The normalization of breastfeeding in public just scored a major win at Miami Swim Week. The 2018 Sports Illustrated swimsuit model search runway show with Paraiso went down on Sunday and a new mom proved that it's no big deal in the most special way.
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The mom was Mara Martin and she took the catwalk by storm while nursing her five-month-old daughter. She was one of 16 finalists chosen for the show. Little did she know that the act would make her go viral with the internet cheering her on.
Mara wore a one-shoulder gold bikini while she made her breastfeeding statement.
Her daughter had a green bikini covering her diapers and wore noise-cancelling headphones. So cute!
She did not expect to get such an overwhelming response to her choice.
There were negative comments, of course, but the response from the internet was largely positive.
The moment wasn't pre-planned.
“She was a little hungry. It was her dinner time and the show kept getting pushed back,” Martin, 30, told TODAY. "Honestly, I didn't even think twice about it because I do it every single day."
MJ Day, editor of Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue, brought up the idea before the show started. "Mara was holding her baby and was nursing her. I was like, 'Do you want to just nurse when you walk down the runway?'" Day said. “She was like, ‘I would love to do it.’”
Mara took to her Instagram page where she posted a reaction to going viral that was even more inspiring.
"Wow! WHAT A NIGHT!," she wrote. "Words can’t even describe how amazing I feel after being picked to walk the runway for @si_swimsuit. Anyone who knows me, knows it has been a life long dream of mine. I can’t believe I am waking up to headlines with me and my daughter in them for doing something I do every day. It is truly so humbling and unreal to say the least. I’m so grateful to be able to share this message and hopefully normalize breastfeeding and also show others that women CAN DO IT ALL!"
"But to be honest, the real reason I can’t believe it is a headline is because it shouldn’t be a headline!!!" she continued.
"My story of being a mother and feeding her while walking is just that. Last night there are far more deserving headlines that our world should see. One woman is going to boot camp in two weeks to serve our country (sorry i don’t know your IG handle ♀️), one woman had a mastectomy (@allynrose), and another is a cancer survivor, 2x paralympic gold medalist, as well as a mother herself (@bren_hucks you rock) Those are the stories that our world should be discussing!!!!"
It is so amazing that she used her newfound attention to highlight the other incredible women who modeled with her that day.
The fact that a model doing something as natural as breastfeeding was the story that took off when there were so many others worthy of that much attention says a lot about our society.
The way Mara is speaking about her runway experience is moving the conversation about breastfeeding forward.
“I think a woman should be able to feed their baby when, where, how they want to feed them and shouldn't be a topic of discussion,” she told TODAY. "I’m just grateful to be a part of it and that they chose me to represent a mom, which is exactly who I am.”
