The Touching Golden Globes Commercial That Has People Buzzing

The 2021 Golden Globes will go down in history as the first (and hopefully the last) year in which most of the action took place from the participants' living rooms. There was even a relatable, cringey glitch during the first award presentation, when Daniel Kaluuya began his acceptance speech while muted. But perhaps the most significant moment of the night had absolutely nothing to do with the actors, the nominated films and series, or even hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. 

In an eyebrow-raising moment usually reserved for Super Bowl commercials, Frida Mom presented an ad unlike any seen before on American TV. The company specializes in postpartum care for new moms, including perineal soothers, disposable underwear, and nursing care products. It was the last that was the focus of the short ad, which shed light on a truth that millions of mothers know but which too often gets ignored or buried under a facade of perfect-motherhoodism that women feel compelled to uphold.

The spot, titled "Stream of Lactation," shows the very real struggles of breastfeeding that don't often get shown on screen. The harried moms are shown agonizing over getting the proper latch, finding the right position, pumping in the middle of the night, not producing enough milk, trying to stimulate letdown (like in the shower with an electric toothbrush), trying the hack of wearing cabbage leaves to relieve engorged breasts, debating switching to formula, and always feeling exhausted and worried that they're not doing enough for their babies. And yes, the women show their breasts in all their lactating glory.

The CEO of Frida Mom, Chelsea Hirschhorn, explained in an interview that mothers are often caught between the desire to give their babies the best nutrition possible and the desire to relieve the pain and inconvenience associated with nursing. "It's all part of the postpartum physical experience, but it never gets any air time because the end supposedly justifies the means," she said (via MSN). "The two don't have to be mutually exclusive."

Moms are raving about the truthful ad. One representative response on Twitter went: "That Frida Mom ad was EVERYTHING! Thank you for showing such accurate depictions of motherhood."