Victoria's Secret Nurse In
We're always for spreading the word. Chrissy has given us the heads up on the a national nurse in on July 1. She writes:
I don't know if you've heard about this yet, but Victoria's Secret lately seems to have been on a campaign of harassment against nursing moms in their stores. To protest, there is going to be a nationwide nurse-in at their stores on July 1 at 1 pm. My family will be going to the Clackamas Town Center store, and there will also be nursing mamas at Lloyd Center, Washington Square and Tanasbourne VS stores. Come nurse with us, and make Victoria's Secret reconsider their mama-and-baby-unfriendly policies!
Contact Chrissy for more info.
I'm not nursing anymore, but if I were, I'm not sure I'd want to nurse at a store that didn't want me (to nurse) anyway.
Posted by: Cityslicker mom | June 28, 2006 at 11:25 PM
Is this true? I NURSE everywhere. I've NEVER been asked to stop but, then again, I have the LOOKs to kill if someone even came close to me.
Is there a link to this story??????
Posted by: tanyetta | June 29, 2006 at 12:29 AM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 29, 2006
“A Tale of Two Nursing Moms”
Racine, WI – This Saturday, two moms are organizing a nationwide nurse-in of the popular lingerie store, Victoria’s Secret. Prompted by run-ins with Victoria’s Secret employees, Rebecca Cook, of Burlington, WI and Jessie Chandler, of Quincy, MA have decided to do something about state and federal laws that do not protect nursing mothers.
On June 21, 2006, Rebecca Cook entered a Victoria’s Secret store with a friend to browse through the sales racks. While in the store, Mrs. Cook’s daughter wanted to nurse, so she went to the dressing room and asked for one. When a dressing room wasn’t available, she said that she’d sit out of the way and nurse her daughter, and was told that she wasn’t allowed to by a store employee, that she would have to use a restroom. After she refused to use a restroom to nurse her daughter, a dressing room opened up, and while she was in it, the two store employees were heard loudly discussing, right outside her dressing room, to make sure if there’s an occupied sign that the dressing room is truly occupied and to get customers in and out of the dressing rooms as soon as possible. Mrs. Cook left the dressing room because of their rudeness, nursing her daughter on her way out of the store. When she called to complain to the store manager, she was told that the employee probably asked her to nurse in the restroom because the sight of her breasts might offend a customer. Taking the complaint of the treatment by the store manager to the corporate customer service wasn’t any further help, because she was told that women are not allowed to try on clothing in the middle of the store, therefore they are not allowed to nurse in the middle of the sales floor.
In a similar incident, Jessie Chandler entered a Victoria’s Secret store on June 22, 2006 to browse the sales racks as well, after feeding her daughter. A saleswoman approached her to welcome her to Victoria’s Secret, and Mrs. Chandler asked to use a changing room. When asked by the sales associate if she was going to change her daughter’s diaper, Mrs. Chandler said that she was going to nurse her, to which the sales associate replied with giving directions to the bathroom outside the store. Mrs. Chandler refused to use the bathroom, and the attendant said that it was unsanitary for her to nurse in the dressing room because people change in them. When Mrs. Chandler called the store manager, she received an apology. Mrs. Chandler called Victoria’s Secret’s corporate office after hearing of Mrs. Cook’s experience with corporate’s customer service, and was told that Mrs. Chandler’s experience was an isolated experience and that she would have a letter of apology sent out to her.
This nurse-in is not about Victoria’s Secret’s lack of enforcing their company policy; the company only prompted the awareness for a need for state and federal protection for nursing mothers. The federal government has invested a lot of time and money into advertising about breastfeeding being the best nutrition for babies, but without federal protection, some moms might give up when they’re told that breast milk is dirty and unsanitary. To make those federal dollars most effective, we have to protect and educate; protect a mother’s right to nurse in public, and educate those that work with the public on the proper way to handle nursing in public and those that might complain about it.
“A Tale of Two Nursing Moms” seeks to bring recognition to the need for a federal law that protects a nursing mother's right to feed her baby anywhere that she and her baby would otherwise be allowed to be. We’re urging moms to go to their local Victoria’s Secret on July 1 at 1 pm to nurse their babies and be a part of this important movement.
