight, once again, the debate around breastfeeding in public and why women in India are fighting for the #freedomtonurse movement.

Breastfeeding in public continues to be contested

The issue related to breastfeeding in public raises pertinent questions about how the activity is viewed in society and the lack of proper infrastructure in public places to feed infants. For years, the right of lactating mothers to feed a child in public has been an ongoing struggle that not only aims to deconstruct the notion of breastfeeding as a domestic chore but also attempts to normalise a practice that is considered taboo in multiple societies across the globe.

According to a report on The Swaddle , a magazine cover that depicted a mother breastfeeding her child in a bid to highlight this issue, was criticised for its alleged sensationalism. This effectively drew away the focus from the stigma associated with this process and the lack of societal support required by lactating women to breastfeed whenever the child is hungry.

For lactating mothers and caregivers, the stigma around nursing infants is also related to the way female breasts are perceived in public. An Economic and Political Weekly (EPW) Engage report noted that what is thought to be a source of nutrition for children is also an object of sexual desire, so a breastfeeding, lactating woman runs the risk of being harassed or accused of indecent exposure if she chooses to feed an infant outside of her home.

Breastfeeding in India and around the globe

There have been multiple instances in India when women breastfeeding in public have been challenged for engaging in a practice that should ‘ideally’ take place in the privacy of the indoors. The same EPW report suggested that one such lactating mother who was called out at a mall in Kolkata was told by the shopping plaza’s authorities, “…. please make sure you do your home chores at home and not in the mall… It’s not like your baby needs to be breastfed at any moment so you need arrangements to be made for you at any public area to breastfeed your child….”

This incident led to the countrywide campaign, #freedomtonurse by members of the online forum,  Breastfeeding Support for Indian Mothers to create awareness about why a woman should not be asked to leave a premises if she is found nursing a child.

Regulations in other parts of the world, including European Union laws, state that it is perfectly legal for a woman to breastfeed in public and discrimination against such a person is illegal. However, there continue to be a number of incidences where breastfeeding women have been asked to leave cafés, restaurants, malls and other crowded spaces. As well, in 2017, when the image of a woman in Singapore breastfeeding on the subway went viral, it sparked a heated conversation about how she ought to have covered herself up.

However, when a lactating mother travels with an infant, she has to choose from two alternatives: she can either use a public toilet or resort to breastfeeding in the open if the infant should start crying from hunger. And while breastfeeding in public continues to be a source of embarrassment for women, washrooms, lactation rooms or baby care centres are not always readily available in every public space.

A recent study pointed to this quandary of women, who, in the absence of comfortable spaces in public had to resort to awkwardly feed an infant in places like a broom closet in an airport or under the cover of a tree.

Just as the survey suggests a lack of proper infrastructure for lactating women, so too it points to the inherent cracks in a social structure that continues to shame women and place the onus entirely on the lactating mother, to either breastfeed at home or struggle to find a private space in public to feed a hungry child.