American actress Amanda Seyfried has spoken out about how fed up she is about the “breastfeeding versus formula” debate.
As a new mum herself, she must be aware of the pressures and struggles of parenthood. However, what she can’t stand for is the constant judgement of others regarding how to parent children - especially when it comes to feeding them.
This week, the 31-year-old took to Twitter to share an important message: it doesn’t matter whether you breastfeed or use formula, and we should not be judging people’s personal choice with regards to feeding their children.
“Breastfeeding is awesome. Formula is awesome. Feeding your baby is awesome. Not awesome? Judgement,” she wrote.
Breastfeeding is awesome. Formula is awesome. Feeding your baby is awesome. Not awesome? Judgement.
— Amanda Seyfried (@AmandaSeyfried) July 5, 2017
On Twitter, Amanda quoted feminist writer and fellow mum, Maureen Shaw, who discusses public breastfeeding shaming in latest article, in Quartz.
"Breasts are intended to feed babies. With all our progress on feminist issues, how can such a simple biological imperative remain so stigmatised? In a word: sex. We live in a culture comfortable with exploiting breasts to sell burgers, for goodness sake," Maureen writes.
“The distaste for breastfeeding...began with the sexualisation of female breasts in the 19th century, and was accelerated by the rise in processed baby food occurring around the same time.
“Women’s bodies began to seem less and less functional, and more like objects of desire; meanwhile, baby food was sophisticated and hygienic."
The article also touched on how actress Mila Kunis was shamed for breastfeeding her baby daughter in public; the rise of breastfeeding activists, or 'lactivists'; and how judgement comes from both men and women.
Although Amanda didn’t go into detail about her own personal parenting experiences, she made her stance on the issue very clear - and we love her for it!
Amanda gave birth to her baby daughter last March, two weeks after she married film actor Thomas Sadoski. They have not yet publicly announced the name of their little girl.
The actress is currently playing Becky Burnett, Shelly Johnson’s daughter, on the TV series Twin Peaks. She will also be reprising her role as Sophie Sheridian in the Mammia Mia sequel Mammia Mia: Here We Go Again! next year.
