Strollerderby : applebees

Blogs Abuzz When Bill Maher Slams Lactivism

Kelly Mills — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 23:29:00 GMT

Ooooh, did you catch Bill Maher's monologue about the Applebee's nurse-in and lactivists? I've never been a huge Maher fan, cuz I like my political commentators hot like Jon Stewart, but this monologue was kind of especially dumb. He made 400 predictable jokes about how he likes to see boobies but not as food for infants (ha ha, stop, you are killing me.) But then he went in a nutty direction and many bloggers are not happy. Of course there was stupid stuff like when he compared breastfeeding to masturbation (here we just get "changing a tampon") but frankly, I was not super irritated by the yuk yuk boobies jokes until I heard what came next.

He said that the need to breastfeed in public and not cover up was essentially just women being too lazy to plan ahead. All the moms can laugh in unison now. Perhaps next time we can just seat him next to a crying infant who has decided to eat at a different time than usual again and see what happens. Then he went on to say that this was a case of showing off, that moms just want the oohs and aaahs of other people because they made a baby--"something a dog can do."

There he totally hit the nail on the head, didn't he? I mean, I had no desire to actually get out of the house or anything when I ate in restaurants; I just wanted a little attention. In fact, that's why I chose to feed my baby with my exposed tits in the first place. I mean, yes, it's recommended by every doctor ever and it's good for the kid, but of course that was secondary to my desire to have total strangers jump in my face and say, "Good job on the procreation!" Why, I know that when I walked into restaurants people looked thrilled to see me and my infant, and I'd hoist her onto my shoulders, whip out my boobs, and say, "Gimme some sugar, folks!"

"Only in America do women think they deserve a medal for having a kid." And only in American and some other fairly repressed countries is the sight of a women's breast so terrifying that infants aren't supposed to get hungry. Those titties are for our titillation, and nothing else! Don't you sometimes wonder if a breastfeeding mom would be told to cover up in a strip club?

Now, he closed the whole thing by saying that lactivism is a narcissistic cause, and it's representative of our diluted commitment to other causes. Whaddya think?

Lactivism and Rosa Parks: Um, What Are We Fighting For?

Kelly Mills — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 16:02:00 GMT

Breastfeeding rights have been the big stink on the Derby lately. We had Chag's post on the mom kicked out of Applebee's, and then this post written by some freak yesterday about the mom who wants additional break time during medical exams to pump. And don't ever let us forget the controversy that was Rachael's take on formula give-aways. There's obviously some mixed feelings here, and some back-and-forth. I know I'm all over the map, and here's why.

First of all, like Chag, I had a problem with Applebee's evictee Brooke Ryan saying being asked to cover up with a blanket was "like telling Rosa Parks she still had to sit in the back of the bus, but we'll give her a blanket to make her more comfortable." Yeah, it's a soundbite, and really, I don't think a blanket is necessary or should be required. But Rosa Parks? Um, Parks wasn't fighting for the right to sit at the front of the bus, she was fighting against the systematic discrimination against an entire group deemed inferior by those in power. The lactivism in this case was about...fighting for the right to nurse in public. A right we should totally have, and any right you don't protect gets taken away. But it's still not the same as what Parks stood for.

Now, are lactating moms also discriminated against, and could we advocate for that? Sure, and no doubt the mom working two jobs who can't even imagine breastfeeding would love some of our social support. Unfortunately, feminism is rarely easy. Here's some more thorniness: when my baby was a week old, my husband and I went to a nursing supply store to buy a pump and bottles. The lactation consultant/salesperson was horrified. "You can't bottlefeed yet. It could result in nipple confusion! Why would you want to do that?" When my husband replied, "Well, for starters, I'd like to be able to bond with our baby this way too," she said, "Well, you just can't be selfish like that. This is her special time with the baby." Too bad I wanted to share.

See, exclusively breastfeeding with no pumping or bottles meant not only was I really the primary caretaker in the early days (a job I had hoped to share equally for all of our sakes,) it also meant a real struggle to introduce a bottle so I could go back to working outside the home, something I wanted and needed to do. And this small example is just part of a whole larger struggle I felt, when I read books like the Sears baby book that said I should stay home with my baby or I'd be doing her wrong. I felt this revival of the traditional view of motherhood, and again, supposedly it's the children that suffer. I was willing to risk nipple confusion because I wanted something different. And I believe in all kinds of choices in motherhood, and I don't believe kids are condemned to a second-class life because they got bottles or boobs or because their moms stayed at home full time or went out into the workforce. I'm not pretending to have the answers in all this, but sometimes I wanna talk about more than nursing in a restaurant.

Breastfeeding: It's the Law

Rachael Brownell (Redsy) — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 14:28:00 GMT

Delta Airlines, Applebees, and other establishments have all lined up to tell the mommies to stop with the breastfeeding already. The Washington Post reminds us that to breastfeed in public is protected by law in 39 states (only 39 freakin' states??). So take that, you boobs-are-only-for-sex fanatics!! Then again, what about Facebook's poorly formulated decision (more than 9,000 Facebook members have joined a protest group) to ban "breastfeeding pictures."

Doesn't this poor company know that if you mess with a lactivist, you'll get mo-fo-ing schooled?

