Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
LACMA Security Guard Unleashes Sh*tstorm by Asking Breastfeeding Mom to Cover Up
Well, L.A., the breastfeeding wars have finally landed on our soil.
It began innocently enough. On the afternoon of May 5, Katie Jane Hamilton, a young mom from Redondo Beach, was visiting LACMA with her family when she realized it was time for her 21-month-old daughter to nap. She began nursing the child to sleep -- and that's when, she says, a female security guard walked up to her and asked her to cover up.
According to Hamilton's Facebook page -- to which she has taken to tell her story and rally the mommy-troops -- she informed the guard that it was her right to breastfeed in public. The guard repeated the request, saying, "Listen, a couple complained, so you need to cover up."
Hamilton asserts that she responded as follows:
Support for LAist comes from
"You listen, Ofelia [the guard's name was allegedly Ofelia], you don't know who you are talking to here, I will have 100+ mothers here next week to protest."
Ofelia left, but Hamilton was undeterred. She asked to speak to Ofelia's supervisor, then headed to an information booth with her qualm, where she says she was offered a conciliatory coffee table book and asked nicely to not stage a nurse-in.
LACMA, meanwhile, has said from the get-go that the employee in question made a mistake. Hamilton herself says that when she spoke to Ofelia's supervisor, he politely informed her that employees weren't really told how to deal with breastfeeding moms. And on Facebook, LACMA issued the following statement to Hamilton:
On behalf of LACMA, I want to take this opportunity to apologize for your experience this weekend. Our policy when it comes to breastfeeding (and everything else) is absolutely to follow the letter of the law. The request made to you by our guard was the mistake of an individual who was ill-informed—it was not reflective of our institutional policy or family-friendly values.
That being said, it is my job to make sure our staff are properly informed, so we are talking to all of our guards and staff today to make sure they understand the law—and how very much we value our visiting families.
And her supporters are ready to whip out their teats to send LACMA a message. One suggests "A nursing flash-mob! All over the city :-)"
Another well-wisher writes "good for you for bringing attention to the rights of babies to get nourished when they need to!"
Support for LAist comes from
Maybe LACMA should consider embracing the coming protest. After all, a huge public nurse-in would be kind of like...performance art.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity. -
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
With California voters facing a decision on redistricting this November, Surf City is poised to join the brewing battle over Congressional voting districts.
-
The drug dealer, the last of five defendants to plead guilty to federal charges linked to the 'Friends' actor’s death, will face a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison.
-
The weather’s been a little different lately, with humidity, isolated rain and wind gusts throughout much of Southern California. What’s causing the late-summer bout of gray?
-
Hexavalent chromium is the same carcinogen Erin Brockovich warned about in the 1990s, but researchers say more study is needed on the potential health effects of nanoparticles detected earlier this year. Experts will answer questions at a webinar this evening.
Best of LAist