Attachement Parenting Takes the cover of Time Magazine & America IS Talking about Jamie Lynne
A few short days ago, Los Angeles Blogger Jamie Lynne Grumet was invited to be photographed for Time Magazine nursing her soon to be 4 year old son, Time ended up used Jamie’s photo for the cover. The picture and the story had been picked up almost every major news outlet – before the issue even hit the stands. I’m pretty sure SNL is working on their sketch as I type this entry.
Some people are supportive and find the picture beautiful, others outraged that she posed for the picture, let alone with her son, the response has been astounding. Whatever our views and perspectives are, I believe there is a way to express them in a way that is dignified and respectful.
Personally while I embraced some of approaches to attachment parenting, I nursed both my children, but they had both weaned by their first birthdays. While we didn’t co-sleep, I would hall asleep with the babies in bed with me during their middle of the night feeds, and they would spend the rest of the night with us, and I did wear the babies, but only when they were very small… once they passed the 15lb mark my back couldn’t take strain… all this to say… I could hardly be described as an advocate for attachment parenting.
I believe it was Jamie Lynne’s goal to celebrate and be an advocate attachment parenting. She has certainly been successful in bringing attention to practice – time will tell how receptive and open people are to her message.
What would you have thought had time chosen to use this gentler image from the same photo shoot?
You can read more about Jamie Lynne, her homeschooling, her uniquely beautiful family, and attachment parenting on her blog – I Am Not the Babysitter.
{ 7 comments… add one }
I really don’t have anything to say negative about her…She didn’t set up or choose the shot and I know it can be hard to tell what’s going on when a professional photographer is doing a photo shoot. You think, “huh, that’s weird, but okay…he’s the pro!”I have no problem with a mom nursing her 3.5 year old or even a magazine showing that. I do have a problem with the ridiculously awkward photo the photographer composed and the magazine chose to use to misrepresent AP and to shock and the awful headline designed to pit moms against each other.Jamie Lynn: Rock on with your beautiful self.Time Magazine: Eww. Just eww.
Eloquently stated Candace! I completely agree and I’m sure that once she agreed to do the shoot she had no control over which or whether any of the shots were used.
And the headline – terrible.
I have been following Jamie’s blog for sometime now. I was initially drawn to it because she is also an adoptive parent, like me. I quickly became addicted to the way she writes, the way she BELIEVES. She is casually faithful in all of her opinions about movies, religion, adoption, parenting, breastfeeding, politics, etc. I LOVE this picture, because if you look through Jamie’s pics on her blog you will see that she often has pictures with her kids where she is sort of flippant and spacey-it’s her look, and it’s endearing. If you look at her pics, you will also see that she is a STUNNING girl-next-door meets sex-kitten woman; the photographer could have easily made a religiously staged photo to make her look more like Mary which would have been highly provocative and very in tow with the trigger association of sex/sin vs purity/nurturance (Jamie is also a follower of Christ). But I think this photo actually fits with Jamie’s style and persona. The headline, though, is way too confrontational for Jamie. She very dogmatically believes in “to each HER own”, and a woman has a right to decide whatever she believes is right, and there are healthy ways to go about all the different parenting styles. I have never written on her blog, but I am so proud of her for being the one to put this issue in the forefront of Americans consciousness. I think she does this topic proud; she loves using her blog to showcase other women and ALL the different ways they parent, and I think she will continue to be progressively passionate in the face of all this public controversy and scrutiny. Warrior Woman! Time should’ve gone with a title like “The Age of the Goddess” or “Mother May I?” , but in any case, just doing this topic shows the shift in the global culture’s priorities.
Yeah, sure, she could not possibly have had any control over the tight skinny jeans and skimpy top that she’s wearing. That’s totally beyond her control.
Skinny jeans and a tank top can hardly be described as skimpy… half the mom’s at our school pick up similarly dressed.
Please! As far as how you are shot… she had to agree and instruct her son to stand up! :0/ this is just something Time decided to do to boost sales! Feed your 10 year old at home! Who care what people are doing in other countries? the also sell their daughters off to marry old men at the age of 11-13! I guess raising your wife will be the next new thing Time will take pics of!
I can only imagine what it was like in the room when the photos were being taken, I would have been focused on my 3-4 year old son keeping happy and following the photographers instructions… not to mention all the other people who would have been involved. There were photos taken when her son was sitting in her lap, when she had full make up and hair, none of which they used. For all we know this photo was captured when they were moving from one pose to another. The photo and headline were chosen by Time.