I'm with Kelly, I think the whole issue could be resolved (even by Facebook's puritanical standards) by instituting male breastfeeding (manfeeding??)...

Forget the Nurse-In: Man-Boobs Can Save Lactivism

Kelly Mills — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 14:28:00 GMT

On Saturday, lactivists staged a nurse-in/out at Applebees after a women was kicked out for breastfeeding her baby there. (Though I have to say, getting thrown out of an Applebees could be a blessing in disguise. Those buffalo wings are naaaasty.) But while the chain is all of the sudden seeing more nipples than your average Hooters, I just wondered if there wasn't another way to solve the problem of breastfeeding discrimination.

And then I saw this, and it hit me: man-boobs.

See, it turns out that given enough prolactin, men can lactate. Now, the issue with breastfeeding has to do with the way this society sees boobies--as sexy, private things that should only be revealed on special occasions, like in the bedroom, or when filming an MTV beach special, or in Brazil. But your average male nips have no such issues attached to them. That's why guys can walk around shirtless on hot days. So why not have dads share the nursing duties? A little prolactin shot and let him take over in the restaurant arena.

Getting dads to nurse could have all kinds of benefits. Moms could get more sleep and less mastitis. And I have a feeling family workplace policies would suddenly get a lot friendlier, with an increase in pumping rooms and paternity leave. Men would finally know what it's like to look down and realize with horror that you have two big wet spots on the front of your shirt, and it ain't because you spilled your coffee. They'd also get more bonding time with the babies, and I imagine it could make parents feel more bonded as well: there's something about sharing chapped nipple stories that creates closeness.

So the new plan is for guys to start lactating, and for all of us to enjoy our restaurant meals in peace. Yep, I'm here to solve all your societal problems, one at a time.

You Can Order a Buttery Nipple but Just Don't Show Yours at Applebee's

ChagHolland — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 22:30:00 GMT

Brooke Ryan was enjoying lunch with her children at a Kentucky Applebee's restaurant when she was asked to cover her nursing son with a blanket. When she stated she didn't have a blanket, the employee again requested that Ryan cover her child, which caused Ryan to leave the restaurant in tears. As a result, a nationwide "Nurse Out" has been planned at many Applebee's restaurants on September 8th.

Applebee's handled this situation poorly. It was perfectly legal for Ryan to breastfeed in the restaurant and she should not have been asked to cover her child. And the restaurant's contemplating providing blankets for future nursing mothers is not only lame, it's pretty gross as well. Ryan feels this concession is "like telling Rosa Parks she still had to sit in the back of the bus, but we'll give her a blanket to make her more comfortable."

But Mike Scanlon, president of the company that operates the Applebee's in question, noted "with interest that she had a copy of the statute with her." Scanlon feels Ryan may have had an agenda. Truthfully, I wondered the same thing.

Look, I have no problem with women breastfeeding in public. I am pro-breastfeeding and feel it is healthier than formula and increases the bond between mother and child. That said, I think carrying around a copy of a law that states it is ok to breastfeed in public is more than a little strange. People are harassed all the time for things they do that are well within the limits of the law. Around here, bicyclists are up in arms about automobile drivers sharing the road. But I wonder how many of them carry around a copy of Rules of the Road.

You might think it's ridiculous for me to compare breastfeeding to cycling. I think it's equally as ridiculous for Ryan to compare herself to Rosa Parks.

Applebees Needs To Check ID

Melissa Summers — Sun, 17 Jun 2007 16:13:00 GMT

A California Bay Area mother is, to put it mildly, really pissed. She ordered an apple juice for her 2-year-old son while they dined at Applebees, he took a taste and pushed it away. Looking into the glass she was "hit" by the smell of tequila and triple sec. Now, I've had a margarita at Applebees and I'd be hard pressed to say there's enough tequila in those things to even lightly tap an adult on the face with the smell.

The restaurant says the apple juice and margarita mix are kept in identical bottles which is how the mix up happened. The mother was going to let it go as a simple mistake until she had to rush her son to the emergency room a few hours later when he became drowsy and began vomiting. One sip sent him to the hospital? Clearly not from an Irish-American family.

The family was reimbursed for their medical bills and the restaurants in the 9 franchise corporation will no longer store apple juice and margaritas in identical bottles. A similar incident happened in New York where a five year old was served a Long Island Iced Tea at an Applebees. Note to underage drinkers: Order the "apple juice" at Applebees.

Applebees Dumps Trans Fats at US Locations

Patti — Mon, 21 May 2007 14:03:00 GMT

I don't know if this qualifies as good news, but it's not terrible news: Applebee's has stopped the use of trans fats at all of their US restaurant locations. The chain, which bills itself as a family-oriented neighborhood destination, is the latest in a growing line of food service businesses to eschew trans fat products in favor of somewhat healthier alternatives.

It isn't supposed to be cool to patronize chain restaurants like this, but I'm more of a food democrat than a food snob, and growing up in a sea of strip malls left me with a soft spot for Applebee's and its kind. Next time we visit Grammy in Phoenix, it won't be so hard to choose between Applebee's and Chili's, at least until Chili's catches up with the curve. Meanwhile, we'll be eating a little good-er in the neighborhood. Er.