It happened again. A woman has been, yet again, publicly shamed for breastfeeding in public. This time, she was in the lingerie section of Dillard’s, which makes it doubly ironic.
New mom Wittney Hale was told by a Dillard’s employee that she was not permitted to breastfeed in the store–and that she had to go to the restroom to do so. The 23-year-old wrote about the situation on Dillard’s Facebook page:
“This afternoon while shopping in your store, my daughter got really fussy. I searched for a quiet secluded area to nurse my child. When I found a place, I asked if it was okay for her to eat here. The employee at customer service nodded.
She told me I would need to go to the restroom. I was completely shocked, as I have never had anyone comment on me breastfeeding in the whole 18 months I have been nursing, yet alone, [by] another woman, possibly a mother herself.
I’m sure my hungry child would understand that we have to take a journey to somewhere more secluded where she can eat… NOT. Why is it acceptable for a giant picture of boobs to be on the wall, but I cannot feed my child?”
After speaking with the manager and filing a complaint, Hale noticed a photo of a woman’s breasts on the wall as part of an ad for bras while she was leaving the store. As of now, the post has gone viral–receiving 4.5K reactions and has been shared over 2,000 times.
After this, Dillard’s did issue an apology to Hale in a comment on her post:
“Dillard’s strives to create a pleasing and comfortable shopping experience for all our guests at all times. Accordingly, we respect the right of mothers to nurse their children wherever they feel comfortable in doing so. Upon becoming aware of this situation, our store manager immediately reached out to our customer and apologized. Our associates have been reminded of our breastfeeding policy.”
Hale has since replied with the perfect response:
“I think it’s safe to say no mom will ever be asked to nurse in the restroom in Hamilton Place mall again.”
Preach.
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