by Amy Spangler
September 20, 2007

Bill Maher, the host of HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher, has taken the controversy over breastfeeding in public to new heights with the release of his New Rules. Key among them: “Don’t show me your tits.”

This particular rule was the result of a “nurse-in” following an incident involving a mother at an Applebee’s restaurant. The mother was asked not to leave but to cover up while breastfeeding, and, according to Maher, “The waitstaff got tired of hearing, I’ll have what that kid’s having.”

I’m guessing Maher borrowed that line from the movie When Harry Met Sally.

Sadly, Maher’s commentary didn’t stop there. He went on to describe breastfeeding a baby as an intimate act: “I don’t want to watch strangers performing intimate acts. At least not for free. It cheapens it. But breastfeeding activists—yes, breastfeeding activists, called ‘lactivists’—says this is a human right and appropriate everywhere, because it’s natural. Well, so is masturbating, but I generally don’t do that at Applebee’s. Not in the main dining area, anyway. Next thing, women will be wanting to give birth in the waterfall at the mall!”

Maher described mothers breastfeeding in public as “being too lazy to either plan ahead or cover up.” Then went on to add, “This isn’t really about women taking their breasts out in public, as much as I’d like it to be. It’s about how petty and parochial our causes have become, how activism has become narcissism. And, by the way, there is a place where breasts and food do go together. It’s called Hooters.”

Urban Mamas was among those outraged by Maher’s commentary (see Bill Maher: I Think I Hate You). As for me, I found his commentary to be both sad and sickening. Bill Maher is intelligent, articulate, and for the most part entertaining—an intellectual comic. Instead of using his high-profile position to advance social agendas that are neither petty or parochial, he chose to denigrate women by targeting those characteristics that make women unique—birth and breastfeeding—characteristics without which Maher (and his ancestors) would not be here today.

Maher succeeded only in showing his ignorance of parenting in general and breastfeeding in particular. I can only guess at his personal experience with breastfeeding or lack thereof.

It is time for everyone to GET OVER IT.

It is time for everyone to recognize that breasts are not just for sex—never have been, never will be.

It is time to recognize that breasts can be appreciated for their function as well as their form.

It is time for individuals like Maher to lead the way in establishing a culture where breastfeeding is seen for exactly what it is—the NORMAL way to feed a baby—ANYTIME, ANYWHERE.

The fact remains, Maher is an entertainer, and entertainers are paid to be controversial, knowing that controversy generates viewers, and viewers generate sponsors, and sponsors generate revenue. How ironic that the narcissistic, self-serving behavior Maher reportedly abhors is the very behavior he himself exhibits.

I think I’ll send him a Hooter Hider.