It's sad but true: Far too many breastfeeding moms can't seem to nurse their L.O.s in public without getting a frustrating dose of side-eye from strangers. It's particularly ironic that a mom in Nashville, Tennessee recently had to deal with this kind of treatment in, of all places, Victoria's Secret! Celina Barbour, a 28-year-old mom of three, was recently shopping at the lingerie chain with her husband and their three daughters when she was allegedly mocked and teased for nursing her four-month-old.
Following the incident, Barbour and her family went to Target, where they proceeded to record this Facebook Live video about what had just transpired. In the clip, Barbour says, "If you’re going to go into Victoria’s Secret and say things about breastfeeding… 'how nasty,' give snide comments, or looks in a store that is filled with nothing but pictures of people’s boobs hanging out, you probably shouldn’t say anything to someone that’s breastfeeding."
It's downright eyeroll-inducing to think that people shopping in a Victoria's Secret — a business that exists in great part, thanks to the sexualization of breasts — would have a problem with, well, an actual woman's breasts. But the silver lining of the incident is how viral Barbour's post has gone (it's been shared on Breastfeeding Mama Talk and a variety of publications, from Babble to CafeMom) and how it has spurred positive feedback and productive conversation.
"We love that we are helping normalize breastfeeding, and we never thought that a video we did for fun because we would so shocked over what happened would reach so many people, but we are thrilled it is," Barbour tells Parents.com.
The proud mom is also pleased to have received so many supportive comments from those who've come across the video. One in particular that stands out: "Thank you for feeding your child and doing what's right." "[We've] gotten a ton of support from moms that have commented saying they understand and love our videos," Barbour notes.
Cheers to that — and to moms like Barbour calling out the hypocrisy they can't help but face time and time again!
