I work with small children. Despite this fact, I regularly get pangs of baby-lust. I am well aware that said baby is many years in the future, but I still get excited. So I sometimes peruse blogs about motherhood, so that I can learn weird obscure facts about breastfeeding, baby slings, and look at pictures of cute little booties with funny sayings on them. So sue me.
But many white, upper middle class motherhood bloggers are obsessed with strict, traditional, pink/blue, princess/pirate, mars/venus, mommy/daddy gender roles. They really, really like them. And they'll never let them go. Ever. And it's kinda terrifying.
And so, I give you a potpourri of genderstrict ridiculousness. After which I will enter the phrase "radical feminist motherhood" into google and pray that something comes up.
These are all direct quotes, which link to the blogs from which they came:
We have crescent rolls on hand because J. bought them. That's what happens when men do the grocery shopping.
Well we just hosted Bear’s Third Birthday Party and it was all out PRINCESS. (actually it was Princess & Pirates – so her little boyfriends didn’t feel weird coming to a costume party).
Since I knew I was having a girl the first time around, everything I received was pink. Pink blankets, pink washcloths, pink burp cloths, pink bibs. So, if this baby is a boy, I need some blue stuff, or this little guy will be the best dressed “pink princess.” And I need new boy crib bedding too (of course!!).
And, just for good measure, some mom as cook/servant banter:
My son is a very picky eater (more about that later). I’m open to any innovative methods that might get my son to eat new food. My husband is just as picky as my son. I wonder if this will work on him, too.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Gender norms start in the womb.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Scary. Shit.
I'd like to have kids. I've always suspected I would have kids. I work with kids, and they're really cute and wonderful. There are some kids that I adore so much, I wish I could hang out with them for hours after their lesson on their itty-bitty violin is over. I suspect that my own children would be people I would like to hang out with.
And then I stumble upon this blog, Motherhood Uncensored. And it sounds like her body is in horrific pain all the time. And she had three children in five years. And her husband is always away. And her nipples hurt. And her back hurts. And her husband is always away. And she uses some kind of clamps to breastfeed. And she never has any physical space because the children beg to sit on her lap. And her husband is always away. And she had to lie to him about buying Pay-Per-View porn once. And it sounds like she never gets to leave the house.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH.
My feminist analysis is the following: no one should have to go through this alone, and this woman sounds alone. I know husband and wife can't share the nipple clamping, but in my humble opinion, they ought to share more than this.
Or is motherhood really just this hellish?
