Today we celebrate Clear Things Up Day here at The Badass Breastfeeder Facebook Page. I will be addressing misinformation about this page all day! Yay!
1. We can support, promote, celebrate and love breastfeeding without bashing formula or formula feeding mothers. As Brad Pitt once said (yes, I am about to quote Brad Pitt) “Why is that whenever I say something good about Angelina it means I am saying something bad about Jennifer?” Good point Brad! We love breastfeeding. That is not a statement that reflects our feelings about formula or formula feeding mothers in the least. We love Moms and we support all Moms while we spread the information that we feel is important.
2. We support breastfeeding in public; covered, uncovered or standing on your damn head! Breastfeeding in public is vital to normalizing breastfeeding. Do it however you want. We are dedicated to fighting criticism from anyone who tells you how you should feed your child in public.
3. We openly discuss very controversial topics here and invite intelligent and respectful discussion. But if you are rude, disrespectful, hateful, etc. your comment will be deleted and we will not support your continued involvement on this page. In line with this, if you address these nasty comments your comment will be deleted too. We keep it clean and smart around here. Discourse does not equal disagreement.
4. We support breastfeeding. No ifs, ands or buts about it. That means breastfeeding until as long as mother and baby want no matter how old the child is. Yep, NO matter how old. If a mother and a child want to have a breastfeeding relationship 10 years post-partum then we support you and the nay-sayers can nay-say while we sing your song of celebration!
5. We support you in your choice not to comment. Not every thought in your mind needs to be typed on the internet. If you have something productive to add to the conversation that’s awesome. If not then maybe consider sitting this one out. Feel free not to comment!
6. We have an About Section on this page. We highly recommend that you read it. This is where pages tell all about how they operate, what you can expect to see posted and what sort of views they express. It would behoove you to become familiar with it.
7. This is a public page. Everything that you post here can be seen by anyone on the internet. Anyone can Like, Comment and Share your content posted. Anyone can even download it onto their personal computers. If there is something you don’t want someone to see then we suggest you don’t post it or say it here!
8. This page is big. The things we post can potentially be seen by hundreds of thousands of people in their newsfeeds. That means that many times we get people commenting things that have nothing to do with this page. Sometimes they are friendly and join us. Sometimes they stop by simply to be mean and insult us. We call these people “trolls.” Don’t assume the comments that you see in a thread are from fans of this page. Ignore them. We will delete them. Don’t feed the trolls!
9. Topics that you can expect to see posted here are breastfeeding, breastfeeding in public, babywearing, anti-sleep training/Cry It Out or CIO (pro-responding to baby), anti-circumcision (pro-genital integrity), co-sleeping, natural childbirth, attachment/gentle/instinctual/natural parenting, and vaccine information. We do not ask that you agree with everything that we say. But you must be respectful or you cannot remain a part of the conversation. We hope you hear us out! (We prefer to use “pro” language rather than “anti-language,” but for the purposes of this event we need to be as clear as possible. Not everyone knows the “pro” terms; hopefully they have learned!)
10. None of our posts are about you personally. We don’t know you. We don’t spend our day trying to upset you. If you feel that a post is directed toward you personally then please take that up with the voice inside your head.
11. This is only information. We are not demanding that you agree with us. We are not suggesting that you are a bad Mom. We are not suggesting that you are wrong and horrible and shouldn’t have kids. This is only information. Take it or leave it.
12. While promoting gentle parenting we also promote being gentle to other adults. We have a sense of humor, we can be sassy, we enjoy a good laugh, but good grief people, please treat each other like human beings. Just because you are behind your computer does not give you free reign to shoot people down.
13. This is a page of celebration not alienation. All breastfeeders, breastfeeding supporters, people interested in breastfeeding, professionals, etc. are welcome despite race, ethnicity, religious or political beliefs. The only people asked to leave are those who cannot conduct themselves respectfully.
14. No one is judging you. No, seriously, they are not. People are way too involved with themselves and their lives and their kids to be judging you. Before you type the word on this page take a second to think about where that feeling is coming from. Do you have some unresolved feelings regarding the topic at hand? That is OK and totally normal. That is usually what gets me riled up and feeling like people are attacking and judging me. (yes, I have those feelings too!) But as I always say “it’s impossible not to judge someone who is determined to be judged.” So next time you feel judged try to choose not to feel that way. You deserve to feel better in life no matter what the subject is.
15. My name is Abby. I am The Badass Breastfeeder. I have 15 wicked Admin who work tirelessly day and night to keep this a safe place for you. We do this for free. This is a real effort that costs, time, sacrifice and money. We bring it to you because we believe in it. Plain and simple.
