Wow: Rosie the Riveter Breastfeeding Tattoo

Breastfeeding is an intimate and personal act between mother and child, but the practice of nursing in public has sparked a bit of a social debate recently, with proud breastfeeding…

Breastfeeding is an intimate and personal act between mother and child, but the practice of nursing in public has sparked a bit of a social debate recently, with proud breastfeeding moms facing off against those who see nursing as something that should be done in private, away from “young children and perverts [who] don’t need to see this,” as one Facebook user writes on the Breastfeeding Mama Talk Facebook Page. But whatever side of the breastfeeding debate you fall on, you have to appreciate the lengths this particular mom went to to celebrate overcoming the struggles of breastfeeding, and the intimate bond between mother and child.

In a recent post on the Breastfeeding Mama Talk Facebook Page, one user shared a photo of her new breastfeeding-inspired tattoo, writing: “Had to share this with a group of ladies I knew would appreciate it! Got my ink done last night by the awesome Charline in Madison, WI. She designed exactly what I was hoping to capture in this image. Something special to celebrate overcoming struggles with breastfeeding.” In the image, a woman is shown breastfeeding her newborn while carrying a toddler on her back, in a rainbow-colored sling.

The breastfeeding tattoo was done by Charline Marcila of Spike-O-Matic Tattoo in Madison, Wisconsin, and it’s worth noting that the woman in the tattoo is portrayed as Rosie the Riveter, an iconic image representing the American women who worked in shipyards and factories during World War II, while their husbands were at war. Decades later, the Rosie the Riveter image still represents a certain can-do attitude among strong, resilient women, an attitude that the Breastfeeding Mama Talk group on Facebook has adopted for its own purposes.

With all the controversy that surrounds breastfeeding, and everything that goes along with it, this woman’s tattoo serves as a reminder to all of us of the physical and emotional struggles nursing mothers face on a daily basis – like being shamed for breastfeeding in public – and the effect it has on them and their families.

As expected, the photo of the breastfeeding tattoo has received plenty of comments on Facebook – both positive and negative – and has obviously resonated with other mothers, many of whom praised the proud mama for her “amazing” and “awesome” ink. In fact, one user even shared her own breastfeeding-inspired tattoo, which she says “symbolize[s] the bond me and my daughter have through breastfeeding.”