Hollywood has the perfect opportunity to positively represent a mother's choice to breastfeed, yet often TV and movies sexualize nursing or make it a laughing matter. While the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that mothers nurse their baby for the first six months of life at least, the industries that seem perfectly fine with wardrobe malfunctions and nipple slips seems to be having a harder time promoting breastfeeding.
Here are 15 examples of breastfeeding portrayed negatively on TV and in movies. Granted, there's humor attached to some of the situations, but a few of the images are just downright creepy and unnecessary. You decide: Did these clips go too far?
Image via HBO
Weeds
Warning. You cannot unsee what you just saw. Just the name of episode, "Suck and Spit," says it all. Nancy is out to dinner with Andy, and her breasts become so engorged that they're painful. When her breast pump fails her, Nancy begs Andy to relieve her and "suck and spit" the milk. What do you think the writers were going for when they crafted this scene?
Modern Family
Would Gloria, or anyone for that matter, ever answer the door with her baby attached to her boob? It gets even worse when Jay walks in and yells at the delivery man for looking at his wife's boobs, then proceeds to yell at Gloria for "doing it" in front of strangers.
Me, Myself & Irene
There's a scene in this movie where Jim Carrey breastfeeds from a woman who was nursing her baby on a bench. The scene was so distasteful that Carrey himself admitted to being embarrassed to shoot tit. He reportedly had to clear the set before they filmed it.
Roseanne
In an episode of Roseanne, Jackie is about to walk down the aisle when her baby starts crying. What's a mom to do? Nurse her son while saying her vows in her wedding dress. What do you think: Is this realistic or totally extreme?
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2 Broke Girls
Season two opens with a diner breastfeeding a son who is old enough to order his own meal. Max, Haan, and Earl are so taken by the sight that Caroline has to explain what the woman is doing. Max's off-color remarks jab at attachment parenting, furthering the stigma.
The Man Show
In the episode titled "Breast Feeding Juggies" from Adam Carolla and Jimmy Kimmel's The Man Show on Comedy Central*,* a character named Angelique is shown shooting people with her breast milk. Guess that's why the show was intended for "mature audiences"?
Game of Thrones
In what is meant to shock, 10-year-old Lino Facioli is seen sucking on his onscreen mom's breast. It's only a prosthetic, but does that make it any better?
Scrubs
In what is one of Scrubs's most unforgettable episodes, Dr. Cox is about to prescribe Percocet to a female patient when she refuses, saying she's still breastfeeding her son, who's at least 4 years old. Not one to keep his sarcastic comments to himself, he tells the child to get on his bike and go get some milk. While all of this is going on, Dr. Cox's sidekick physician, J.D., who is known for having daydreams on the show, can't stop himself from imagining the child as a teenager — still nursing.
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The Office
This show has taken several stabs at depicting breastfeeding. The first example could have actually had a positive message about providing more spaces for women to pump, but the show made a bit too much light of it. When a mom was breastfeeding in a meeting, Ryan complained that her nursing was distracting. It also caused Creed's so-called Creep O Meter to reach an all-time high. In a different episode*,* Dwight offers to express Pam's breast milk for her when she can't find her breast pump.
Sex & the City
In the beginning of season five, Miranda is still adjusting to being a mom. The "Anchors Away" episode shows Carrie outwardly distracted while talking to her friend, who is nursing baby Brady. But like any new mom, Miranda is just trying to navigate the parenting path, and you would think if anyone would be supportive, it would be a friend.
Nip/Tuck
When new mom Gina forgets her breast pump and her breasts become engorged, she asks her ex, Christian, to nurse them to provide relief. He unwillingly participates, then proceeds to spit out the milk. Imagine Christian's reaction later in the show when a waitress asks if he wants milk with his cake. Needless to say, he declines.
The Dictator
In this 2012 film Sacha Baron Cohen plays a childish, anti-Western president. In one scene, Cohen's character is presented with a harem of virgins. Not sure what to do with them, he decides to milk one of them!
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Yes, Dear
As main characters Greg and Kim are walking through a park, Greg is horrified that a mother is still breastfeeding her toddler. The couple discuss what the proper age is to stop nursing. Kim replies about a year, but that night Greg catches her nursing their own toddler. Kim confesses that she still nurses simply so she can have big bigger boobs! Alarmed, Greg seeks advice from his pal, Jimmy, on how to get his wife to stop breastfeeding. His answer? Dress like mommy and put a body under his shirt. Yikes!
The Hangover
Once again breastfeeding is sexually portrayed with the Hangover guys staring as Heather Graham's stripper character nurses her baby. They don't seem to know what to make of it, nor where to look for that matter.
Grown Ups
Yes, the benefits of breastfeeding are wonderful. But again, until what age? In this movie a 4-year-old nurses from his mother (Maria Bello) at a barbecue as the other partygoers awkwardly sit around and witness the event. Chris Rock shuffles a little to physically distance himself from Bello's character, clearly uncomfortable with the situation before him.
