Tag Archives: birth
Guest post at Feministe: Feminist mothers
Cross-posted at Feministe. A few weeks ago an article by Clem Bastow, writer and feminist, was published in two major newspapers here in Australia, and subsequently responded to in op eds and countless blogs. In her piece Why having a … Continue reading
Full fat milk
It’s no surprise that with the Obesity Pandemic FAT RAMPAGE headlines still dominating any ‘health’ or ‘parenting’ media, there are a lot of (often unfounded) fears and prejudices about fat pregnancies, fat births and fat mothering out there. (Did you … Continue reading
When fighting rape culture means changing birth culture
Trigger warning on this post: sexual violence and birth trauma/coercion* Over at Feministe, there is a series of posts underway for Sexual Assault Awareness month. This amazing piece by abby jean (please read it) highlights why we cannot fight sexual … Continue reading
Filed under Breastfeeding, Lactivism and Doula-ing, Feminism
The myth of the mindless mother
When it comes to women’s behaviour, a lot is put down to ‘hormones’. News flash: this tendency is often a vestige of our unenlightened medical past, when ‘hysterics’ were thought to have been literally sent mad by their bodily femaleness … Continue reading
An unkind cut
The Guardian newspaper ran an article in November about the alarming rise in labiaplasty. I had read that anecdotally, requests for cosmetic surgery to correct ‘problems’ with one’s vulva have increased exponentially in tandem with the pornification of our culture – the … Continue reading
Filed under Body Image/Fat Acceptance, Feminism
Pretty pushy (reply turned post)
One of the things I’ve learned from blogging is that the interest a post generates is unpredictable. I have a pretty low traffic flow here, but there are a few search terms that keep getting me hits. (Salma Hayek’s breasts, … Continue reading
A more personal kind of linkage
Almost six weeks ago something terrible happened to a friend. Her baby daughter died. Even though I haven’t known this friend for very long, the nature of her loss was such that it had me reeling for days. I wept about it. … Continue reading
Filed under Motherhood and Parenting
Body and soul
I recall pregnancy as a time of great fascination with my bodily functions. And I don’t just mean in the crude pee-in-a-cup-for-the-doctor and tell-the-midwife-what-your-discharge looks like kind of way. What I mean is that pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding have been … Continue reading
