In May of 2012, Time Magazine released a cover photographed by Martin Schoeller depicting Los Angeles mother Jamie Lynne Grumet breast feeding her 3 year old son in relation to an article about attachment parenting. The image immediately sparked controversy and debate among parents and non-parents alike over the partial nudity, the young (but perhaps not young enough) child, the strange pose and the practice of attachment parenting in general.
When prompted about the reason behind the pose, photographer Martin Schoeller stated that he “liked the idea of having the kids standing up to underline the point that this was an uncommon situation.”
http://lightbox.time.com/2012/05/10/parenting/#1
Does this image make you uncomfortable? Why or why not? Many critics argue that this photo shows a less motherly and more sexualized view of the woman, creating awkwardness in regard to the three year old son breast feeding at her side. Does this criticism reflect over-sexualiztion of females in our society? Do you think this portrayal of an “uncommon situation” was intended to shock people?
The Visual Past 
I think the point of this article was to spark some sort of controversy and it totally did. People’s response to the magazine cover is a clear indicator of their response to the question on the cover as well. Society claims this cover is inappropriate; however, it depicts a complete natural process.
I do feel uncomfortable when looking at the picture but I guess the picture is meant to make viewers uncomfortable. The straightforwardness of the picture made it a completely visual shock and I think it did a great job on raising people’s attention or awareness.
I believe that this image was intended to shock people based off of the pose the child and mother are in. Not only is it unnatural to be breast feeding a three year old boy, but having him stand on the chair is not normal. This image shows that when someone goes against society’s idea of the norm, even if it is a natural process, there will still be backlash. I think this picture was proving a point to the world that we are all conformists following our very biased idea of what is right. I did not realize this until I recognized my first reaction to the picture was feeling uncomfortable.