Breastfeeding Mother Gets Banned From An Elementary School, Because Kids Can’t Handle Looking At A Boob

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In a completely preventable and unnecessary chain of events, a Florida mom was banned from her niece’s elementary school after the principal told her to be “discreet” while breastfeeding her baby in the school’s bleachers. Apparently, nearby 5th graders were “distracted” by the sight of her boob. Because this is America, and the Puritans settled here and basically shot to shit any chance this country will ever have at being progressive when it comes to the human body. Now not only do restaurants and retail stores shame breastfeeding mothers, elementary schools do too! But I digress.

Maegan Shoemaker says she was actually issued a trespass warning by the school’s resource officer (is that like a security guard? I’m so behind on these things) after exchanging words with the school’s principal and standing her ground on being well within her legal rights to breastfeed her child in public.

”When they’re hungry, they’re hungry. I don’t eat under a cover, and I don’t expect my children to eat under a cover. You can’t dictate where I breastfeed or how I breastfeed.”

School officials claim they “had no problem” with the breastfeeding, but that Shoemaker eventually became “hostile” and upset the office staff. GEE, I WONDER WHY. She was probably embarrassed for being called out in the first place, then had to defend herself to the entire elementary school’s office staff, and was basically shamed into covering up because 5th grade kids can’t handle boobs. Or, more accurately, the parents of 5th grade kids can’t handle other women’s boobs and therefore felt the need to tattle. Like I said, this whole thing was entirely preventable. I dream of the day when instead of indignantly shaming a publicly breastfeeding mother, another parent would rather use it as a teachable moment about the human body and the actual purpose of breasts. Sigh.

For her part, Shoemaker says the other children’s view was blocked and they “couldn’t see” anything. But the school persisted in their defense, claiming the situation was distracting to students and therefore was cause for interference. Shoemaker eventually left the school grounds and walked home, but was stopped and questioned and issued a trespass warning which will prevent her from entering school grounds for the rest of the school year.

Awesome. Just awesome. Look, if the situation became heated and made office staff uncomfortable, I get why they would ask her to leave. I think the school’s reaction was just a tad dramatic, and the whole unfortunate incident didn’t have to go down this way.

(Photo: Nick Tomecek/Daily News)

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