Washington: Conner Kendall was shocked when she saw a picture of her publicly breastfeeding her son in a restaurant, with a caption shaming her for not covering herself while feeding. “I understand feeding in public but could you at least cover your breast up?” the caption read. There has been a stigma around breastfeeding and like Kendall, many women have been bashed for feeding their babies publicly.
One woman has had enough. In a very unique move, Australian Betty Strachan has created a breastfeeding Barbie doll. The 28-year-old mother-of-two from Brisbane, Australia, started making custom dolls after having her own children, and seeing the effect toys had on young children, the Independent reported. Strachan, who has been repainting old barbie dolls as a hobby for the last four years, told the Huffington Post that the decision to create a breastfeeding doll came out of nowhere.
“I’m a member of a mothers’ group that’s comprised very lovely and supportive women,” she said. “I remember one day, I was drawing the new face on a Barbie doll, and she just seemed to be the embodiment of the entire group.” Her latest breastfeeding doll is called the “Mamas Worldwide Barbie.”
Through children playing with her diverse dolls, Strachan hopes to make some change in the world: “I realised it was something that should be available because, like most things that society deems unacceptable, educating children is the way to erase the stigma behind it,” she said. The breastfeeding doll isn’t Strachan’s first motherly creation. Earlier she had created pregnant Barbies.
