Stacey Armato has cause to celebrate today after four years of going toe-to-toe with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) over her refusal to allowbottles of pumped breast milk be put through the X-ray. The mom of a then-7-month-old son was traveling from Phoenix to L.A. in 2010 when she was stopped at a security checkpoint at Sky Harbor International Airport. She was told she could either dump her breast milk or put it through the X-ray. When she refused to do either, she was detained in a glass enclosure and forced to miss her flight, even after she pointed out that she should be offered alternatives.
As a result of the incident Armato described as "abusive," she sued the U.S. government in 2012 and finally, FINALLY won this week! The proposed settlement requires the TSA to clarify its procedures, retrain all of its officers, and update the agency's website to better guide breastfeeding mothers. No wonder her victory is being hailed as a win for all nursing moms.
It's also proof positive that there is absolutely NOTHING to lose and everything to gain from moms speaking up about the sort of blatant injustices and mistreatment like Armato experienced. Although she won this case, there are disheartening, sometimes horrifying stories in the news about how breastfeeding moms are treated in public and by their employers all the time. It's not acceptable.
All too often women are bullied into keeping their lips zipped, especially when it comes to how we're treated as moms. Because we don't want to be seen as radicals or a "crazy," inflammatory "b**tch." And maybe we refrain from speaking up because we just want to steer clear of time-consuming, stressful conflict altogether, especially when we've got more than enough on our plates already!
But Armato's story is proof-positive that there IS a time and a place to take a stand, file a lawsuit, stage a demonstration, protest or boycott, make a ruckus. Because when done in a calculated way, one woman's ruckus could do wonders to fuel change for all of us.
What do you think about Armato's win?