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.
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.