In a show of her commitment to families, Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Kelda Roys for has released a campaign ad in which she casually, comfortably breastfeeds her baby daughter on camera.
The former state representative’s ad “Our Girls” launched on Tuesday, showing Roys talking about her initiative to ban a toxin named Bisphenol A from entering children’s baby bottles and containers. Mid-ad, Roys’ husband interrupts her, handing the candidate her baby daughter, whom she immediately begins to comfort. Shen then breastfeeds her child while continuing to talk about successfully banning BPA from Wisconsin.
So proud to share my first campaign video with you! I'm running for governor because WI can do better than caving to corporate interests that harm our health & environment. I know because we've beaten them before. #BPA #WIgov #WIpolitics pic.twitter.com/jHvwU9O06c
— Kelda Roys (AidAccess.org) (@keldahelenroys) March 6, 2018
"When we were shooting the video, my family was obviously there, and when the baby needs to eat I just feed her." https://t.co/AE8jWkUS7U
— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) March 8, 2018
Roys’ ad quickly went viral, with over 44,000 views on YouTube alone. Women across Twitter have since praised the ad, cheering on the gubernatorial candidate for pushing back against the stigma around breastfeeding.
@keldahelenroys I admire your brilliance and strength for caring about all Wisconsin residents. Very proud to know you hope we csn campaign together if your in the 5th district. 😄
— Ramon Hyron Garcia (@RamonhGarcia77) March 8, 2018
https://twitter.com/AvaDeCenizas/status/972097533047689216
In a new campaign video, WI gubernatorial candidate @keldahelenroys talks about infant health & safety while breastfeeding on camera. This quite literally disrupts expectations of political leadership & highlights women's distinctive life experiences. https://t.co/mlSpAnXYaJ
— Gender Watch 2018 (@GenderWatch2018) March 7, 2018
https://twitter.com/AbigailEYoung/status/971303406739566595
This isn’t the first time Roys has shown breastfeeding doesn’t impede a parent’s work, either. Attorney Andrew Seidel turned to Twitter this week, claiming that he watched Roys breastfeed her baby while “standing at the podium, mid-talk” during a workshop on lobbying. She didn’t even “skip a beat” the whole time, he claims.
“It was one of the most bad ass things I’ve ever seen,” he wrote on Twitter.
I once watched Kelda Roys give a workshop on lobbying. Standing at the podium, mid-talk, she breastfed her baby. Didn't skip a beat in her presentation. It was one of the most bad ass things I've ever seen.https://t.co/6bIM3iQQgK
— Andrew L. Seidel (@AndrewLSeidel) March 6, 2018
Prof who tracks campaign ads: "That’s definitely something new. There’s probably an expectation, a hope, that something like this will go viral and get media attention. It’s so different from what we expect to see in a political ad." https://t.co/15Uq967WKJ
— Matthew DeFour (@MattD4th) March 6, 2018
Dem Wisconsin governor candidate @keldahelenroys to @devilradio: "In 2018, women are not going to be told we don't get to have a chance to sit at the table, that we're going to have to not participate in civic life while we have young kids." https://t.co/8dWFcXDiwE #wigov pic.twitter.com/4TXlDwZLrE
— Tom Kertscher (@KertscherNews) March 8, 2018
Last May, Australian Sen. Larissa Waters became the country’s first woman to breastfeed in the country’s Senate, and she also became the first to make a legislative motion in Parliament while doing so. With any luck, politicians embracing breastfeeding may just give this culture the push it needs to stop sexualizing women’s breasts.