"Lactivists"

I told myself I wasn't going to start up a Law and Social Movements blog unless there was an interesting and relevant story in the New York Times the morning I got back. So what's on the opening web page of the on-line version of the NYT? A story about the Lactivists who mounted a protest at ABC because Barbara Walters apparently complained about seeing women who breast feed in public.

Lactivism has been storming the country. A group of women have targeted Starbucks, for example, where women are asked to nurse in the bathroom, and they've created a web site encouraging women to mobilize against the Coffee Behemoth. They have sponsored letter-writing campaigns, internet communities, and a great new form of protest -- the Nurse-In.

According to the article, six states have passed legislation permitting women to breast feed wherever they are. Here's the link to the article (registration required, only posted for 7 days).

For my purposes, I love this because it shows that people can be mobilized into activism from the frustrations they find in the most basic aspects of their daily lives. Lorig Charkoudian of NurseAtStarbucks.Com said: "We're all told that breast-feeding is the best, healthiest thing you can do for your child. And then we're made to feel ashamed to do it without being locked in our homes."

A paper topic for someone at the Baltimore meeting?