Have you ever seen a woman breastfeeding her baby openly in public?
In any western liberal progressive societies such as New York, it’s not uncommon to see that, and I certainly have. But breastfeeding in public is not without controversy even in America. There are still staunch opponents of such a practice, some even going so far as to calling it a sexually provocative private act that belongs only at home. With that in mind, I was in for a shock when I was in Beijing last month.
Anyone who’s taken the Beijing subway during rush hour knows, it’s near impossible to get a seat. You’d be lucky just to get in and find yourself standing squeezed like a ham sandwich with men, women and children surrounding you on all sides. Therefore, I was in double shock one afternoon when I jumped onto the No. 2 train, found a spot to stand amidst the crowd, and discovered a young mother quietly breastfeeding her baby.
“Wow…amazing!” I mumbled to myself.
I was amazed not only by her breastfeeding on the jam-packed Beijing subway train, but also by how completely nonchalant and oblivious everyone was to her nursing – except for one man.
“Aye, did he have enough?” an elderly man asked with a warm grin in a thick Beijing accent.
His child? His grandchild? I was wondering.
“No…not yet. Look at him, hungry boy,” the nursing mom burst out loud while gently stroking the baby’s bald head with a blissful smile.
As I watched the sweet interaction between this elderly man and the loving mother, I suddenly realize how truly incredible this family is. They managed to carve an intimate private space for themselves in a completely open, public and crowded Beijing subway train. I was blown away. I admire their au naturel, no non-sense approach to breastfeeding, without regard to their surroundings or public stares (there were none). And I also admire Beijingers’ cool attitude – breastfeeding in public there was no big deal. Suddenly, Beijing felt like an open, post-modern family – no matter how crowded the subway with complete strangers.你曾经在地铁站见过妇女母乳喂养孩子的么？
在任何西方自由进步的社会中，例如纽约, 这都是正常的现象，我也曾看到过。但是在公共场合这样做，即使在美国，也是充满了争议。这样的做法充满了反对者，甚至很多人质疑这应该只是在家里才能做的具有性挑逗意义的行为。考虑到这一点，我上个月在北京地铁站还是受到了很大的冲击。
任何经历过北京地铁上下班高峰期的人都应该知道，你几乎是注定找不到座位的。你能进入地铁，并发现你只是像三明治里的火腿一样被各种男人女人小孩夹着就应该感到幸运了。在某个下午我登上2号线地铁，看到一位年轻的妈妈安静的母乳喂养她的孩子的时候，我还是被双倍的震惊了。
“哇……太神奇了！”我小声对自己说。
我很惊讶她在挤满了人的北京地铁列车里哺乳，也惊讶于旁人无动于衷的表情—除了一个人。
“哎，他吃饱了么？”一位老者充满微笑的，用带着浓重北京腔的语气问。
他的孩子？他的孙子？我不知道。
“不…还没有，看看他，这孩子饿坏了。”哺乳的妈妈大声的说，同时轻轻的抚摸宝宝光光的小头，带着幸福的笑容。
当我看到这个老人和这个慈爱的母亲之间的亲密互动，我突然意思到，这个家庭是如此的让人难以置信。他们为自己在一个完全开放的，公共的拥挤的北京地铁列车里开辟了一片私人空间。我如同在风中一样凌乱了。我佩服他们的自然，脱俗的母乳喂养的举动，完全不考虑周围环境的情况（当然要说周围环境也很牵强，因为实在太挤了）。我也非常佩服北京人的冷静的态度 – 在公共场所母乳喂养没有什么大不了的。突然，北京就感觉像一个开放的，后现代的家庭 — 无论这地铁里是否挤满了素昧平生的陌生人。