Posted by: jj | June 29, 2006 at 07:10 AM
dangit - I don't have a baby to nurse yet!
I giggled out loud at the notion that the sight of a breast in Victoria's secret might offend someone. For heaven's sake.
Posted by: betsy | June 29, 2006 at 07:37 AM
This is my favorite part: "the sight of her breasts might offend a customer...."
Posted by: Blair | June 29, 2006 at 11:12 AM
I am pretty sure more boob is shown on the average VS commercial than I ever show while nursing! Witch covers more breast my child nursing or a diamond encrusted bra? Hmmm...
Posted by: emily | June 29, 2006 at 11:18 AM
I love how Victoria's Secret sells the sex, but then doesn't back it up by supporting mothers. I was bothered when I went to look for nursing bras and they didn't offer them. Nursing mothers don't fit their brand... that's why they don't want them in their stores.
Posted by: laura | June 29, 2006 at 01:02 PM
non nursing moms are invited to be there in support I assume. I'm not nursing, but i can give dirty looks at people who would shun it.
Posted by: Lisa | June 29, 2006 at 01:31 PM
"The sight of a breast might offend a customer." That is soooooooo laughable and outrageous coming from that particular store.
Posted by: Monica | June 29, 2006 at 03:43 PM
I second Betsy's sentiment!!! I was just walking by a VS last night and I was telling my friend that I always feel like VS is anti-pregnancy and anti-nursing, which is ironic because it's when a woman is most womanly, in my mind. This story supports my suspicion!! I always go on strike of shopping there during pg/nursing... I'll gladly do this about 3 and a half months hence :)
Posted by: Shetha | June 30, 2006 at 07:00 AM
Is this a genuine article????
My question is....why should or would a momma EVEN ASK to use the dressing room to nurse?
Just grab some bras, go in the dressing room and feed your baby! Why make an announcement? Why announce that you're going to feed your baby? Just do it. Whatever!
I am a b.feeding momma of a 20 month old and I've been known to just bust (no pun intended) it out anywhere but, that's just how I am. When I'm with my friends, they KNOW ME AND they know how I am. Most of the times they're like what??? he was just nursing, we thought he was sleeping! Well...yeah, ok....Also,
I NEVER NEVER EVER encourage any of my mommy friends to b.feed. They tell me they have problems, issues, etc..with b.feeding and I'll be the first to tell them that Similac is on sale all day long at Target! Get a bottle, Give the baby and bottle to daddy and go get some rest!!
But...that's just me. I go to the LLL meeting all the times and I am all for b.feeding, etc...BUT!!!! I NEVER ever ever will use my body or baby to make a point. I'm getting really really BORED with all this hey...let's go and pull our boombas out and show the world that we nurse! Yawn.
Ok, I sound a little bitter only because I've never gone through this and I do live in California where anything goes. *sigh*
Posted by: tanyetta | June 30, 2006 at 10:09 AM
THE ARTICLE SAID:
A saleswoman approached her to welcome her to Victoria’s Secret, and Mrs. Chandler asked to use a changing room. When asked by the sales associate if she was going to change her daughter’s diaper, Mrs. Chandler said that she was going to nurse her, to which the sales associate replied with giving directions to the bathroom outside the store. Mrs. Chandler refused to use the bathroom, and the attendant said that it was unsanitary for her to nurse in the dressing room because people change in them.
WHY DID MRS. CHANDLER EVEN ANNOUNCE ALL THIS??????? Just get some bras and do what you wanna do all up in the changing room. People shoplift in the changing rooms, do you think they 'ask' permission? Urrgh!!! what's going on??? Why would the saleswoman even ask WHAT the mom was going to do in the changing room?????????? It's a changing room, you can CHANGE a diaper, CHANGE your bra out for a NEW BRA, CHANGE your clothes out for a NEW OUTFIT. Ooops! sorry wrong post. LOL
Posted by: tanyetta | June 30, 2006 at 10:12 AM
I can understand your thoughts of not wanting to use your body or your baby to make a point, and that perhaps Mrs Chandler did not have to tell the salesperson what she was going to do in the dressing room...BUT if we all take the attitude of taking opportunities to bring the issue into awareness things will NEVER change!
