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YouTube star Joey Salads highlights difference in how people respond to breastfeeding and cleavage in public

‘Social experiment’ shows people calling breastfeeding ‘disgusting’

Thursday 21 January 2016 10:37 GMT

A passer-by comments loudly on a woman breastfeeding in public (YouTube/Joey Salads)

A social experiment has highlighted the absurdity of people's attitudes towards breastfeeding and women showing cleavage in public.

YouTube star Joey Salads filmed people responding to the sight of a model wearing a cleavage-baring top and compared it to a mother breastfeeding her infant son.

The video highlights a perception that the main purpose of breasts is that they be used as sexual or aesthetic organs, rather than for feeding babies.

In the experiment, both women are asked to sit on a bench inside a shopping mall for an hour each.

The model receives many looks, with one man introducing himself and sitting down next to her.

“Oh, I guess,” she can be heard saying before he strikes up a conversation and asks her to follow him on Instagram.

The mother, on the other hand, is told her breastfeeding is “disgusting” multiple times, even when she explains she's feeding her hungry baby.

One man said: “Seriously ma’am, do you have to do that here? It’s disgusting.”

According to the video, the only person who supported her was another woman expecting a baby in two weeks.

The pregnant woman sits next to her on the bench and asks for advice on what she should expect with breastfeeding.

The two women are then asked to sit side by side on an outdoor bench while the mother breastfeeds her son, while Mr Salads stood by.

One man passing by said: “That’s disgusting ma’am, I don’t think your tit should be out like that.”

Breastfeeding in public controversies

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1/11Breastfeeding in public controversies

Breastfeeding in public controversies

A woman has sparked a heated debate among parents after she revealed that she breastfeeds both her and her friend's son. Jessica Colletti, from Pennsylvania, said nursing Charlie Interrante's son “seemed like the natural thing to do” because she was already breastfeeding her son. Colletti told the Mama Bean parenting blog that she asked permission to nurse Interrante’s son when she began looking after him, after they met at a photoshoot for new mothers. Interrante agreed as her son had not taken to formula milk

Breastfeeding in public controversies

New Hampshire State Rep. Josh Moore said on Facebook that men should be allowed to grab the nipples of breastfeeding mothers if the law banning women exposing their breasts did not pass

Breastfeeding in public controversies

When Gemma Colley's photo of her son with fake tan on his fake after she breastfeed him went viral, she also saw that no parent is alone when they make a silly mistake. Over 100,000 people liked and 40,000 people shared Ms Colley’s photo of her son’s sleepy face with fake tan encircling his mouth and nose, after she posted it to the Unmumsy Mum Facebook page

Breastfeeding in public controversies

A candid image of a mother breastfeeding her young child while using the toilet has divided parents online, as some argue it’s an honest depiction of parenthood, while others have labelled it “disgusting”

Breastfeeding in public controversies

The exclusive Claridge’s hotel has been widely criticised for asking a woman to cover herself with a “ridiculous shroud” while breastfeeding her three-month-old daughter. Lousie Burns said she burst into tears when staff members at the five-star venue asked her to cover herself and her baby with an oversized napkin in order to avoid “causing offence” to other guests

Breastfeeding in public controversies

An Australian café has been praised for sticking up for a breastfeeding mother after a customer told her to cover up. Jessica-Anne Allen, owner of Cheese and Biscuits Café in Queensland, Australia, has described how she was approached by a male customer in the café to complain that he was upset by a woman in the coffee shop breastfeeding her child nearby. The customer asked the café owner, 29, to tell the mother to cover up. When Mrs Allen refused to do so, he took matters into his own hands and challenged the woman himself. Staff at the café then asked the man to leave

Breastfeeding in public controversies

A woman who claimed a Primark security guard had forcibly removed her child while she was breastfeeding has admitted to perverting the course of justice. Caroline Starmer sparked a series of headlines after claiming on Facebook that a store guard had taken her nine-month-old daughter Paige away from her. The mother from Leicester then repeated her claims in a number of interviews, before Primark denied the incident and handed CCTV over to the police to show there was no evidence to support the allegations. Appearing in Leicester Crown Court, she admitted the charge of perverting the course of justice by not telling the truth

Breastfeeding in public controversies

Pope Francis has become an unlikely advocate for public breastfeeding, by encouraging mothers to feed their babies in the Sistine Chapel. During a ceremony in Vatican City on Sunday, the Pope baptised 32 babies and told their mothers: “If they are hungry, mothers, feed them, without thinking twice, because they are the most important people here”

Breastfeeding in public controversies

Facebook has changed its community guidelines to allow users to post photos of breastfeeding. The change comes as the wide-ranging #FreeTheNipple online campaign has built pace in its attack against guidelines used by social media websites to regulate nudity – from photos of breastfeeding to topless photos post by singer Rihanna’s on her now defunct Instagram account. Facebook’s Community Standards, which outline what users are allowed to post, never included a outright ban on photos of breastfeeding

Breastfeeding in public controversies

The manager of a public swimming pool at the Lux Park centre in Liskeardhas been forced to apologise after he told a mother to stop breastfeeding her son by the waterside. 23-year-old Rebecaa Hough of Torpoint, Cornwall, was feeding 10-month-old Max a few steps from the main pool, when the manager told her to carry on in the changing rooms in case the infant was sick into the water. She was also told that she should not to return for half an hour to ensure the milk was fully digested

Breastfeeding in public controversies

A Conservative MP has claimed allowing women to breastfeed in the House of Commons chamber would expose politicians to “tabloid ridicule”. Sir Simon Burns, a former transport minister, spoke on what he called a “controversial subject” in a debate in making Westminster more family-friendly

When asked why he feels it is okay to comment on the woman breastfeeding, but not on the model with cleavage showing, he replies: “That’s just how her [the model’s] shirt is, that’s fine… You could just do that [breastfeed] somewhere else. That’s not appropriate.”

Mr Salads responds: “Well, if you have a problem with that boob being out, you should have a problem with that boob being out too.”

The video then shows another man stopping to ask the mother: “Why do you have to do that in public? That’s disgusting.”

When asked why one sight was fine compared to the other, the man points at the model and says: “Because that’s hot, and that [breastfeeding] is just disgusting.”

Mr Salads said: “So that [cleavage] is okay because it’s hot, but this [breastfeeding] is not okay because it’s something natural and you think it’s disgusting?”

The video was created in support of the Normalise Breastfeeding Campaign, which aims to highlight the benefits of breastfeeding.

Most recently, a Republican state representative said men should be allowed to grab the nipples of breastfeeding mothers if a law banning women from exposing their breasts did not pass.

In the UK, Public Health England launched a national campaign encouraging mothers to breastfeed their children in public.

The campaign followed a survey that found six out of 10 new mothers tried to hide their breastfeeding, and 21 per cent feeling other people did not want them to do it.

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