This Sucks film addresses the public breastfeeding prejudice head-on

“A month ago I read a news story about a woman being asked to leave a restaurant because she was breastfeeding, which is total bullshit,” says director Jon Lawton, of his new film This Sucks, released during World Breastfeeding Week. “Every week there was another story: New York, Australia, Japan, even a London bus. Despite it being illegal to prevent a woman from breastfeeding in public, many women still feel embarrassed, judged, and are being told to cover up or worse, leave.”

Aiming to address this prejudice head-on, Jon – a father, and creative director at Stink Studios – set out to make a film highlighting the issue by comparing images of a child breastfeeding with grown people feeding. “Have you seen people eating? It’s disgusting,” he says. “All lips, sauce and gob. Babies feeding, by comparison, is the most elegant form of the act.” The brazen short film shows footage of a mother feeding her baby, serene and strong, spliced with slow-mo shots of adults eating chicken wings, kebabs and burgers in repulsive close-ups.

“It shows the truth and demands a reassessment, shining a spotlight on the insanity and stupidity of how such a pure act can cause such ridiculous offence to others,” says Jon.

This Sucks is brilliantly soundtracked by Peaches’ F*** The Pain Away, conveying empowerment. “The Peaches post-punk track was just perfect,” says Jon, “loud, proud, with a fuck-you attitude. Mothers should be able to feed anywhere, it’s a legal right. If one mother feels more comfortable to feed in public having seen the film then that’s a good thing.”