by Carolyn Robertson posted in Mom Stories

"I thought it was okay, I could understand the reasons.

They said, 'There might be a man or a nervous child seeing

this small piece of flesh that they weren't quite expecting.'

So I whispered and tiptoed with nervous discretion."
The opening lines to Hollie McNish's spoken word poem, Embarrassed, tell a story that will sound familiar to many moms.
The tone is uncertain, apologetic, anxious - in other words, it perfectly reflects the way breastfeeding mothers often feel when they have to feed their children in public.
Then somewhere along the way, as Hollie's words paint a picture of the double standard that still exists in society, of a world where "female breasts [are] banned, unless they're out just for show," that tone changes. Then it's not sorry, or scared. It becomes the voice of every mother who is fed up with nursing in cramped bathroom stalls. First released in 2013, Hollie's incredibly powerful poem has now been made into a short film, directed by Jake Dypka and released by BAFTA winning production company Independent Films.
It will give you chills.

Embarrassed - Directed by Jake Dypka. Featuring Hollie McNish

Posted by Independent Films on Monday, August 8, 2016

If the topic seems personal to Hollie, that's because it is. When she originally released the poem on YouTube, she wrote that it was inspired by her own experience.
"I wrote this poem in a public toilet after my 6 month old b...