Covering Up is a Feminist Issue (Video)

Background

Last year, I wrote a post called Covering Up is a Feminist Issue after seeing yet another comment from a self-proclaimed non-judgmental woman asking why women can't just cover up when they are breastfeeding. The presumption that her comfort level should dictate how other people dress or act irked me into action. The post was fairly successful in creating dialogue on the issue, so I decided to take the concept and turn it into a video.  I've been working on it for a while and the recent comments from a Toronto police officer that women can avoid rape by not dressing like a "slut" prompted me to finish and launch the video.

Credits and Thank Yous

This video is a compilation of wonderful content created by other people. I would like to thank:

• Canadian singer-songwriter Amanda Rheaume for giving permission to use her amazing song Out of Time from the 2007 album If You Never Live.

• The wonderful photographers who either made their work available through a creative commons licence or who gave me permission to use their photos in the video, including:
  
  
  
  • Amy from Muddy Boots Photography (also muddybootsphoto on flickr)
  
  
  • Desiree Fawn from So Fawned (also desireefawn on flickr)
  
  
  • HeidiL and Landslide Photography for the photo on the right, which is incorrectly attributed in the video (many thanks to HeidiL for permission to use the photo). See other beautiful nursing pictures by Landslide Photography.
  
  
  • Paige from Baby Dust Diaries and Nursing Freedom who has created a collection of breastfeeding photos on flickr, two of which I used in the video.
  
  
  • The Indiana Black Breastfeeding Coalition, which has just created an amazing set of photos of black women breastfeeding and put them into the public domain.
  
  
  • Sarah R. Bloom, a photographer whose work you can find at Sad and Beautiful, and who gave me permission to use her beautiful shot Merger.
  
  
  • Other flickr users whose photos were made available with a creative commons license:
    
    
    
    • niomix2008
    
    
    • fabiogis50
    
    
    • brookesb
    
    
    • Helga Weber
    
    
    • NATALIA PHOTOS
    
    
    • jessica.garro
    
    
    • LollyKnit
    
    
    • mkorchia
    
    
    • Stich
    
    
    • Sagrado Corazón
    
    
    • rachel sian
    
    
    • ruumo
    
    
    • adria.richards
    
    
    • emilio labrador
    
    
    • Master/Cyber
    
    
    • deepwarren
    
    
    • Emery Co Photo
    
    
    • -Andrew-
    
    
    • Magdalena O!
    
    
    • Anita Robicheau
    
    
    • Foxtongue
    
    
    • jinglejammer
    
    
    • Joe Shlabotnik
    
    
    • jencu
    
    
    • 150hp
    
    
    • alpa kai omorfa
    
    
    • littleREDelf
    
    
    • jocelyndale
    
    
    • jakekrohn
    
    
    • Urijamjari
    
    
    • mharvey.nyc
    
    
    • Presidencia de la República del Ecuador
    
    
    • Inferis
    
    
    • Mike.Hanlon
    
    
  
  

• Alison Kramer from Nummies Nursing Bras for the inspiration to make a video and for her encouragement and advice.

• Stephanie Montreuil from The Lotus Pad for her encouragement and support.

Sharing

If you wish to share this video on your blog, please go ahead (you can get the embed code on YouTube). I would love link back here when you do and ideally a comment or an e-mail so that I can come and check out your post too.

Thank you for watching!

Comments

[I’m ready for my close-u]

[...] Jes, Polly and Eden for your love, support and encouragement. And to Noa, Alex, Cecily, Bon, Eden, Annie, Darryl, Diane, Kate, Stacey, Brit, Kristin, and Jenni, thank you for letting me share a stage with [...]

[Courtney]

Wonderful. Succinct, well-said, and classy.

[Slutwalk – Ein Beitrag e]

[...] dazu findet ihr auf folgender Seite Teilen Sie dies mit:DruckenE-MailFacebookTwitterLike this:LikeSei der Erste, dem dieser post [...]

[On Breastfeeding Rights: Is Be]

[...] I was beyond thrilled to find the video Covering Up is a Feminist Issue by PhD in Parenting.  It speaks for itself and makes a dramatic point, but without all the [...]

[Kelly]

This got brought up after today's Babble article. Thanks for having a great video to link to!

[Monica]

Love your video!

[Covering up is a feminist issu]

[...] Since writing this post, some of the images have been made unavailable. However, I also created a video version of the Covering Up is a Feminist Issue message, which I would encourage you to check out and [...]

[Laura]

Love it!!!

It's funny, I'm so small minded that I really can't even grasp WHY PEOPLE CARE if a woman feeds her baby in public. There is nothing indecent about those breastfeeding pictures. I really don't get it.

[Breastfeeding Moms “Nurs]

[...] not-so-discreet pictures of women in their underwear hanging up in the stores?), when we know that whether and how much to cover should be up to each mom. Read Heather’s great post on the problems with the policy for more detail. Also, Target [...]

[Breastfeeding Moms Hold Nurse-]

[...] breastfeeding mothers and their babies, as well as further normalize breastfeeding in public, both covered and uncovered. The nurse-in included participation from hundreds of mothers and babies in more than 100 different [...]

[Queerie Bradshaw » Ethic]

[...] breastfeeding? Maybe this video (which won a Voices of the Year award at BlogHer ’11) from PhD in Parenting will help you [...]

[mauka-makai]

I Am Not the Babysitter posted your link on fb. I love this blog post she did earlier this summer:

Public Breastfeeding Conversations
http://www.iamnotthebabysitter.com/public-breastfeeding-conversations-still-happening/?doing_wp_cron=1345130221.0382969379425048828125

You must see the photo she posted, it's wonderful!

mauka-makai

[Covering Up is a Feminist Issu]

[...] wanted to share this video made by Annie from PhD In Parenting about breastfeeding and covering up. It summarizes it all very well. Covering up is the [...]