It was only two months ago that Victoria's Secret model Candice Swanepoel gave birth to her first child, but already the beauty has faced criticism over breastfeeding in public and its relation to her fashion career.
As a result, on Sunday evening the South African-born model took to Instagram to open up about the prejudice she's faced from fans who see her choice to breastfeed her son Anacã as a double standard with her topless modeling shots for high profile fashion magazines and campaigns.
In a black and white photo of her newborn son, Candice wrote:
'Many women today are shamed for breastfeeding in public, or even kicked out of public places for feeding their children.
Discussing the double standard of models who are models having to defend their right to breastfeed, she added:
'The world has been desensitized to the sexualization of the breast and to violence on tv...why should it be different when it comes to breastfeeding?' Swanepoel added, ultimately calling on her critics to educate themselves about the issue.
'Breastfeeding is not sexual it's natural- Those who feel it is wrong to feed your child in public need to get educated on the benefits breastfeeding has on mother and child and intern on society as a whole,' she concluded.
Swanepoel welcomed her son with fiancé Hermann Nicoli back in October, just one month after BFF and VS colleague Behati Prinsloo saw the arrival of her baby daughter, Dusty Rose.
The pair took a break from their annual Victoria's Secret fashion show duties earlier this month but wished their VS family all the best of luck for the show in Paris.
It's not anyone's place to judge another mother's breastfeeding experience nor how they portray their body.
Katie O'Malley is the Site Director on ELLE UK. On a daily basis you’ll find Katie managing all digital workflow, editing site, video and newsletter content, liaising with commercial and sales teams on new partnerships and deals (eg Nike, Tiffany & Co., Cartier etc), implementing new digital strategies and compiling in-depth data traffic, SEO and ecomm reports. In addition to appearing on the radio and on TV, as well as interviewing everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Rishi Sunak PM, Katie enjoys writing about lifestyle, culture, wellness, fitness, fashion, and more.
