Standing out in the 2018 Wisconsin Democratic gubernatorial primary is a stiff challenge, with more than a dozen candidates in the mix. But former state Rep. Kelda Roys managed to do it.
While shooting an ad in which she discusses her successful effort to pass state legislation banning Bisphenol A from baby bottles and sippy cups, her newborn baby is on the set crying to be fed. Without missing a beat, she breastfeeds on camera, while continuing to explain the dangers of BPA.
Roys told the Capital Times that the decision to keep the cameras rolling was not planned: "Like most working parents around the state, I juggle a lot of things and responsibilities, and I wear a lot of hats. When we were shooting the video, my family was obviously there, and when the baby needs to eat I just feed her."
The two-minute video not only helps dispel the stigma of breastfeeding, but also the associated stigma of mothers who work. The video shows the family pulling together in the support of Roys candidacy, with her husband taking the care of the baby while Roys films the spot, Roys taking time to play with the baby, and one of her other young daughters pitching in as well.
Roys even works in a message of bipartisanship, noting that she "worked across the aisle" to pass the BPA-Free Kids Act, making Wisconsin one of the first states to take that step. She laments that Wisconsin "used to" be a state where government "helped every person achieve his or her potential," in a not-so-subtle slap at the Republican incumbent Scott Walker.
Before this ad ran, 92 percent of voters didn't know Roys or enough about her to register an opinion. That number is likely going to go down after this ad.
While shooting an ad in which she discusses her successful effort to pass state legislation banning Bisphenol A from baby bottles and sippy cups, her newborn baby is on the set crying to be fed. Without missing a beat, she breastfeeds on camera, while continuing to explain the dangers of BPA.
Kelda Roys Says Breastfeeding Was Not Planned
Roys told the Capital Times that the decision to keep the cameras rolling was not planned: "Like most working parents around the state, I juggle a lot of things and responsibilities, and I wear a lot of hats. When we were shooting the video, my family was obviously there, and when the baby needs to eat I just feed her."
The two-minute video not only helps dispel the stigma of breastfeeding, but also the associated stigma of mothers who work. The video shows the family pulling together in the support of Roys candidacy, with her husband taking the care of the baby while Roys films the spot, Roys taking time to play with the baby, and one of her other young daughters pitching in as well.
Kelda Roys Speaks of Her Work to Ban BPA In Baby Bottles and Sippy Cups
As she breastfeeds, she tells the story of how she met another mother while knocking on doors to let her constituents know about the BPA legislation. The mother confided that her young daughter has suffered medical issues because of BPA. "That's what's wrong with politics today," says Roys, "Are we taking our orders from people, or we taking them from chemical cooperations...?"Roys even works in a message of bipartisanship, noting that she "worked across the aisle" to pass the BPA-Free Kids Act, making Wisconsin one of the first states to take that step. She laments that Wisconsin "used to" be a state where government "helped every person achieve his or her potential," in a not-so-subtle slap at the Republican incumbent Scott Walker.
Before this ad ran, 92 percent of voters didn't know Roys or enough about her to register an opinion. That number is likely going to go down after this ad.