We’ve heard many outrageous incidents of breastfeeding mums being asked to cover up in various public places but this latest one is quite astonishing.
A breastfeeding mum said she was “stunned into silence” when a female member staff urged her to" cover up a bit" at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
The mum, who is only identified by her Twitter handle @vaguechera, looked around and realised there were many statues with breasts, nipples and fully nude figures on display. The request to cover up seemed rather bizarre and hypocritical and she decided to point this out.
Taking to Twitter, she posted a photo of herself and her baby beside several statues in various states of undress, INCLUDING one of a mother breastfeeding her infant!
She wrote: “Flashed a nanosecond of nipple while breastfeeding and was asked to cover up in the V&A courtyard. Am perplexed…”
Flashed a nanosecond of nipple while #breastfeeding and was asked to cover up in @V_and_A courtyard. Am perplexed.... pic.twitter.com/T6VIRQbgrC
— Vaguechera (@vaguechera) August 5, 2017
The mother who wishes to keep her real name private, told Huffpost via email: “I had been attempting to be discreet and to feed under a cardigan, but with a distracted one-year-old it can be challenging,” she said.
“The staff member was friendly and polite, but asking me to cover up was still intrusive, unpleasant and embarrassing for me, as well as obviously ludicrous”.
She managed to find some humour in the situation, tweeting several other photos of statues with breasts on display.
Beside one statue with bared breasts, she wrote: “On the upside, I had a lovely day at the V&A exploring depictions of breasts throughout the ages and making lovely mammaries, I mean memories!”
She shared another photo of a family eating a meal underneath a fireplace decorated with topless statues, she quipped: “All these naked breasts are putting people off their food”.
'All these naked breasts are putting people off their food' #vandaboob pic.twitter.com/jlo9CsIaDJ
— Vaguechera (@vaguechera) August 5, 2017
Although she had never had a negative experience with breastfeeding before, she decided to share her story online to draw attention to the difficulties mums face while breastfeeding in public.
As her tweet went viral, the Victoria and Albert Museum director Tristram Hunt replied with an apology on Twitter: “Very sorry. Our policy is clear: women may breastfeed wherever they like, wherever they feel comfortable and should not be disturbed”.
The mum graciously accepted the apology, saying: “I am sure this was a well-meaning but misguided member of staff and not indicative of the museum culture”.
What do you think mums?
