This morning while taking my run I was listening to “Natty Dread” by Bob Marley and it got me thinking about my stance on breastfeeding in public. Bob can have a transforming effect on people, you know, especially when he chants lines like, “Don’t care what the world say. I’n'I couldn’t never go astray.”

Then I came home and shared my latest blog posts with my dear husband who looked at both sides of the breastfeeding in public debate (he’s a Libra) and told me I was being unreasonable and was dead wrong on the issue. And so on that note, I concede defeat, although I feel like Oda Mae Brown when she had to hand over the 4 million dollar check to the nuns in Ghost. I’m smiling through clinched teeth.

My husband reminded me that while I personally didn’t want to breastfeed openly in public, there are other moms who do and their harassers shouldn’t be applauded. I have to remember that.

Like it or not, as is customary with all “isms” in the world, a wide range of diverse viewpoints and highly controversial perspectives are inherently active and present in lactivism. While I author a blog about breastfeeding, I’ve never considered myself a lactivist, just like I don’t consider myself a feminist, or any other “ist” for that matter. I am simply an opinionated mom with a blog who happens to champion the cause of breastfeeding for black mothers. If my self-imposed definition qualifies me as a lactivist of sorts, I’m not entirely sure. But, I do know that I prefer not to box myself in with labels.

Of late I’ve been writing about breastfeeding in public because it remains one of the highly contested and most discussed topics among nursing mothers and breastfeeding advocates. In truth, breastfeeding in public is an issue that begs for attention and cannot be easily ignored. And so when a celeb brings the issue to the forefront as dramatically as Maggie Gyllenhaal did last week, I cannot help but chime in with my two cents.

Like I have iterated before, I believe nursing moms should show modesty when breastfeeding in public. In my opinion, saying this does not make me a traitor to the cause, nor does it, by default, make breastfeeding seem any less natural or right because a mother decides to cover up. And I also do not believe I am being double minded because I espouse breastfeeding to be “a beautiful thing”, while also advocating that moms show respect for everyone including those who may be offended by a nursing infant. I think the topic of breastfeeding in public can easily be remedied by open-minded people on both sides of the fence where people can go about their daily lives without being offended by breastfeeding and infants can still nurse in peace while out on the town with mommy. I truly believe there is a happy middle ground somewhere where every one wins. Idealistic? Probably. Impractical? Possibly. Doable? Yes, with a lot of work.

To be sure, breastfeeding is a natural act, but we must ask ourselves do we live in a culture where being “natural” equals automatic acceptance. I am a big fan of modesty in all aspects of a woman’s life from breastfeeding moms to teenage girls who think showing too much cleavage is cool.

That said, I wholeheartedly disagree that mothers should show an entire breast while nursing in public. That is so unbelievable to me! Perhaps my opinion is too consistent with most black mothers, who in breastfeeding studies, show more reluctance for breastfeeding in public. I also maintain that if, hypothetically, breastfeeding in public with full breasts showing was an accepted practice in America, black mothers would be subject to a strict double standard. Can you image a picture of a black mother breastfeeding in New York City with her entire breast out? I can already hear the chatter on the all-too-brutal blogosphere: “Go back to Africa!”…”This isn’t National Geographic!”… “Show some respect!”. Although unfortunate, I know without a doubt this would happen.

Although I am in the minority among breastfeeding advocates about this issue, I cannot help but voice my perspective. Although it feels this way, surely I am not the only person who echoes these sentiments.