Blogging on Birth blogs

Maternal Violence and the Theft of Baby Abby

natalie — Sat, 30 Sep 2006 13:29:23 -0700

Why would a woman try to steal another womanâ€™s new baby? Not to mention slice her neck and leave her for dead? There is no doubt some serious psychological dysfunction going onâ€” but are there also larger social pressures that mandate motherhood for all women and at all costs?

Though there are an increasing number of women who choose to remain childless, for many women their role as a mother underpins their identity. Indeed from early childhood, girls are socialized for their domestic role and are regularly encouraged to develop their nurturing skills in preparation for their upcoming motherhood. And while many parents go to great lengths to demonstrate to their daughters that other identities are available to them, there is still great cultural pressure to conform to the strict gendered norms of society. For some, a woman without a baby is like a fish without a bicycle, but for the vast majority it is more akin to a fish out of water. So deeply ingrained in our collective cultural psyche as to be both powerfully apparent and yet rendered invisible, these pressures go part of the way to explaining how the Baby Abby incident was not merely a single act of depravity, but was also part of a systemic flaw in our gender role mandates. Very few women are so desperate to solidify their mother identity that they will resort to attempted murder and theft. But this instance, and the many others like it that occur with frightening regularity, speak to the paralysis that many women feel when facing the thought of a female identity not tethered to motherhood. It is not out of sympathy for those women who become so severely damaged as to resort to brutality that we should reflect on these socially prescribed tenets of femininity. All women deserve a culture which supports their own particular vision of womanhood, whether or not that vision involves children.

Angelina est tres Jolie

natalie — Sun, 11 Jun 2006 19:16:13 -0700

What is society to do when Americaâ€™s foremost bad ass tough-girl suggests that birth is terrifying? Was it not enough that Britney Spears admitted to scheduling an elective cesarean because, as she stated to Elle Magazine in October, â€œI donâ€™t want to go through the pain [of vaginal birth]â€? Where does this fear come from, and why might is be more pronounced within todayâ€™s celebrity culture? Why would so many women opt for a major surgical procedure that is associated with higher mortality for both themselves and their baby, not to mention a 4-6 week recovery period?

TomKat and the Silent Birth of TomKitten

natalie — Sun, 21 May 2006 10:37:43 -0700

When TomKat (aka Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes) announced their plans to have a â€œsilent birthâ€ as dictated by the tenets of Scientology, many raised an eyebrow. Several Scientologists came forward to speak about the importance of silence within the birth process and focused attention on the necessary quiet of the hospital staff rather than the silence of the birthing woman herself. And despite this focus on the noise level of the birth attendants, a few did elude to the fact that the birthing woman herself must remain quiet as well. So why the focus on mandating a womanâ€™s noise level during her birth?

Britney's Birth Sculpture

natalie — Tue, 18 Apr 2006 13:54:02 -0700

The recent dedication of a nude sculpture of Britney Spears giving birth on a bear-skin rug has met with much controversy. Proclaimed as being the first Pro-Life monument to birth, the sculpture was done by Daniel Edwards and now resides at Capla Kesting Fine Art in Brooklyn. The ire seems to be two-fold: first, many have wondered about the statueâ€™s Pro-Life affiliation and second, others have called attention to the fact that Spears did not in fact have a vaginal birth.

The sculpture, titled A Monument to Pro Life: The Birth of Sean Preston, is said to valorize Spearsâ€™ decision to put family over career. â€œA superstar at Britneyâ€™s young age having a child is rare in todayâ€™s celebrity culture. This dedication honors Britney for the rarity of her choice and bravery of her decision,â€ said gallery co-director, Lincoln Capla. [emphasis mine] It seems that this continues to be the point that is overlooked by the Pro-Life movementâ€”every woman should be allowed to make a similar decision. Choosing not to terminate a pregnancy does not necessarily make a woman Pro-Life, if anything it arguably makes her Pro-Choiceâ€¦ she made the choice that was right for her. This dichotomy itself (between choosing children over career) perpetuates the popular assumption that women can only have one or the other. And though this is still too real for many women (based primarily on the sorry state of childcare resources available to working mothers as well as the inflexible work schedules of many employment sectors,) a number of women are successfully navigating the work/child divideâ€¦ these are the women that need to be socially commemorated. Suggesting that a woman who chooses not to have an abortion is (by default) Pro-Life is fallacious and deceptive. But implying that all women must choose between either family or career is downright dangerous. It perpetuates the problematic assumption that women canâ€™t have (or for some reason donâ€™t deserve) both.