I for one do not like VS very much anyway. As a well endowed woman, even while not nursing, I have never founf their bras to be very "supportive" shall we say. But this issue really takes the cake! In fact, I think that it really says it ALL about American culture. Those women on their commercials are practically nude...all thin and anorexic on top of that! And breastfeeding in their store is not acceptable! Our society has it all WRONG! my husband is European, and he thinks that a nursing woman is the essence of beauty..we have so many pictures of me and my baby and boobs from the first week...and they are simply precious! This would never stand in Europe...just this great ole US of A with its moral values! It is just downright BACKWARDS
Sorry...but the more I think about it, the more I steam. That's all!
Posted by: Rebecca | June 30, 2006 at 11:49 AM
Just for fun, I wrote VS a note on their website comments page:
I have just read about your company's terrible treatment of nursing women. Banning nursing mothers from your store is cruel to women and their babies. For over a decade, I have shopped with VS exclusively for undergarments, but no longer. I'm burning the VS bras, baby, and moving on! You have lost a once loyal shopper.
Here's the link to their contact page:
http://www2.victoriassecret.com/html/custsrvc/contact/
Posted by: Serena | June 30, 2006 at 01:28 PM
Did anyone go to the nurse-in today?
Posted by: Blair | July 01, 2006 at 07:11 PM
Tanyetta, in response to your above post, it is pretty rude to call thin women "anorexic." That's like calling all larger women "pigs."
Posted by: Nicole | October 15, 2006 at 06:42 PM
@Nicole--I didn't say the 'A' word. Please take a moment to look again. It was Rebecca.
Posted by: tanyetta | May 04, 2008 at 11:45 PM
As a thin woman, I find it highly offensive when someone is so hypocritical as to think it's ok to call thin women anorexics and expect larger women to be treated with dignity. What about treating ALL women with dignity?
Rebecca, you don't have to like VS or their policies but, please, refrain from insulting those of us who are thin in your vents against them.
Posted by: k | May 05, 2008 at 03:51 PM
k, your point about treating all women with dignity is well-taken... but I think it is also fair to recognize that VS helps to promote and fetishize a standard of beauty that excludes those of us who are average-size and larger, is unrealistic for most women, and helps perpetuate the distorted sense of self-image that is characteristic of those who are vulnerable to genuine clinical anorexia. Though I cannot speak for Rebecca, I had not understood her post as an intentional insult to all thin women.
Posted by: Tia | May 05, 2008 at 04:21 PM
I do recognize that VS promotes a certain ideal but that absolutely does not excuse Rebecca, and many others' attitude that it is ok to insult thin women (skinny is not a flattering term either and how many times have you heard someone use that term?) or to put them in the same category as anorexics.
I've been thin all of my life and I've been discriminated for it all of my life, starting in grade school, even by a teachers who called me Skinny Minnie.
I'm tired of the double standard. I've can't tell you how many times I've been told it's "different" (aka all right or that I should let it slide) to be nasty to thin women because "they are the lucky ones."
Lots of thin women work at it by eating healthy diets and exercise, so it's not all about "luck".
Although magazines portray thinness as a standard, thin people are now in the minority in this country and we do face difficulties because of it. We've been vanity-sized out of many brands because of it. My 60+ year old mother is regularly told to shop in the junior department because no one carries her size. While some might think that's a complement, my mother doesn't want to wear low-rise jeans and other teen-oriented styles. She's a grown woman and has the right to dress that way without spending an arm and a leg on European brands.
In addition, if you do find a store that carries your size, clothing for thin women is designed to accomodate unnaturally-sized breasts. Most surgically-unenhanced thin women are small-breasted but clothes are rarely designed for the "flat" anymore.
So, yes, those unrealistic standards of beauty (thin with big boobs) DO affect us. Unfortunately, we too often fall into the category of "ok to bash" because to some people we represent what places like VS portray.
