WATCH ABOVE: Indiana restaurant patron’s attempt to shame mother for breastfeeding in public results in a flood of support for the woman and her child. Caitlin Centner reports.
TORONTO – A recent social media attempt to shame an Indiana woman for breastfeeding her child in public has backfired in a very big way.
Dugger native Conner Kendall was feeding her son, Carter, at TGI Fridays just north of their home in Terre Haute when the photo was taken by, according to her, a man sitting nearby with his young daughter.
“I understand feeding in public, but could you at least cover your boob up?!” the unidentified person asked, trying to get opinions on the situation.
WATCH ABOVE: How should we treat breastfeeding moms in public?
Well, he certainly got what they asked for. The 20-year-old mother caught wind of the photo and posted her impassioned reaction on Facebook. It’s since been shared nearly 90,000 times at the time of this writing. Some reaction has been negative but the support she’s received has been overwhelming.
“It bothered me because I wasn’t hurting anybody and I wasn’t bothering him,” she told WTWO.
In her rant, Kendall mentioned that she contacted the individual wanting to know what gave him the right to shame her. She refused to give his name “because I’m not bashing like I was bashed.”
READ MORE: B.C. mom says she was shamed for breastfeeding on United Airlines flight
“As I was admiring how adorable your daughter was, you were posting pictures of me on Facebook and Instagram,” the post read.
“If he had been screaming because he was hungry then I would be a bad mom for not feeding my hungry child. I did not pump before leaving home, A-because my son does not like to take a bottle and B-because it is my right to feed him any way I see fit wherever I see fit.”
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TGI Fridays has come out publicly in support of her. “We support guests being able to breastfeed in our restaurants,” the restaurant chain said in a Twitter reply. “That goes for Conner & all times a mom is breastfeeding her child.”
But Kendall also realizes that the issue is much bigger than her single experience.
“You have given me a platform and a drive to advocate breastfeeding ferociously,” she added. “You’ve inspired me into a call of action. Rest assured, there will be action.”
The incident is similar to multiple Global News reports this year where women have been ‘called out’ for breastfeeding in public.
Watch above: A Saskatchewan mother, breastfeeding her child in a restaurant, says she was told to cover up. Wendy Winiewski asks her about the experience and finds out what the rules are.
READ MORE: Sask. mother speaks out after public shaming for breastfeeding
As for Kendall, she’s hoping that her experience can have a big impact and change the way society views what she calls “natural.”
“If we use the negative and take the concerns that are in the negatives and use them to educate the people that are using negative comments then I think we’ll get farther than if we’re loud and say I’m right, you’re wrong,” she added in an interview with NBC.
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