Australian model Nicole Trunfio has got people talking with her photoshoot for lifestyle and fashion magazine Elle, as the cover of the worldwide publication depicts her breastfeeding her son Zion.
There has been a huge surge of support from the public recently regarding efforts to stop the shaming of women breastfeeding in public, and to bring an end to the completely natural act somehow being branded as sexual just because it requires the use of a nipple, a body part which is still regarded as taboo in our increasingly progressive society. Trunfio’s photoshoot for Elle Australia is indicative of the sway towards normalizing breastfeeding, and she was pleased with the results of the magazine cover, even though the end result serves as a reminder that we still have a long way to go until the female breast is no longer seen as a solely sexual body part.
In an Instagram post, Trunfio wrote: “There is nothing more powerful and beautiful than motherhood. The last thing I want to do is be controversial, so please take this for what it is, let us #normalizebreastfeeding.”
She continued: “There is nothing worse than a mother that is judged for feeding her hungry child in public. #weareonlyhuman I’m so proud of this cover and for what it’s stands for. I obviously don’t look like this while I am breastfeeding but this stands for all women out there, whether you breastfeed or not, we gave birth, we are women, we are mothers. Thank you to ELLE for being so bold and making such an encouraging, positive and healthy statement. #womenunite.”
Unfortunately, the front cover will be available to subscribers and not on newsstands, a damning indicator of how even when people are trying to break down the taboo of breastfeeding, they’re still limited to abiding by outdated censorship laws. Australia are notably strict when it comes to sexual content, and even though breastfeeding is quite clearly not a sexual act, the region requires the censorship of parts of the female anatomy even in magazines running features regarding health, sexual or otherwise.
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Therefore the magazine has instead been forced to opt for this image for its front cover, featuring Trunfio holding her baby whilst wearing a black dress.
Hopefully one day we’ll live in a society where the completely natural act of a mother feeding her baby doesn’t elicit any response other than “that’s cute.”
Photos: Elle Australia