If Rebecca didn't mean to insult thin women by lumping them into the same category as anorexics, perhaps it's because society has become so accepting of negative comments to and about thin women that it didn't occur to her (or you) that her statement would be insulting, which actually IMO, makes it even worse.
Posted by: k | May 05, 2008 at 06:29 PM
I personally don't mind the word fat, so other fat chicks are teribly offended by it. The same with "skinny", I have friend swho love being called skinny and others who'd cut ya. But I will say that in this society, no one aspires to be fat. Fat people earn less than their thinner counterparts. There are no posts from mamas wanting to stay fat after childbirth. Surveys say that most women would rather lose a limb than be considered "fat".
Thinness is desirable, fat is not in this part of the world.
Does that make it okay to hurt someone's feelings because they're thin? Hell no. But the societal bias the last 40 years has run against the fat chick. We can thank the fashion and diet industries for that.
Can't we all get along?
Posted by: ProtestMama | May 05, 2008 at 11:10 PM
k, are you really serious about bringing this up as an issue...? Some, but not all, "thin" women tend work at being thin (personal trainers, etc.) and are fairly comfortable with who they are. Seems the point of the post has been missed. No one is being nasty, just saying that places like VS are promoting some unrealistic images of women in our society while at the same time not supporting the notion of using our bodies to breast-feed (at least at the store that was discussed) our babies. Again, seems the point of the original post/nurse-in was missed.
Posted by: cm | May 06, 2008 at 09:32 AM
I didn't bring it up. My original comment followed 2 posts about the subject. One, was the offending post, lumping all thin women in with anorexics, and another calling her (actually the wrong person) on it.
It doesn't matter if some thin women are comfortable with who they are, that there's been societal bias against larger women, or if they work at being thin or it simply comes naturally.
If larger women want me to champion their cause and be respectful (and I always have), I expect the same courtesy. Trashing and burning me simply because I'm thin shows the same shallowness that is so often railed against and it's completely hypocritical.
Since all it takes is manners and being sensitive to the feelings of EVERYONE, I really don't feel that I'm asking too much, especially since those are things we should ALL do anyway.
And you're right, cm, this post was originally about nursing. Until Rebecca decided to make it something else.
Posted by: k | May 06, 2008 at 03:29 PM
it's articles like this and comments like these that make me so happy to be young, gorgeous, and skinny. (:
fatties take note, being thin is not and will never be "in". and as far as the bitch who whined about not being able to whip her titties out in public? shut the hell up. no one wants to see your nasty ass post-birth body feeding your ugly baby.
i'll never have kids, because i don't want to destroy my perfect figure and become "loose". duh, there's a reason why your husbands and boyfriends cheat on you after you give birth!
Posted by: kristin | August 19, 2009 at 05:42 PM
Kristin:
So obviously you have mommy issues. See a therapist. Don't take them out on random people over the internet. It's sad that your reading comprehension is so low. There was no "bitch whining about not being able to whip her titties out in public." There were women who were offended that they were not allowed to nurse in a private dressing room. As far as being young and gorgeous, I would say let's hope to God that's true. Because no one is falling in love with your personality.
Tanyetta:
That's a good idea about grabbing some bras. On the other hand, maybe the women in question didn't want the SA's knocking on the door asking "How's it working out? Can I get you another size?" I have, like the women above, been asked by sales associates if I am "going to change a diaper." I don't ask to use their dressing rooms; I just go in, if they're unlocked and available. I live in a breastfeeding rights state, so I'm definitely allowed. But sales associates do approach me with stupid questions all the time. Especially in places where they lock the dressing rooms. I've even been followed into a dressing room before when I've been carrying my son. So you don't need to "ask" to use a dressing room in order to be harassed. I'll try bringing in some merchandise next time.
Posted by: Courtney | November 08, 2009 at 06:46 AM
@Courtney!-Sorry for my delay in responding. I meant no harm against anyone with my comments. :-)
Posted by: tanyetta | November 29, 2009 at 10:07 PM