October 14, 2010

Dads in Spain Want Breast-Feeding Leave

Breastfeeding: What's A Dad Supposed to Do?

From ParentDish, a story about dads in Spain who want breast-feeding leave.

The Luxembourg high court has ruled that for the first 9 months of a baby’s life, dads can take 30-minute “breastfeeding leaves” during their work day, London’s Daily Telegraph reports.

That’s dumb enough but the reasoning is even more ridiculous.

“It’s not fair to extend breast-feeding benefits only to women,” says the European Union Court of Justice, calling it “unjustified discrimination on grounds of sex, ” the newspaper says.

Are you kidding me? Unfair? Discrimination?

Dads don’t breast-feed!

Am I missing something here? Did I provide milk to my children from my body? Did I huddle in the bathroom with a breast-pump? Did I have to explain to airport security that said breast-pump was not, in fact, a weapon of mass destruction?

This isn’t discrimination. It’s biology.

I think it’s great that women are being allowed to take time off to breast-feed their babies. I’m in favor of breast-feeding, I think it’s healthier for the kid, and so on.

But how can anyone say with a straight face that only offering this benefit to women is “discrimination”?

Discrimination is a woman being paid less for doing the same job as a man.

Apparently this ruling came in response to the existing law, which states that dad’s are allowed to ask for breast-feeding leave only if the mom works full-time. Which is pretty damn progressive, methinks.

And even though they call it “breast-feeding leave”, it is designed to allow the dad to spend time with the child. If that’s the case, why not call it that?

Breast-feeding is something that women choose to do. It’s not easy. It takes time and effort. Men can’t do it any more than we can give birth.

This is yet another case of men trying to get a piece of everything. We run the world, guys. Look around. Things really aren’t so bad for us. Let women have some benefits that we don’t have. It’ll be okay. Really. I promise.

The Milkmen Are Coming: In Spain, Breast-Feeding Leave Not Just for Women [ParentDish]

Full disclosure: Brett Singer writes for ParentDish and other AOL properties.

Breastfeeding: What’s A Dad Supposed to Do? image via Amazon


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