We are a culture that values child-bearing —...

"We are a culture that values child-bearing — consider the obsession with celebrity children as evidence thereof, not to mention Personhood amendments — and yet we expect our childbearing populous to shed the physical evidence of said childbearing as soon as possible. On the one hand, this would seem hypocritical. On the other, it’s depressingly consistent, and the consistent element is misogyny. Let’s say it again, ’cause it’s happening: Misogyny. Women are so undervalued in our culture that the government wants to tell us how and when to have babies, and the media will tell us how and when to feel ashamed of our postpartum bodies. Have babies. Be an Object. Repeat. Quickly. Here’s how!"

Media Obsession with Celebrities’ Postpartum Bodies is Part of the War on Women on Forbes.com - by Liz W. Garcia

On the long, LONG list of things irritating the hell out of me today, this paragraph sums up the thing at the very top. I don’t know about you, but I am sick to death of all of it. The Mommy Wars, politicians trying to use the Mommy Wars to make a point, legislation that flies in the face of women’s rights (and that actually passes), postpartum body expectations, natural birth > any other kind of birth, breastfeeding > anything else you can ever do for your child ever, don’t have a baby unless X, you SHOULD have a baby because of Y, you HAVE to have a baby because we said so. Jessica Simpson is too pregnant. Jessica Simpson’s baby has a stupid name. By the way, you don’t even need sperm now to be pregnant.

So, lucky for me (and maybe for you), being born a woman means that no matter what decisions you make in your life, you’ll always have someone that questions you about it or any number of politicians trying to make it more difficult for you. No matter what you choose, there will be someone or something telling you that you made the wrong decision. That your child will be worse off. That you will be worse off. That society suffers because more women like you made the same decisions. You’ll be either too fat or too skinny. You’ll be too motherly or not enough. You’ll work too much or not at all. You’ll feel constantly guilty. Everyone can and will judge your decisions, and middle-aged, white rich men will always think they know what’s best for you because they’re rich and white and found Jesus.

And the worst part is? You’ll write blog posts like this one and rant about the inequalities and sigh and just say, “Oh, it’s American culture and it’ll never change.” Fuck that shit.

I have to believe it can change and will change because I am raising a daughter and I refuse to have her realize one day down the road that she is undervalued and over-criticized because she doesn’t have a penis.

HAPPY WEDNESDAY