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The 3
Minute Activist
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Editor American Girl Magazine 8400 Fairway Place Middleton, WI 53562 Dear American Girl, In a recent issue of your magazine (Jan./Feb.) you highlighted the top girl baby names. The backdrop graphic of the list was a baby bottle. Today it is a well researched fact that breast milk is the optimal nutrition for babies and breastfeeding is a also best for mothers. However, many babies are not being given the best possible start in life. Part of the reason that more babies are not breastfed is the lack of breastfeeding images in popular media, especially when compared to bottle-feeding images. Although your referral to formula feeding may not have been intentional, it does send a subtle message to your predominantly young female audience that bottle feeding is the standard. In the future, please consider the influence you have on the young girls of America. You can do much to help these future mothers be aware of breastfeeding simply by including breastfeeding-related images where appropriate in your magazine along with occasional, matter-of-fact references to breastfeeding's many benefits. American Girl magazine does a great job in promoting girls' self-esteem, and it would seem that providing appropriate information about the ability of the female body to sustain and nourish babies would be perfectly in keeping with that goal. I hope that I see such information in future issues. Thank you for your time and consideration. Sincerely,
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