Tag: free the nipple

A Year of Celebrating The Breast

hollymilkowski January 29, 2017

You may have noticed a new tab on this page!

Celebration of the Breast is a set of calendars (two versions – Vital and Taboo) that my doula, Nicole Deelah of Sage Beginnings Doula Services, proposed as a project earlier this month. We immediately had the perfect photographer in mind: the open-minded, open-hearted Blue Fitzcarraldo of Blue Fitz Photography.

The primary goal was to raise some funds for Intact Houston, the local not-for-profit chapter of The INTACT Network/Saving Our Sons that I co-direct. Promoting body positivity, releasing stigmas, and fostering acceptance and education about female breasts was just icing on the cake.

Because these are calendars, after all, the clock was running against us. We set up a shoot for later that same week and held an open call for any and all women who wished to participate in either (or both) versions of the calendar. Many were happy to be featured in both, while others chose to volunteer for one or the other.

Vital demonstrates the monthly themes in a more subtle way (no areolas are shown), while Taboo is more provocative (no censorship here). The photography is tastefully artistic.

Of course, the first month of the year is nearly behind us, so it’s prime time to tack a 2017 calendar to the wall if we haven’t already. What I love perhaps most about this set is the photos are gorgeous — they could be displayed individually or as a collage, even without the calendar pages. For aesthetics or function, it’s really up to you!

**If you’d like to see the calendar images, you can get a copy of Vital, Taboo, or both calendars here.**

They’re also available on Etsy. Shipping is included for domestic orders (email me for international orders). Keep in mind, we’re offering a $10 savings when both versions are purchased.

Below I’ve detailed some of concepts/themes that inspired Celebration of the Breast.

I Want The Choice To Keep My Top On Instead of a Law That Says I Must

hollymilkowski August 28, 2016

I don’t have the choice to keep my top on. Because I’m female, and I have female anatomy, including female breasts and nipples. I have no choice but to keep my top on, unless I am willing to risk breaking the law. Doesn’t sound like much of a choice, does it?

It’s required by law (in all these US states/cities) to keep my breasts and nipples covered, even in the same places where topless male breasts (yes, they have breast tissue) and male nipples are considered acceptable to expose.

It’s OK to Love Your Pregnant Body

hollymilkowski February 29, 2016

You are interesting. You carry a mystery, an unexplained power, a blessing that gets bigger every day. Do you not see the way you evoke turned heads with that package of life centered right on your body, one that might feel fragile to you, or burdensome with its new demand for constant responsibility and attention?

Have you forgotten (or have you ever really considered what it means) that “a woman’s body is the first environment”?

I tell myself this now…

But almost four years ago as a first-time mother, I couldn’t appreciate the changes in my body during three trimesters’ worth of pregnancy and the fourth trimester postpartum.

Let’s Stop Defending Ourselves With “Nothing Was Even Showing!”

hollymilkowski February 4, 2016

I hear it all the time — women defending themselves for breastfeeding in public. Adamant that they deserve to feed their babies whenever and wherever needed, they say: “It’s not like you could see anything! Nothing was even showing!”

Great, but if you could see ‘something’… or if it had been ‘showing’… so what? Is it truly a valid defense for nursing a child in non-private situations?

For Every Bad Experience You Have Nursing in Public, You’ll Have Many More Great Ones

hollymilkowski August 17, 2015

Photo Credit: Leilani Rogers

Emily Medley, public programs director for Houston’s Health Museum, looked out from the podium to explain what led her to this place of passion for normalizing breastfeeding in public.

She recalled a time she went into the museum bathroom, and an uncomfortable scuffling drew her attention from one of the farthest stalls. She realized almost immediately there was a mother inside that stall, breastfeeding her baby on the toilet. It broke her heart.

Emily was pained to realize a mother could so greatly fear the stigma and criticisms (whether quiet or loud) that come with public nursing, that even with laws to protect her right to naturally feed in many states, she still doesn’t feel welcome enough to care for her baby where people can see her. A place of isolation and privacy only… a toilet.

She planned to close out this year’s World Breastfeeding Week in a very special way by hosting this museum presentation by Leilani Rogers, an Austin photographer and founder of The Public Breastfeeding Awareness Project. The exhibit called “Cradle Me Here” featured mothers nursing their babies and children throughout the museum on demand –“live breastfeeding art,” if you will — in response to a need, just like they would any other day or place.

Emily wanted us to know how thrilled she felt to host the event for us and that the museum not only welcomes breastfeeding mothers and our “SO beautiful babies!” but cherishes and respects us, too. After all, the museum board is on track to refocus what their education is “all about.” Now the museum touches most upon “the things that make us human,” and recognizes breastfeeding as one of the first major (and most normal) impressions upon childhood and lifelong physical and emotional health.

Despite all the attention given to those who just don’t “get it,” many people like Emily and Leilani do commiserate with the plight of a publicly breastfeeding mother. I myself have endured a few disappointing experiences breastfeeding in public (read about two here and here), but I’ve enjoyed some memorably positive ones too.

By sharing a few personal stories of positive NIP experiences, I hope that any mother who fears or hesitates to feed her child in public may be encouraged to do what she feels is best for her child — which will never be, at any age or level of publicity or food type, to serve him a meal on the toilet.

Defending Yourself Is Disrespectful, Say A Few Loud Ones Against Public Breastfeeding

hollymilkowski June 17, 2015

A few of the comments on a recent reactionary post I wrote are getting… a little out-of-hand, I’d say.

I don’t censor any non-spamming comments on my posts because I find great value in upholding the right to free speech and sharing of ideas. I personally feel that disapproving certain comments that rub me the wrong way could be likened to demanding that a breastfeeding mother throw a cover over her torso and child when in public just because someone can’t handle it.

Now I must learn how to handle things I don’t agree with too, such as antagonistic comments. (A heavy bet that zero of the nay-saying commenters would dare peep a word directly to me if they actually saw me breastfeeding in public).

Brelfies Aren’t TMI — They Celebrate a Power Exclusive to “Mom Bods”

hollymilkowski June 1, 2015

Have you shared a “brelfie” (breastfeeding selfie) lately? A brelfie is a good thing, and here’s why.

We absolutely need to see positive, educational breastfeeding images on social media and to encounter these maternal norms on a daily basis. Women learn how to breastfeed by example and observation, as is the natural design, rather than by instinctual expertise. For a new mother, breastfeeding is like using a muscle she’s never used before — NOT like picking up an exercise routine with the blessing of muscle memory (even with breastfeeding experience, she still must learn afresh how to breastfeed each new child).