You are NOT going to believe what happened to Jamie Gustafson of Texas while she was breastfeeding her 2-month-old baby in public at a restaurant in North San Antonio. No, she wasn't asked to leave, which is what seems to happen ridiculously often to women who are well within their rights to nurse. Nope, what happened to her was creepy and gross. Jamie Gustafson noticed a restaurant employee taking pictures of her while she nursed. What?! He didn't ask for permission, he wasn't trying to take the photo for some kind of pro-lactation campaign, he took the pictures on his cell phone surreptitiously and with no consent. That just comes off as creepy and pervy. Poor Gustafson didn't even know how to handle the situation, but thank goodness her sister was there with her and did something.
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Gustafson says,
I was stunned. I didn't know what to say. I was speechless. I got hot, my face was hot. I got sweaty, I was so mad, but I didn't know how to confront him. mean, what am I going to say? 'Give me your phone?' I wanted to take his phone and smash it.
Ugh! I would have wanted to ram the phone down his freakin' throat. Gustafson's sister took a much more civilized approach and told management. The employee was fired and the restaurant issued the following statement:
We cherish families and value the many wives and mothers who work here, and the wives and mothers who are our guests dining here. Their right to breastfeed their babies is something we support and believe in. We were deeply troubled by this employee's conduct and not only was his conduct an explicit breach of written company policy, it was a violation of the values we care about deeply.
Gustafson also filed a police report. I hope that jerk's phone was confiscated and that the photos are not at his disposal.
What really infuriates me about this situation is that Gustafson says she'll continue to breastfeed in public, but will probably cover up from now on. I don't blame her given what happened to her, but it pisses me off because it means that "they" are winning. And by "they" I mean all the idiots trying to shame women for whipping a boob out to feed their child. I'm so over the nonsense surrounding women doing something that is perfectly natural.
Image via Thinkstock
