a comment on ‘Fertile Feminism’
I’m thankful that newer feminists are starting to think again about feminism and motherhood [and birth]. I just also wanted to sound a note of caution in seeing mothers as an excluded group.
Certainly in practical terms current feminism [and activism in general] seem to have lost lots of the second wave commitment to childcare and child inclusion. I think a dialogue with women that were feminist activists in the 1980s or earlier would bring up lots of suggestions in how feminist spaces can be practically easier to participate in. [there used to be women's discos where you could claim babysitting money and creche's used to quite common]
I think one of the ironies of [bio]motherhood is that it gives and takes away social status and power at the same time. In the spirit or the personal as political I’ll reveal that I’m personally a non-bio parent who has chosen not to birth herself – and also very involved with birth through midwifery.
Certainly the day to day reality of mothering in a racially structured capitalist patriarchy have meant that women will do the majority of the unpaid work. Also, as referred to in some posts, race and class inequality have meant that women of colour and/or working class women will also have usually done paid work [including the childcare for more affluent women... including other feminists!]. Pregnancy and birth itself are intense sites of dis-empowerment and often oppression and sometimes abuse of women.
Simultaneously bio-motherhood confers status and inclusion. It fixes into patriarchal expectations of women’s biological destiny and social place. It [most often] gives respectability
and has an odd relation to heteronormativity. it ‘normalises’ your status as a woman [even if this is not sought].
Granted, lot of mothers are not ‘proper’ mothers or are even deviant mothers ['single', teenaged, old, dyke/queer, on benefits etc.] but mother power, including the mommy bloggers, mumsnet etc. have a social force that has big echoes to the mothers union and the women’s institute.
As feminist start to address these issues again in feminist activist spaces I hope we can weave beautiful alliance between mothers, other kinds of parents, and non-childed people. I hope we can be nuanced about how power works in our societies. I think feminism is always fertile but will neither revere or exclude those of us that reproduce. I also think we are all responsible for the ‘bringing up’ of each other and especially the feminist education of people who are currently children. Why leave this to parents?
with love xx anywave willdo
see: http://www.fertilefeminism.com
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )
