Thanks to The Feminist Breeder for this cover shot:

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Acosta Tacos: The owner of Acosta Tacos in Los Angeles, California has been ordered to pay Marina Chavez $21,645.00 in lost wages plus $20,000.00 for emotional damages after the owner fired Chavez for breastfeeding her baby on her breaks. In this groundbreaking case, the California Fair Employment and Housing Commission found that breastfeeding is intrinsic to the female sex and thus breastfeeding discrimination is sex discrimination under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). The owner was also ordered to pay a $5,000 fine, establish a written policy on sex discrimination, and post a notice regarding the company’s FEHA violation.

Photo by Hattisburgmemory

Olive Garden: In Michigan City, Indiana, Maggie Naas was asked to move to the restroom to breastfeed her baby because, according to that Olive Garden restaurant’s manager, she was not being modest enough.

Chick-Fil-A: Thirty breastfeeding women staged a nurse-in at a Florida Chick-Fil-A after a mother was asked to cover her nursing baby with a towel. The mother attempted to contact the local and corporate management and apparently received no response. (One of my favorite pictures from the nurse-in shows the Chick-Fil-A mascot, a cow, looking on as a woman nurses. There’s a joke in there somewhere!)

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Newspaper article:

Asheville Citizen-Times: Nursing Mom Leads Protest

Television news:

Pennsylvania: WFMZ-TV covers the Hanover Township, Lehigh County nurse-in (great job speaking to the media, mama!!)

First-hand blog account of the nurse-in:

Jenny Harmon at Mothering without a Manual

Video of Corporate Statement:

You can watch the rather insincere and unsatisfactory statement of Rick Pate, representative for Success Management, which runs several Denny’s including the Asheville location:

Did you attend a nurse-in? Leave a comment to share how it went! Also, feel free to link to any other news accounts as they come in.

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We at Denny’s work very hard to insure all guests have a pleasant dining experience. Breastfeeding is absolutely allowed in our restaurants; we do request that it be done with respect and discretion, as we are a family restaurant. We defer to our managers to carry out the company’s position.

In response, breastfeeding advocates argue that by asking for breastfeeding to “be done with respect” Denny’s implies that it thinks breastfeeding can be done disrespectfully. One would also hope that as a general rule Denny’s asks all customers to be respectful of each other and thus it is not necessary to single out breastfeeding mothers.

FirstRight continues to attempt to facilitate a policy change at the corporate level, while other activists continue to plan nurse-ins in light of the absence of an apology to Everitt.

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In this particular case, this guest was exposed in a manner that was causing discomfort toward other guests to the point of them complaining to management and leaving the restaurant.

The manager clearly needs an education in the North Carolina indecent exposure law, which provides:

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a woman may breast feed in any public or private location where she is otherwise authorized to be, irrespective of whether the nipple of the mother’s breast is uncovered during or incidental to the breast feeding.

Got that? “… irrespective of whether the nipple of the mother’s breast is uncovered….” Interesting how over and over companies seem to think they do not have to comply with the law if doing so makes other customers uncomfortable. One would hope they would learn a lesson from the national nurse-ins at Applebee’s and the like.

Unfortunately, it seems that the North Carolina law suffers from the same loophole that Texas law does. There is no enforcement provision, and it can be argued that the trespassing law trumps the breastfeeding law. Watch the local news coverage to hear the explanation from the local police (it’s quite a detailed piece and I am impressed the incident got such extensive coverage!) At any rate a breastfeeding mother cannot afford to challenge the police officer in the moment, because as Everitt said, she could hardly breastfeed her child from jail!

Now Everitt seeks an apology from Denny’s. If she receives such apology, she will meet with other nursing mothers and activists at the Denny’s in question for a meal. If not, a breastfeeding rally will be held outside the restaurant and at other Denny’s locations around the nation.

When: Sunday, February 22, 2009
1 p.m.

Where: Denny’s restaurants nationwide, and at the Asheville, NC Denny’s in particular at
675 Patton Ave
Asheville, NC 28806

To participate and receive updates on the plans: Join the Yahoo discussion group formed for the nurse-ins

Your thoughts?

Leave a comment!

Photo credit: gnr

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Local newspaper The Mercury News also reported on the event. Because today is a Saturday there was no comment from Facebook headquarters, but Andi of Mama Knows Breast found this previous statement quoted in the New York Times:

Breastfeeding is a natural and beautiful act and we’re very glad to know that it is so important to some mothers to share this experience with others on Facebook. We take no action on the vast majority of breastfeeding photos because they follow the site’s Terms of Use. Photos containing a fully exposed breast do violate those Terms and may be removed. These policies are designed to ensure Facebook remains a safe, secure and trusted environment for all users, including the many children (over the age of 13) who use the site. The photos we act upon are almost exclusively brought to our attention by other users who complain.

I changed my profile photo! Did you? I have yet to see any reports of breastfeeding pictures being removed by Facebook so far and the virtual nurse-in is nearly over.

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Virtual Nurse-In

Organizers explain:

Facebook continues to classify breastfeeding photos as obscene content. They continue to arbitrarily remove these photos from member albums and profiles, accompanied by warnings of account termination. This is highly discriminatory and an affront to nursing mothers everywhere. In protest of this, Mothers International Lactation Campaign (M.I.L.C.) has planned a virtual day of protest.

