Apparently, new moms aren’t allowed to go to bars. One bar in DC called Little Miss Whiskey’s didn’t want to let 32-year-old mom Whitney Bakke into a bar after the bouncer searched her bag and found bottle breast milk this past Saturday.
According to a letter written by the mom’s friend, a DC attorney, the bouncer said:
“No disrespect for your condition. But this is a bar. Why would you bring that here? It’s weird.”
Mark Thorp, the owner of Little Miss Whiskey’s, denied that the bouncer said the statement quoted in the letter, calling the incident “a bizarre circumstance” in an emailed statement, and said because the DC Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration (ABRA) prohibits patrons from bringing in outside liquids, the bouncer had every right to turn Bakke away. Apparently, Thorpe offered to keep the breast milk behind the bar, but Bakke and her friends (who came to celebrate her birthday with her) decided to go elsewhere.
After PoPville published an article detailing the incident, Little Miss Whiskey’s tweeted the following (which, you know, isn’t incriminating or sexist or anything):
There are 2 sides to every story. Thank you for asking about ours. Nearly 7 years of no ABRA violations means strict rules.
— LittleMissWhiskey’s (@WhiskeysDC) April 4, 2016
No one was harassed. No outside liquids are permitted in the bar. When the manager offered to hold it behind that bar, we were denied — LittleMissWhiskey’s (@WhiskeysDC) April 4, 2016
Even worse, Thorpe wrote an email to PoPville editor Dan Silverman stating:
“Does anybody ever wonder why a bar should have to deal with the absurd issue of some woman trying to bring ‘breast milk’ into it in the first place?”
That quote alone illustrates the lack of acceptance and insight when it comes to women’s rights around breastfeeding…and just being a woman in general. For some reason, breastfeeding isn’t seen as natural. And according to the agreement between Little Miss Whiskey’s and its Advisory Neighborhood Commission, the business “agrees to ensure that no patron bring alcohol into the establishment from outside sources.” Exceptions, like breast milk are not spelled out, which means it’s definitely not a no.
Bakke said it best herself:
“This just shows how far we still have to go in educating the public about breastfeeding. It’s the most natural thing in the world. Theres nothing bizarre about it. I’m not trying to be any leader of the breast-milk movement. It was just a weird and surprising thing that happened to me.”
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