A woman who
says she wasn't allowed to breastfeed her child in a coffee house has started
campaigning for a law to allow nursing in public. It's sparked a controversial
debate about breasts, rights and common sense.
Deutsche Welle, 24 February 2016
When all
was said and done, Johanna Spanke felt hurt, embarrassed and angry. The
30-year-old PhD candidate just wanted to grab a drink and treat herself to a
piece of cake in a café in Berlin's Prenzlauer Berg neighborhood. In tow were
her boyfriend and her three-months-old baby.
"We
had just paid at the counter and had picked up our forks to eat the cake. One
of the staffers then said that it's not allowed to nurse babies here,"
Spanke told DW.
She said
she was perplexed since she hadn't started breastfeeding or shown any
intentions of doing so, but grew concerned what she should do if the baby
became hungry. She then decided to talk to the owner, she said.
"He
was very gruff and arrogant. He said it was prohibited since this was an
upscale café," she recalled. According to her account, she tried to reason
with him, asking whether it would be okay if she would do it in a very discreet
way, covering herself and the baby with a cloth.
"But
he said no - he would give us our money back, but then we should leave."
Legally
speaking, owners can throw out undesirable guests by exercising his property
rights and tell customers to leave.
'The
customer decided to leave'
However,
that's not how Ralf Rüller, the owner of said coffee house, remembers the
incident. "We asked a customer not to breastfeed [by the] window. It would
have been possible to do this in the back [of our café]. The customer decided
to leave," the Barn Roastery wrote on its Facebook page. That's the same
statement Rüller sent to DW when approached for an interview.
"We
are not against breastfeeding," the statement reads. "We ask to do
this discreetly and with respect towards our other guests - which are also
coming from other cultural backgrounds."
 |
| Berlin's Barn Roastery came under fire in 2012 when it installed a bollard to keep strollers out |
According
to Spanke, he did not offer an alternative to breastfeed somewhere else in the
café.
"I was
very hurt and felt snubbed. We didn't make a fuss by pointing this out to other
customers, also because I was a bit afraid that they might say 'Yes, it's really
disgusting, there's no place for that here,'" she added.
The café
already sparked uproar in 2012, when it installed a bollard to keep baby
strollers out.
"We
are probably not the first choice for someone visiting with an infant or young
child. We ask to respect this - there are many alternatives in the
neighborhood", the Barn Roastery statement ends.
Taking
action
Back home,
Spanke decided to take action and set up a petition - she's calling on
Germany's Family Minister Manuela Schwesig, demanding a law that allows women
to breastfeed their babies in public. So far, she's just shy of 17,000
signatures.
Breastfeeding
in public is not forbidden, but it's also not specifically stipulated that it's
allowed. That's what Spanke wants to change - she's hoping her petition will
lead to an open debate about the true nature of breastfeeding.
 |
| Spanke hopes people will no longer regard breastfeeding as disgusting |
"Women's
breast have apparently become so sexualized that it's considered disgusting
now," she said. It's recommended to breastfeed babies at least until the
baby is 6 months old, she added.
The Federal
Anti-Discrimination Agency called the ban of breastfeeding in public places
gender-based discrimination.
The
National Breastfeeding Committee at the Federal Institute for Risk assessment
which advises the government on - you guessed it - breastfeeding, commented on
a similar petition and said nursing babies should be put under legal
protection. It's to be assumed that a substantial proportion of breastfeeding
mothers shun doing so in public, the statement reads.
Countless
studies have proven that breastfeeding is good and important for both mother
and child, a spokesperson of Germany's Family Ministry told DW. It's crucial
for a society that wants to be family-friendly to enable mothers to breastfeed
their children in public, the spokesperson added. "It should be possible
to find good solutions in the interest of all parties."
Where to go
from here?
Breastfeeding
seems to be a contentious issue that's hotly debated. On social media, some
point out the obvious hypocrisy: "Use boobs to sell everything from cars
to cheeseburgers and nobody cares. Use boobs to feed a baby in public and
everyone loses their minds," one post reads.
But there
are also others who voice their anger about the "disgusting" practice
of breastfeeding, saying their are put off by women nursing their babies right
next to where they are eating. They suggest women use bottles instead or simply
feed babies at home. They don't care what the women do as long as they stay out
of sight. Often, they use derogative words for breasts.
Spanke
plans to submit the signatures calling for a new law to German Family Minister
Schwesig and hopes for change in society. "It really seems to be a big
issue," she said. "Unfortunately, this seems to be a form of
discrimination that's accepted by society."
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