My niece saw a woman breast feeding in public and her reaction was less than enlightened. I have no problem with breast feeding in public, for two reasons. One, providing nourishment is the primary role of the breast. It is why mammals have breasts. Any secondary purpose is just that - secondary. Skin can provide sexual pleasure, but societies that insist on covering every bit of it are considered backward and even sexist. Two, it is unfair to women to make them cover what men can flaunt - even men no one wants to see. A breast is a secondary sexual characteristic - medical definition there - just like the beards and body hair men have. (Yes, I am advocating that women should be allowed to be topless in public.)
Of course, this hypocrisy isn't limited to the breast-feeding debate. Or even to breasts themselves. Our entire culture is obsessed with sex. Look at our advertising, our pop culture, even our Snobby Literature. (Read some Shakespeare. Damn!) But then look at our real life. Children are not allowed to have a penis or a vulva - they have cutesy names for those parts like "PeeBug" or "Lolly". We explain, in simple terms at first, how digestion and breathing work, but sex is taboo.
How many molested children could have been saved by the simple knowledge that these are ADULT actions, and therefore should not be done to or by kids? We teach them to report "Bobby punched me" or "Suzie stole my allowance", but not this violation. Because we don't want our children to know about sex. That's just plain stupid.
I am a prude. I think you should wait for marriage. I regret having had sex. That said, I also know that the sex I had did not kill me or even make me sick. What passes for Sex Ed in most schools is a lesson in biology followed by IF YOU HAVE SEX YOU WILL GET AIDS AND DIE. We don't teach Driver's Ed by screaming IF YOU DRIVE YOU WILL WRECK AND DIE. In every other area, we teach moderation and caution. This can be done with sex. It is not the job of the schools to teach morals or religion. If you don't want your child to have sex for moral or religious reasons, it is your job to teach them that.
I'm also a borderline nudist. But that's a whole 'nother blog.
