Tasha Maile is a mum of two and a breastfeeding advocate.
Through her YouTube channel Spiritual Tasha Mama, the San Diego vlogger regularly posts videos of herself feeding her two sons Josiah, aged three and Soul, aged two, along with tips and advice one everything from feeding newborns to hand expressing for other breastfeeding mothers.
The advertising she earns through her videos help her to support her family.
This week however, Tasha has been forced to defend her videos after a clip of her tandem breastfeeding her boys started to go viral for all the wrong reasons.
The video, which has been viewed more than 60 million times, features Tasha feeding while chatting to camera about a new product she is promoting, something her fans and regular viewers are well accustomed to.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=9&v=37adXYp5Cr8
Since the video began to be shared elsewhere (beyond the safe and accepting realms of motherhood) however, the comments range from misogynistic “if she was ugly or unattractive it wouldn’t seem so bad” (-Koolkid Kase) to the downright disgusting.
One mother has even labelled Tasha incestuous, saying:
“I find this video very disturbing. She wants viewers to believe this is a natural mother and child bonding while breastfeeding.
However from the start this doesn’t appear to be natural but incestuous. Breastfeeding is a natural, beautiful extension of the mother and child bonding. However this woman’s exhibitionism certainly takes away from the wonderful bonding between mother and child.”
Now, because of the controversy, YouTube has made the video ineligible to run ads, which is a main source of Maile’s income.
The World Health Organisation and the HSE recommend breastfeeding up to two years of age and beyond.
What do you think, should Tasha’s YouTube advertising be reinstated? Let us know on Twitter @HerFamilydotie.
