I need to print a retraction here to clarify the locked doors to the First Aid rooms. Yes, it is true that the door to the station located in the Africa café area (in the “middle” of the zoo) is a locked facility. We have absolutely no idea about the door to the First Aid station in the administration building, as we have never been able to even find it! The station in the entrance to the zoo is not locked. You do not need to find a zoo employee to open it for you.
But that means, as Sara found out, there is not any element of privacy. During her nursing session she was constantly concerned that someone was going to come in. And although I know that she personally would not have really cared, had that happened, she was in there representing ALL nursing moms and trying to experience how the First Aid room is unsuitable as a nursing room.
I feel the need to point out the the Oregon Zoo has four (yes four!) stations set up for smokers - three inside the zoo and one just outside the enterance on zoo grounds. These include signs, benches, ashtrays and a place on the map. So if you smoked, you could easily locate several different places where the zoo welcomes you to partake in your enjoyment. But if you need to feed your offspring with what nature intended them to be fed with - you might as well hop in the chimp cage. Although the soaking pool for the hippos looks nice too . . .
*****************************************************
We also had an interesting conversation today about the sadness we both felt at the forum comments regarding the recent Oregon mall discrimination (see link below in previous post). The situation in and of itself is tragic on so many levels – including the fact that the employee was responding to a complaint made by another woman. This just baffles us – and so many others – as we cannot understand why women are not unified and supportive of other mothers who are nursing. I think we both feel that even if you do not or did not breastfeed, that you still need to be supportive of other women who choose to do so. If women are not going to stand by each other, how do we expect all of society to?
We hope that this mission is not viewed as anti-nursing in public. We are absolutely not discouraging moms from nursing at the zoo, or anywhere for that matter, wherever and whenever they need to – in fact, we encourage that. But, as stated in our first entry, we do believe that a public facility the size of the zoo, that caters to families, needs to provide a more adequate alternative for moms who seek the option.
We are reminded of the saying, “We shall not be moved," except that we may darn well move ourselves into a nice, cozy nursing room . . . if we want to.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
It seems bad enough that we have to defend ourselves against men who claim that it is offensive because it is sexual and therefore inappropriate to do in public. But women? Do they not have breasts themselves? And if they do not believe that those breasts were put there for the purpose of feeding our babies, then what are they using them for? And well, maybe some people find that offensive. (Trust me, I don't, but some people may - in fact many other cultures would view that as offensive and punishable.)
It is simple -and our society needs to change and accept this fact: Breasts are designed for feeding our babies. Period. I completely understand that they are also erotic in their own right, but why do we have to be the ones to bend? Why can’t the men (and women!) who say they are offended by it, or “turned on” by it, either cover up themselves so they don’t have to see, or simply look in the other direction?
Post a Comment