You all remember the rapper made famous in the on-line mommy world for posting a photo of himself washing his wife’s pump parts after a concert, “If you ever wonder what #rappers do when they get off stage, they clean breast pumps for their wives so their baby can eat. #thuglife.” Well, his name is George Moss and since he is such a badass I set out to talk to him about how breastfeeding works in his family.
Mr. Moss is a kind and humble man who was a joy to talk to. We began talking about how his innocent post-turned-viral-internet-content has meant so much to breastfeeding families. I told him I suspected it has been so popular because you don’t often see images of fathers supporting their wives in her breastfeeding journey. I have been surprised in my few years in the social media world to hear just how many partners are unsupportive. I asked him how else he supports his wife, Michelle, and son, Judah, in their breastfeeding relationship. Mr. Moss said he has never thought about it in those terms. He said, “I support my wife.” He said he doesn’t really see breastfeeding as separate from anything else in their relationship, “I support my wife, she supports me, I support my child. I love them. I just support my family.”
Mr. Moss says that neither he nor his wife were breastfed and he did not grow up seeing family members breastfeeding. He says that he and his wife have tried to live a health-conscious life and did a lot of research about breastfeeding before Judah arrived. They decided that breastfeeding was the best choice for their family.
As we know so well breastfeeding doesn’t always come easy and Mr. Moss says that Michelle had her own struggles getting started. Issues with latching, sore and cracked nipples and needing a nipple shield were all obstacles to finding their rhythm. Mr. Moss says that giving up was never an option. I asked how they were able to overcome these issues and he said they just saw it as part of the adjustment to a new baby, hurdles to jump over on their way to success. Inspired much?!
Mr. Moss says that he doesn’t always bring his family on the road, that he usually travels alone when he performs. Plane tickets are expensive he says, “I’m not Jay-Z!” He says his family and friends are supportive of their breastfeeding relationship and he has never had a negative comment or negative experience. Even nursing in public has always been positive.
We then talked about breastfeeding in the African American community. I asked if he was aware that this community has some of the lowest breastfeeding rates in the country and if there is anything in his perspective that we could do to help that. Mr. Moss said that he cannot be the voice of the entire African American community or a breastfeeding spokesperson, but that he feels strongly that people’s individual situations need to be accounted for. He says we cannot find answers to these problems by focusing on just one aspect. He relates breastfeeding support in the African American community to a whole host of issues that this community faces such as the disproportionate number of African American males in the prison system. Mr. Moss says, “There is a long bunny trail of issues that surround African American males being supportive of their wives. So we have to ask why are there so many African American males in prison. Why are there so many fatherless homes? When there is a single mother, how can she possibly be able to have the time to breast feed, while a whole host of other pressures are on her shoulders. What about the little boy that she’s raising without a father? Who’s father probably grew up without a father…. The issue runs EXTREMELY DEEP stemming from many many generations of other very complex issues. Breast feeding and single motherhood are only two of many.”
Mr. Moss says his recent social media attention has been intensely emotional for him. After his initial post about washing pump parts went viral he posted again. This time a photo of his wife breastfeeding. In the post he expressed his adoration of his wife and all the breastfeeding moms. He says that along with the overwhelming amount of positivity that he received, he also received some feedback that his posts hurt some people’s feelings, made them feel that he was placing breastfeeding mothers as superior to bottle feeding mothers. He posted an apology and then an explanation on why he posted that apology. Mr. Moss has made it crystal clear that he is not apologizing for expressing the pride he has for his family, simply that he is sorry some felt hurt by his words. Mr. Moss says during this recent burst in media attention he has seen just how terrible we can be at empathizing with others. He says he hopes people can get better at seeing things from other people’s perspectives and understanding that each of us has our own journey.
Since you certainly want to follow Mr. Moss now be sure to connect with him at www.g-moss.com, Youtube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Check out his summer tour dates here!
And this just got added to my jogging playlist.
