Rachel McAdams wore a breast pump on the cover of Girls. Girls. Girls. Magazine like it was a totally normal part of her designer look — because that’s exactly what breastfeeding is for many mothers like McAdams.
On Instagram, Claire Rothstein, the founder of Girls. Girls. Girls. Magazine, explained how the concept of the shoot came to fruition, and why it was so important for her to change people’s perceptions of breastfeeding. The shoot took place six months after McAdams gave birth to her son, "so between shots she was expressing/pumping as still breastfeeding," Rothstein wrote. They collectively decided they should try shooting her with the breast pump on.
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"Breastfeeding is the most normal thing in the world, like breathing, and I can’t for the life of me imagine why or how it is ever frowned upon or scared of," Rothstein wrote on Instagram. "I don’t even think it needs explaining, but just wanted to put this out there, as if it even changes one person’s perception of something so natural, so normal, so amazing then that’s great."
McAdams has been pretty private about her newborn son, but this very public display of motherhood didn't go unnoticed. When the photo was released on social media, people called McAdams a "true queen," and others said the pumping photo "warmed my heart." Some even said they had plans to frame the photo.
In a recent interview with the Sunday Times, McAdams described motherhood as the "greatest thing that's ever happened" to her. "[People say] your life is not your own anymore, but I had 39 years of me, I was sick of me," she told the Sunday Times. "I was so happy to put the focus on some other person."
The bottom line that this badass photo proves is that breastfeeding is part of life — part of the reason breasts exist are to feed babies, yet the act is still so stigmatised. Not to mention, breastfeeding can be a very difficult and frustrating process for lots of people, so it deserves to be applauded, not shamed.
While this glamorous photoshoot was intended to celebrate breastfeeding in a very high-brow way, Rothstein acknowledged that breastfeeding is not always so high-brow. "I did not look anywhere near as fabulous as this when feeding/pumping," she wrote. "And that’s ok too."