Part of an ad campaign to encourage breastfeeding included the pic with the caption:
It's Normal
Children copy their mothers
Teenagers do it!
Celebrities do it!
The posters were part of National Breastfeeding Week in the children's ward at Rochdale Infirmary in Lancashire.
One woman who visited the ward told the Daily Mail that she finds it offensive:
The picture is shocking and it isn't normal.
Children copy their parents but I don't think any little girls should be breastfeeding their dolls.
Other visitors said they found the ads "disgusting" and on some boards, commenters even compared the image to something a pedophile would use to lure victims into other "grown-up" behavior.
So let me get this straight:
It was entirely normal for me to have a baby doll when I was a girl that "pooped" after I fed it.
It's also completely acceptable for kids to play with dolls that are bottle-fed.
But don't cross over that line into proper biology, folks.
Fine. Our baby girls don't actually need to know how to breastfeed until the time comes for them. But let's not stop them from immitating nature.
We can fawn over how cute they are, spooning food into a plastic face. But how dare we find this sweet play-acting adorable? Only pre-approved adult mimicry need apply.
And of course some critics are pointing to the ad as a source of guilt. Because, you know, a inanimate object can make you feel something. Bad poster! Stop pointing and laughing at me!
In other ridiculous British breastfeeding news, a woman was recently stopped from nursing her infant at a public pool due to their "No Food, No Drink" rule.
What; did the concession stand sell breastmilk and they didn't like the competition?!
After that incident sparked outrage among all people with common sense, the city apologized to the mother and made the rules a little more clear for their confused employees.
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