Share

Elle Australia sparks controversy with breastfeeding cover

Last year the internet went wild when actress Olivia Wilde shared an Instagram of herself breastfeeding her son, Otis, on set. At the time, many people agreed that the act of breastfeeding is beautiful and natural. They did, however, take issue with the fact that this 'act' should exist as is, but should not be 'shoved' in people's faces.

 

Sorry, say what now? Yes, so many people see this as unnatural. A practice that should be hidden and performed in secret or behind closed doors. To me, it's actually rather ironic that something that is part of nature is seen as so unnatural.

 

Elle Australia is responsible for the latest breastfeeding controversy as they recently featured model and mother, Nicole Trunfio on its June 2015 cover, breastfeeding her son, Zion Rain. 

 

According to The Huffington Post, the shoot was never intended to include images of the model breastfeeding. Trunfio simply took her son to set and when it was time for him to be fed, the creative team spotted the beautiful, candid moment. So, the creative team decided to recreate this moment for the cover.

 

Shortly after the cover, shot by Georges Antoni, was published, the internet trolls, naturally, came out accusing the model of sexualising and glamourising breastfeeding.

 

The model responded with an Instagram post, the caption read...

 

"There is nothing more powerful and beautiful than motherhood. The last thing I want to do is be controversial, so please take this for what it is, let us #normalizebreastfeeding there is nothing worse than a mother that is judged for feeding her hungry child in public. #weareonlyhuman I'm so proud of this cover and for what it's stands for. I obviously don't look like this while I am breastfeeding but this stands for all women out there, whether you breastfeed or not, we gave birth, we are women, we are mothers. Thank you to ELLE for being so bold and making such an encouraging, positive and healthy statement. #womenunite".


Luckily, a lot of people saw this picture for what it was: a step towards normalising breastfeeding.

 



 

What do you think?

 

Featuring a woman, breastfeeding her child on the cover, was...

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE