Developing nations should be both critical and authentic in
their development approaches, for simply adopting the norms of more developed
nations could come at the expense of their own progressive norms. A regard in which
Ethiopia, one of the poorest nations in the world, is eons ahead of the United
States, one of the richest nations in the world, is public breastfeeding. Women
in Ethiopia enjoy the liberty of public breastfeeding without judgment while
women in the United States still shy away in ambivalent shame. Despite trends that
show that the more educated a population is the more developed and equitable
its society, in this regard the U.S. falls short, for shaming women for breastfeeding
their children in public is hardly equitable. This misguided practice is not
only unfair to the women targeted but also to their children who might miss out
on nutrition that is vital to their growth and development.
How can a nation funding programs in the developing world to
promote gender equity shame its women for breastfeeding their children in
public? Perhaps the answer to this question can be found by unpacking the
over-sexualization of breasts coupled with the desire to subdue female
sexuality in the United States. The United States is obsessed with breasts - they
are everywhere. Breasts are particularly ubiquitous in popular culture – music
videos, album covers, movies, art, etc. They are so sexualized that women with
larger breasts are generally perceived as “sexier” than women with smaller
breasts and people tend to have a hard time dissociating breasts with sex even
when the relationship is between mother and child. However, while breasts are ubiquitously portrayed in pop
culture it is solely for hetero-male enjoyment and the women who display them are
generally regarded as “obscene,” “promiscuous,” or “slutty.” Therefore, by that
logic, “decent” women do not show their breasts in public not even for the sake
of their children. Those who do are met with uncomfortable gazes and remarks
that shame them for performing one of the most natural acts that exist between a
mother and her child.
In Ethiopia, one of the most religious and conservative
countries in the world, breasts are not particularly sexualized and women can
often be seen in public without a bra and with their nipples protruding through
their shirts. While such an image might turn on heterosexual men in the United
States, men in Ethiopia don’t seem to give those women a second glance. This is
because breasts are perceived as primarily for feeding children and then as
sexual organs. This means that a woman in Ethiopia can pull out her breast in
any public place to feed her child without any hesitation or judgment and those
who surround her don’t experience any discomfort.
The fact that a woman in Ethiopia has the freedom to
breastfeed her child anywhere while a woman in the United States would have to
think it through and perhaps find a private area raises many questions about
the nature of development and our objectives. Is development linear? If not,
then is it really possible to measure the consummate advancement of a country
without considering such norms? Is it possible for a country to prosper
economically and simultaneously flounder in specific social areas? While many
questions are left unanswered one thing is true, that the freedoms afforded
women are vastly different from society to society, and that at least in this
regard, Ethiopia has one up on us.
