CNN news 12/1 (584 words)

Photo of breastfeeding mom in public ignites online storm in China

By Shen Lu and Katie Hunt, CNN

Updated 0528 GMT (1328 HKT) December 1, 2015

cnn.com

Beijing (CNN)A photo of a woman nursing her baby in a crowded Beijing subway train has unleashed a furious -- and some say much needed -- debate over breastfeeding in public in China.

A passenger posted the original photo on Weibo, China's equivalent to Twitter, with the caption: "Let me remind you -- this is a Beijing subway not a bus running in your village."

The snapshot went viral after being reposted by Beijing Tale -- a volunteer organization that helps clean up subway flyers. It criticized the woman for exposing her "sexual organs" in public.

But many Internet users condemned the passenger and the organization for taking and sharing an intimate photo, and defended the mother.

"It'd be ideal if she had used a nursing cover, but it's not a big deal if she didn't have one. Breasts are...for babies; they are not sexual organs," Ou Qian, a Guangzhou doctor and a mother herself, said.

"Babies need to be fed when they are hungry. She is a great mom."

Formula fans

In 2014, fewer than 16% of urban Chinese women exclusively breastfed their babies for the World Health Organization recommended period of six months.

The rate was higher in rural areas -- 30% -- but still below the global average of around 40%. The reasons stem from a complex mix of culture, commerce and economics.

The Chinese custom of "confining" new mothers to a month of bed rest often puts feeding decisions in the hands of relatives and short maternity leave makes it difficult to continue once a mother is back at work.

A string of tainted milk powder scandals didn't trigger a shift to breast feeding. Instead, Chinese have sought out foreign-made formula, causing global shortages, and infant formula makers have been criticized for using aggressive marketing tactics.

China has tried to address the problem: In April, Beijing said it was considering a ban on formula advertising and the country has launched a breastfeeding awareness day to take place each May.

But, unlike most U.S. states, China doesn't have laws that specifically allow women to breastfeed in any public space.

'Furious'

Connie Chi, a mother of a 14-month-old baby who works in Shanghai, told CNN that she was furious to see the criticism of the woman, and has much sympathy for her.

"When a baby cries, I think the initial reaction of all mothers would be the same. I would feed my baby. I've done the same before."

But Chi said she would also try to cover up, as she says many Chinese are still conservative and exposing breasts may not be as acceptable as it is in the West.

Chi, who breastfed her baby for 13 months, pumped milk at work and found it hard to keep it private and calls for more feeding rooms in offices and public places.

"I had to go to a fitting room and place a stick note on the door, so that people wouldn't pop in when I was pumping milk."

Uproar

The photo taker has since deleted the original post and apologized, as has the volunteer group.

But this has done little to stop the uproar.

"If I saw a pretty woman's breasts exposed I'd stare, because I'm a man," commented one Weibo user. Thousands of web users liked the post.

You Shiyou, a social scientist, questioned why men could expose their body while women can't.

"I hope one day that, neither women exposing breasts nor breast feeding would be a hot topic," You said.

擁擠的北京地鐵上，一張媽媽正在餵奶的照片引起熱烈討論公共場合餵奶的行為，而有些人認為這是必要的。

有個乘客PO照片到微博（中國的twitter），標題寫著：「提醒你，這是北京地鐵，不是你家村子裡晃悠的公交車！」

這張快照像病毒般一樣被廣傳，之後又被北京故事（一個清理地鐵傳單的自願性組織）重新貼出，他們批評女性在公共場合曝露性器官的行徑。

但相當多網路民眾譴責PO文的人和北京故事不該又拍照又分享這種私密照片，反而捍衛這位媽媽。

「如果有布可以蓋住是比較好啦，但沒有也不是什麼大事，胸部...是拿來餵小孩的嘛，不是什麼性器官啦！」廣州一位古醫生這麼說，她同時也是位媽媽。「小孩餓了就是得餵，這位媽媽是個很棒的媽媽。」

配方第一

2014年，居住在城市中的媽媽們只有16%達到WHO建議的六個月親餵期，在鄉村地區還比較高，有30%，但還是遠低於40％的平均水準。主要是因為文化，貿易跟經濟上的複雜化。

坐月子的媽媽們通常都要將餵奶的決定權交給親戚，加上產假又短，一旦回到職場，餵奶相對變得更難。

近年毒奶粉事件並沒有讓大家傾向親餵。

相反的，中國人開始爭相採用外國配方奶，造成全球奶粉短缺，導致嬰兒配方奶粉廠商用更激進的市場策略而飽受批評。

中國已經試著提出這問題，四月時北京宣布政府將考慮頒布配方奶廣告相關法令，並於每年五月宣導舉辦親餵日。

只是，中國不像美國有法律保障婦女在公共場所進行親餵行為。

覺得生氣

紀小姐本身已有14月大的小嬰兒，並在上海工作。她告訴CNN他很同情那位媽媽，同時也很氣批評那位媽媽的人們。

「當小孩一哭，我想媽媽的直覺反應都一樣，就是我要餵小孩喝奶了，我也曾經做過跟那位媽媽一樣的事。」

但紀小姐說他當時有使用遮布，因為他說大多數中國人還是保守的，不像西方國家露出胸部可以完全被接受。

紀小姐已經餵奶13個月，在工作時要私下擠奶很困難，她要求工作場所及公共場合應該要有更多哺乳室。

「我必須到試衣間裡，還要掛上告示牌，這樣才不會有人在我擠奶時突然闖進來。」

引起騷動

拍照的人跟北京故事目前都已撤下照片並致歉。

不過還是沒有停止騷動。

「如果我看到一個漂亮的女人露出胸部，我會盯著看，因為我是男的。」某微博用戶這麼說，被破千個使用者按讚。

余姓社會研究科學家則質疑為什麼男生能裸露但女生不行。「真希望有一天，露胸跟餵奶都不是新鮮事。」

ignite (n.) 點燃

unleash (v.) 解開…的束縛

caption (n.) 標題

condemn (v.) 譴責

commerce (n.) 貿易

tactic (n.) 策略