WASHINGTON (WKOW) – An assistant anthropology professor at American University in Washington, D.C. is sparking controversy after she breastfed her daughter during a class she was teaching.
On August 25, Adrienne Pine's one-year-old daughter Lee woke up with a fever. Pine says her daycare doesn't accept sick children, so she couldn't take her that day. Pine says she decided to take Lee to class with her after a friend encouraged her daughter with her to class and use it as a "teachable moment."
When Lee started to fuss during class, Pine breastfed her and continued teaching.
A student complained about the behavior on Twitter saying, "Sex, gender, and culture professor, total feminist, walks in with her baby, midway through class breast feeding time #wtf."
On September 5, Pine explained why she chose to breast feed her baby in a blog titled, "Exposéing My Breasts on the Internet." She writes that she fed her sick baby during "feminist anthropology class without disrupting the lecture so as to not have to cancel the first day of class."
Many students say they were not offended by Pine breastfeeding her baby in the classroom because she told them she was about to do it and they thought she handled it in a professional way.
American University issued a statement, saying they "support faculty and staff as they face challenges of work life balance," but disagree with Pine's blog posting.
"AU does not agree with Counterpunch blog post," the statement read. "The views expressed in the blog were those of the faculty member."
