Breastfeeding mum has the best response to being told to 'cover up'

Ha! Melanie Dudley, 34, was nursing at a restaurant in Cabo San Lucas when a man told her to cover herself - but he didn't say what, exactly, to cover. Photo / Facebook

When a stranger approached a breastfeeding mother in a restaurant last month and demanded she cover up, he presumably meant that she cover her breast.

But that's not what the witty woman from Austin, Texas did.

Clearly annoyed by the pushy request, Melanie Dudley, 34, decided to deliberately misunderstand, and threw a blanket on top of her head and face, the Daily Mail reports.

Carol Lockwood from Honolulu, Hawaii posted the image on Facebook on July 31, and it has since gone viral.

She wrote that the Melanie "was told to 'cover up' while feeding her baby, so she did".

"I've never met her, but I think she's AWESOME!!! I'm SO over people shaming women for nursing," she added.

Carol went on to explain that it was a man who told the mother to cover up, even though it was 32 degrees and humid outside.

"And, no, she wasn't in a Muslim country disrespecting traditions," she added.

In the picture, Melanie is sitting outside at a half-empty restaurant. Her four-month-old baby is nursing, while one of her four-year-old twins is on a seat nearby.

The woman sits with the blanket plopped on her head, covering her face — and clearly making her point.

"I was on vacation in Cabo San Lucas with my entire family and a man asked me to cover myself," she explained in an interview with Yahoo. "I'm usually discreet but we were seated in the back of the restaurant."

The post has since been shared over 180,000 times, and thousands of people have left comments.

A friend’s daughter-in-law was told to “cover up” while feeding her baby, so she did!🤣 I’ve never met her, but I think...

Posted by Carol Lockwood on Monday, 30 July 2018

"Good for her and the baby. She should have told the man who asked her to cover up, to grow up... that is what breasts are for..!" wrote one man.

Added another: "You sure don't see them telling women in bathing suits with a string up there butts to cover up and because it was feeding a baby they thought it was wrong, but yet men will go to bars and pay to see strippers and women's breast."

"Fabulous good for her and shame on him," added a woman, while another said: "With everything else going on in the world today, this is what people are offended by?? Really??

"The most natural thing since the dawn of time and this is what people want to argue about!?! Well I guess they will have to get over it because there are laws in place to protect what God intended for a mother to do for her child!"

While many left words of support, though, the picture certainly sparked debate as well, with some critics calling for more "discretion".

"Feed your baby's anytime anyplace yes," wrote one man. "But no one thinks this is a little indecent? You lady's don't walk around topples no matter what the temperature is do you?"

"Breastfeed yes, but do it with some discretion," added a woman. "In the 70's I always draped a blanket over my breast for privacy. I didn't need everyone to see what I was doing. It really was a private interaction between the baby and me, sometimes necessary in public. Discretion."

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