Poirot, I don't think I'd draw the line at a funeral either. At most the issue is about the appropriateness of having a baby in some situations and other than clear safety issues thats probably a balance between need and impact.

I'm still pondering issues in the intersection between this divergance and earlier diversions to the original topic.

How much should others (including broadly accepted community values) taste, values etc impact on an individuals freedom to choose how they act, dress etc. In the case of community values who gets to decide how much is people conforming to mostly imposed values compared to deeply help personal values?

Also pondering some of the side issues. If two drunk people choose to have sex and one regrets it later is that rape? If so how does it fit with the original question?

I'm wondering about what to me seem to be the mixed values, not sure I'm ready to try to articulate that yet.

R0bert

RObert,

"If two drunk people choose to have sex and one regrets it later is that rape?"

Not in my book it isn't.

Rape is the forcible over-powering of an individual for sex.

If the person agrees to have sex willingly, it isn't rape.(I'm talking here of consenting adults)

Someone "accusing" another of rape after the event merely because they regret the episode occurring, isn't about rape - it's about a false allegation.

Poirot, I've never seen specific legislation but it was fairly widely reported some time back the law could treat it as rape (with the male being the rapist).

The premise being that you can't give informed consent when drunk and its assumed that a male who is seriously drunk could not perform the act hence it becomes rape with the male the guilty party.

R0bert

Yes, RObert, I see what you're getting at.

Who knows?.

It seems to me that in places like Australia and Britain, many people imbibe alcohol merely to get drunk. It has a social role, but not in the same way that you might see in a Mediterranean cultures where alcohol is just one part of the whole event of eating, drinking and socialising, family, friends, etc.

If you create a society where people merely get off their faces as some sort of social crutch, isolated from broader social mechanisms which might mitigate a rush of hormones (and regretted consequences) then you're asking for trouble.

My take is that if women wish to woo men while intoxicated, and vice versa, then they should understand that they're are responsible for their actions - even in a situation where their decision-making abilities are impaired.

It's their choice to undertake such actions and it's their choice to make themselves drunk while embarking upon them

<the minute I put up my hand and defend a woman's right to nourish her baby by breast outside the confines of select areas, I'm painted a "feminist">

Unfair because the radical feminists have dumped on women's caring (and nourishing) choices for decades. Superwoman does not exist. But above all of that, it is completely normal and expected that women would go through numerous transitions in life. They will have children. There are very sound reasons and some of them have to do with leading a quality meaningful life, why women choose to devote their attention to their child/ren for spans of time.

Rest assured that it used to be so very ordinary and mundane for mothers to breastfeed in public areas that all of the seniors on this site would have been raised that way. It was so normal that many would probably not remember it especially for their siblings, unless they themselves were weaned to permit more milk supply. It was usual for (say) a two yr old to have a 'nip' to even things out for mum while managing the new babe on the block and prevents breast problems. But one day the newbie's need take over.

<Of the many mums I've known who start out breastfeeding, most only do it for a few months, often for the sheer convenience bottle-feeding provides in a world where they find themselves most days outside the house and in the public sphere>

The bottle isn't more convenient for many reasons. Clothes fashion is a problem (remember?). But the cause of the most inconvenience is the very simple reality that cities and 'burbs are not designed for people. Honestly, if you wanted to make life as difficult as possible for a parent you couldn't go past the modern shopping centre. If those who make a jolly good career from wearing their feminist badge could take some time out from feathering their own nests to do something about that.

onthebeach,

I found breastfeeding far more convenient myself than messing around with bottles and formulas. It's always there, ready, right temperature, etc...especially in the middle of the night!

So I agree with you on that one.

(and your final paragraph too, come to think of it :)