Disclaimer: I don't agree with this view or support it at all.  I just want to offer an explanation as to why people reacted the way they did to that cover.  Here in the U.S. most adults (men & women) view breasts as sexual objects much like a woman's behind and not as a means of sustenance for babies.  If you proposed a question something like this, "What is the main function of a woman's breasts - a) a part of the body that is visually and sensually appealing or b) as a means of providing nutrition for infants?"  I would venture that a majority of people (more than 50%) would answer (a).

My mother was very open about things with myself and my siblings.  She encouraged me to choose breastfeeding when I fell pregnant (as you Aussies say) with my son.  If it wasn't for her support and growing up in a home where it was viewed as normal and natural, I likely would have decided to bottle-feed exclusively because of how we as a society view breastfeeding.  Izzy was wondering why people here don't react the same way to half-naked women on TV and other media.  My take on this is what I said above - that breasts have become sexual objects and so, most people don't really even conciously notice those images anymore, or if they do, it doesn't seem out of the ordinary.  But, that is not the same for breastfeeding.  I would say a majority of people here have not been very exposed to it and so they see it as out of the ordinary or abnormal.  To them, taking a sexual thing and showing a picture of a baby latched on, is disturbing.  I vehemently disagree with this and think breastfeeding is one of the most natural and beautiful things in this world (and not at all sexual). 

I think breastfeeding moms (and dads who support them) need to create a movement to educate people (maybe not on a large scale at first, but starting with person-to-person discussions) to change this.  I think the more people are exposed to breastfeeding in a good light, showing how beautiful and fulfilling it is, they will slowly be changed from thinking of it as dirty or abnormal.

You other U.S. moms feel free to disagree with me if you see it differently.  I'm interested to know if I'm the only American that sees it this way.

I have no idea why breastfeeding can be considered disgusting. I think it is beautiful and natural.

I find it odd that some of the people expressing disgust about a picture of a breastfeeding baby to be moms themselves. What about the scantily clad women on TV? on movies? No one finds that digusting, but yet something so natural is? What is happening to America?

I applaud this magazine for putting such a natural thing on the cover. There are talks of educating women of the benefits of breastfeeding yet apparently, there's no support.