Categories
Sexism and women studies

Maybe it’s time to rally women instead of divide them

Have you ever noticed that our society loves to pit women against each other (especially mothers)? It seems to focus on creating binary realities in which women take one side and judge the women on the other side.
For example, consider these examples:

breastfeeding bottlefeeding
assisted birth natural birth
stay-at-home mum working mum
pro-vaccination anti-vaccination
co-sleeping separate sleeping
disposable diapers cloth diapers
fat thin
public school homeschool

The lists go on.
I have to wonder why society is like this. Maybe if we keep women fighting against each other they won’t band together and fight against systems that oppress women as a whole.
Maybe it’s time to change that.

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By Kim Siever

Kim Siever is an independent queer journalist based in Lethbridge, Alberta. He writes daily news articles, focusing on politics and labour.

3 replies on “Maybe it’s time to rally women instead of divide them”

When I had my son via emergency c-section, I really struggled with the identity implications of not having had a natural birth. Even now when I tell my birth story I emphasize the “emergency,” part – I worry that people will think I elected to have a c-section. The thing is, I have zero problem with elective c-sections. There are many reasons a woman might choose that, and none of her reasons are my business anyway. But still. I know some might judge me and so I pre-judge myself on their behalf. I think many of us do.

When I had my son via emergency c-section, I really struggled with the identity implications of not having had a natural birth. Even now when I tell my birth story I emphasize the “emergency,” part – I worry that people will think I elected to have a c-section. The thing is, I have zero problem with elective c-sections. There are many reasons a woman might choose that, and none of her reasons are my business anyway. But still. I know some might judge me and so I pre-judge myself on their behalf. I think many of us do.

When I had my son via emergency c-section, I really struggled with the identity implications of not having had a natural birth. Even now when I tell my birth story I emphasize the “emergency,” part – I worry that people will think I elected to have a c-section. The thing is, I have zero problem with elective c-sections. There are many reasons a woman might choose that, and none of her reasons are my business anyway. But still. I know some might judge me and so I pre-judge myself on their behalf. I think many of us do.

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