Not only is human lactation responsible for the very survival of our species, it is in no way a sexually explicit, lewd or despicable act. It is also protected by law in most countries, including specifically the state where Facebook is headquartered in the USA.

In protest to the discriminatory and unjust policy of Facebook administration classifying breastfeeding images as obscene content, on December 27th, 2008 M.I.L.C. is asking all of you to change your profile picture for one day, to one which includes an image of a nursing mom.

This could be a picture of you or someone you know nursing a child, it could be a painting or image of a sculpture of a breastfeeding woman, it could also be a photo or image of any nursing mammal….We ask that you include the status line of “Hey Facebook, breastfeeding is not obscene!”

In addition to this ‘virtual nurse-in’, there will be other events planned around the globe. Please check this page often for regular updates and added information. We will also be including images that you can use for your profile picture on December 27th.

Live Nurse-In

If you are in the Palo Alto, California area, consider attending the live nurse-in at the Facebook headquarters!

When: Saturday, December 27, 2008, at 11 a.m.
Where: Outside the Facebook office at 156 Uni­versity Ave., Palo Alto, California

MSNBC Media Coverage

Coverage of the planned events has hit mainstream media with this video story from MSNBC.

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Dr. Jack Newman, the Toronto doctor known around the world as a leader in breastfeeding education and support, needs your help. The Newman Breastfeeding Clinic and Institute sees more than 2500 mothers and babies each year, but is on the verge of closing its doors unless it receives more funding. The NBCI is requesting donations, but until the government recognizes the importance of institutional breastfeeding support, the clinic will always be in danger.

Supporters of the NBCI are asked to come to Queen’s Park on Wednesday, December 3rd at 10 am for a quiet nurse-in. Demonstrators will be advocating for the provincial government to recognize the importance of breastfeeding and to commit to funding breastfeeding clinics like Dr. Newman’s. The rally is supported by the New Democratic Party, and NDP health critic France Gélinas will be holding a press conference at 10 am. At 10.30 am, question period will take place in parliament, and Gélinas will use the opportunity to call for a provincial breastfeeding strategy and encourage the government to support hospitals going baby friendly.

The objective is to hold a nurse-in in the viewing gallery of Queen’s Park during question period. IMPORTANT: formal protests are not allowed within the building, so it is asked that no one bring signs, placards or banners. The hope is to fill the viewing gallery which will require a huge turn out, so please spread the word. This is an opportunity to change the status of breastfeeding policy in Ontario for years to come.

If you wish to attend please RSVP to Helen or Dani by December 1st. Spaces in the viewing gallery are limited and the NDP are asking anyone wishing to participate to add their names to the list of guests as they will have to go to the security desk to give their names in order to get in.

What: Breastfeeding Rally and Nurse-in

Where: Queen’s Park, Toronto

When: 10 am, Wed. December 3rd

RSVP to:

dani at naturalmothering dot ca

helen at naturalmothering dot ca

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You are invited to a breastfeeding rights rally on Friday, November 7, 2008, in Newmarket, Ontario.

The Breastfeeding Discrimination Incident

Nursing mother Cinira Longuinho explains:

I was breastfeeding my daughter on the steps of the swimming pool when Ms. Ellie Karkouti, the owner of the facility, came to speak with me. Ms. Karkouti said they had one complaint and that I could not breastfeed my daughter in the swimming pool. She said if I wanted to breastfeed I would have use the changeroom. I tried to say that based on the law I had the right to breastfeed in public places but Ms. Karkouti said that she was the owner and I could only breastfeed in the changeroom. After that I stopped breastfeeding. Ms. Ellie Karkouti left. I stayed in the swimming pool.

It was the first time I have suffered discrimination in my life! I wanted to cry so bad. I tried to pretend this has never happened. My daughter kept asking to nurse and I denied her while we were in the pool. My heart was broken. I did not know what to do. I was completely sad, lost and numb.

Only after a few hours, I believe I started to think clearly again.

I informed the group of families registered for this swim time at The Aquacentre about the terrible episode. The leader of this activity, Carol-Anne Brockington, sent an email to The Aquacentre asking for an apology. Their feedback was “At no point did we discriminate against the act of breastfeeding.” They did not offer any apology.

After several emails of support from mothers ready to fight for the right to breastfeed, we have decided to organize a Breastfeeding Rights Rally, a peaceful nurse-in for Friday, November 7th in The Aquacentre at 2:30pm.

Details of the Rally

Friday Nov 7th, The Aquacentre Pool at 2:30-3:30pm
1215 Stellar Dr., Newmarket, Ontario L3Y 7B8
Phone: 905 895 2782, Fax: 905 853 4229,
email: info@aquacentrenewmarket.com and ellie@trinityrehab.com

Longuinho adds:

Please inform as many people as you can about this discrimination episode and the nurse-in…. Also, everybody is welcome to the peaceful nurse-in, you do not have to breastfeed to participate! All support is welcome! If you are unable to attend the nurse-in personally please feel free to email, phone or fax the facility to voice your concerns over this incident and show your support of breastfeeding rights – anywhere, anytime!

Unfortunately, the Aquacentre in Newmarket is a private facility that charges to use the pool. For this reason, to be able to participate in the Breastfeeding Rights Rally it is required that you pay the fee of $5.25 per swimmer. I wish it was not necessary to pay but the law requests it. We also welcome supporters that would like to be outside with signs. Please bring your own sign! Supporters that will be outside do not need to pay any fee.

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