I thought and thought about this cover. Why did I want to defend it? why did it make me so angry?, what was the purpose of making such a huge group of people upset?
The part that got me was I honestly felt that the cover did not really match the inside article. The article wasn't that bad, not something I would personally use for any sort of research when it comes to parenting, but not a bad read. Most sensational writing should be taken with a grain of salt, I feel this way about a lot of things you read in magazines. They are not books.
I found it kind of sad that this cover is forever going to be a label of attachment patenting. I don't feel it represents any of it, with the exception being extended breastfeeding.
I practice a lot of attachment parenting methods, not because I feel the need to be labeled as one thing or another, but because I simply enjoy them for my family. It's what works for me, for my family. What works for one family does not work for the next and so on. We all need to support each other during this trying journey as parents, not knock each other down. It's not a race, there should be no competition.
The Time cover does show a woman breastfeeding, that's great! Unfortunately it does it in a way that makes women who do not breastfeed, or women who do not breastfeed to a specific age feel inferior. This is not what the breastfeeding community should be doing. Period. Not to mention the position in which she is breastfeeding...
The positives of this cover are that it gets people talking, thinking, perhaps even strengthening their own ideals. That, to me is a good thing. I also do believe that our society needs to be more exposed to breastfeeding, and less upset about seeing a boob. The negatives of this cover, sadly, are too many to list.
The whole point of my post today is to Mom's everywhere, you are more then mom enough, you need not pay any attention to a sensational magazine cover; they just want your money.
