90 Day Fiance Season 9 marches on, with Episode 5 giving viewers some beautiful reunions … and potential new villains.
Kobe has just met his son for the first time, but decided to call out where Emily feeds him — and that she does it at all.
Ariela and Biniyam touch down in the United States, but a generous gift from Ari’s parents may turn into a burden on their family.
Bilal has a new test for Shaeeda, and it involves his children.
Guillermo is finally reunited with his and Kara’s dog and meets Kara’s family — and he’s so adorably nervous about the whole thing.
Thais introduces herself to viewers, revealing that there are big things that neither Patrick nor her father know yet.
Mohamed’s first morning in America doesn’t go at all like he imagined, because Yvette has to go to work.
1. Emily Bieberly and Kobe Blaise
After warm celebrations, Emily sits down to pump some milk. After spending a couple of days picking up Kobe, Koban probably ran through a good bit of what she had already pumped. But Kobe decides to call her out, claiming that this is “not normal.”
2. He thinks that she should nurse and pump elsewhere
Every now and then, there’s a viral social media post about a woman getting shamed for breastfeeding somewhere — on a park bench, in a museum, that sort of thing. In each case, the bad guy is demanding that she go elsewhere, or “cover up,” or both, and is almost universally dragged by the collective internet. Kobe is taking that even further, suggesting that Emily should pump elsewhere even though she is in her own home.
3. Kobe says that women are more “discreet” in Africa
Africa is a sprawling continent full of various languages, cultures, and traditions across more than 50 countries. I’m not going to try to whitesplain away Kobe’s observations, but as many 90 Day Fiance fans can attest, numerous viewers who are from Africa have already taken to social media to say that Kobe’s experience is not theirs, and that, in their cultures, breasts are less sexualized and therefore breastfeeding is less stigmatized. Of course, all of that may be moot, as Emily and Koban — and now Kobe — are not in Africa right now.
4. There’s more to it than just where and when
Kobe’s suggestion that Emily breastfeed elsewhere was already unreasonable, but he is also expressing a desire for Emily to simply stop breastfeeding their son altogether. According to Kobe, he brought this up even before coming to the United States. He says that his sister stopped nursing her baby at 7 months, and that he’s never known anyone to breastfeed past 10 months.
5. Well …
Almost every health organization on the planet, including Cameroon’s government, recommends breastfeeding until 2 years if not longer. More than one-third of child deaths before the age of five in that country are related to malnutrition, with other children having growth stunted. International studies have noted that there are challenges, including cultural resistance, to breastfeeding programs in Cameroon. While breastfeeding is not an option for everyone and not a fix-all solution, it is possible that Kobe is unfamiliar with the health benefits that Koban is receiving. (And, more to the point, we’re talking about a toddler and his mom — the only people who should be part of this decision)
6. Kobe has his own motive
He is unwilling to “share” Emily’s breasts, and says so pretty directly. We’re not kink-shaming Kobe (or anyone else), and we can only speculate about what questions producers may have asked to get him to say this, but it’s a little weird to put yourself into an imaginary competition with your kid.
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