British poet Hollie McNish has been featured in a video about the hypocrisy surrounding breastfeeding criticism.
The poem, entitled Embarrassed tackles the feeling many new mums get when they try to breastfeed their babies in public – and are made to feel ashamed.
Her poem begins: “I thought it was okay, I could understand the reasons
They said, “There might
be a man or a nervous child
seeing this small piece of flesh that they
weren’t quite expecting.”
So I whispered and tip-toed with nervous discretion.”
Explaining how she would often be resigned to feeding her child in public loos in order to avoid mean comments and stares, but couldn’t help feeling the hypocrisy of the situation – in a country where breasts line the shelves of newsagents.
“And female breasts–banned–unless they’re out just for show,” she tells the camera.
“Because in this country of billboards covered in tits, I think I should try to get used to this.”
Hollie ends her poem, which was directed for the screen by Jake Dypka, with the following message:
“So no more will I sit on these cold toilet lids
No matter how embarrassed I feel as she sips
Because in this country of billboards, covered in tits
I think we should try to get used to this.”
Watch the full video above, it’s pretty powerful stuff.
