My boobs went (mini) viral ten years ago.
Well, not exactly my boobs but rather what I was doing with my boobs while in a pretty standard predicament: finding somewhere to pump breast milk (skip ahead to the reshare version HERE).
The catchier bit of the essay likely related to the event I had to navigate for this challenge – the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the classic “man’s world” tech-focused trade show. In 2016, the year of my mini-viral pumping post, CES put on a pretty good show of embodying the way tech heavily skews men/masculine, pushing all things women/feminine off the main trade show floor and into a weird side room. To say that the show was a hostile environment for pumping mothers is not an exaggeration. Another woman (who I met later) told me that, when she asked the same event organizers about a “Mother’s Room”, the response she received was: “This event is thought for professionals and not even kids are allowed to go inside the venue.” Ew. I figured since our booth was in an area for tech related to babies and mothers, maybe, just maybe, I might have some luck. Nope. Instead, when I asked an organizer on site where to pump, she (yes SHE, a mother herself) just looked at me and shrugged.
A lactivist was born that day…
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.