Strolling around London over the weekend, you might have been confronted by the sight of a colossal inflatable boob perched high up on the city’s rooftops.
No doubt a few giggles and blushes were shared at this surprising spectacle, but these mountainous breasts also served a very important purpose indeed.
Complete with realistic areolas, the boobs were displayed around the Shoreditch area in celebration of mother’s day, with the hope of tackling outdated social stigmas surrounding public breastfeeding and pumping.
The boobs were installed by Elvie, a tech company which enhances women’s lives through innovative technology. The giant breats were created as part of Elvie’s #FreeTheFeed campaign, which aims to help women feel safe, empowered and comfortable while breastfeeding in public.
According the the Elvie website:
Every woman has the right to decide how and where they feed their children without feeling guilty or embarrassed about their parenting choices.
#FreeTheFeed is an invitation to stand with all those women that have felt shamed or confined when breastfeeding or pumping.
We want to empower women to feel safe and comfortable breastfeeding or pumping in public and encourage the British public to support them breastfeeding in public.
Each boob is different to represent the diversity of women’s bodies.
The bosoms – which are between three and six metres in height – can be found at Village Underground, The Old Truman Brewery and Huntingdon Industrial Estate as well as 49 Columbia Road and 55 Columbia Road.
As reported by Metro, Elvie CEO Tania Boler said:
The #FreetheFeed campaign is an invitation to everyone to stand with all those women that have felt shamed or confined when breastfeeding or pumping.
We know the giant boobs will raise a few eyebrows, but we want to make sure no one overlooks the way that this stigma has been used to repress women.
And quite right too. Boobs are amazingly clever parts of the human body, capable of nurturing and comforting tiny, vulnerable humans right through the first precious months of their lives.
It is absolutely ridiculous in this day and age that people are still squeamish about the sight of a breastfeeding mother in public, as if she should have to hide the fact that she is helping to nourish and protect a life that she created.
Milk producing boobs – and the miraculous, marvelous women attached to them – should be supported and celebrated, not shamed and crammed into dingy, smelly toilet cubicles.
Well done to Elvie for bringing these magnificent melons to the capital. Hopefully this will make people think twice before being such big babies about public breastfeeding!
You too can share your support for this campaign using #freethefeed.
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Jules studied English Literature with Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning her masters in International Relations at Leiden University in The Netherlands (Hoi!). She then trained as a journalist through News Associates in Manchester. Jules has previously worked as a mental health blogger, copywriter and freelancer for various publications.