#institutional motherhood

[widowshill]

Character bingo: Elizabeth Collins Stoddard, the woman the myth the legend

Her.

[quo-usque-tandem]

Heritage of Motherhood by Gertrude Kasebier

[haruosaki]

[queerographies]

[Nato di donna][Adrienne Rich]

È nel 1976 che Adrienne Rich ha dato voce alla distinzione tra istituzione ed esperienza materna. "Nato di donna" esplora la gravidanza, il parto e la cura con profondità e tenerezza.

Nato di donna: la rivoluzionaria analisi di Adrienne Rich sulla maternità Titolo: Nato di donnaScritto da: Adrienne RichTitolo originale: Of Woman BornTradotto da: Maria Teresa MarencoEdito da: MondadoriAnno: 2024Pagine: 448ISBN: 9788804758884 La sinossi di Nato di donna di Adrienne Rich «Già nel 1976 Adrienne Rich aveva fatto chiarezza. È stato Nato di donna a distinguere per la prima volta…

[forthegothicheroine]

Trying to keep the peace between the tankies and the hippies in Frostpunk 2, and suddenly the hippies want me to institute the death penalty and mandatory motherhood, and I'm starting to see the appeal of absolute tyranny.

[astrodescent]

NEPTUNE AND THE KIND OF DAYDREAMS YOU MIGHT HAVE

neptune in astrology represents the planet associated with dreams, illusions, and spirituality. it influences our capacity for imagination, intuition, and the desire to connect with higher realms, but it can also bring confusion, escapism, and a tendency to see the world through a veil of idealism or delusion.

aries / 1H: adventures, taking risks, impulsive actions, personal growth, idealized self image, ascend personal victory, being seen as a leader

taurus / 2H: materialistic, luxury, comfort, food, owning property, stability & security, gardening, creating art, being worthy, success

gemini / 3H: communication, writing, being smart, learning, school days, being seen as witty and intelligent, having access to knowledge, siblings, neighbours

cancer / 4H: family, motherhood, having a comforting home, sense of belonging, ancestors, domestic life, home decorating, family history / secrets

leo / 5H: creativity, romance, drama, theatre, preforming, being in the spotlight, love affairs, recognition for their artistic talents, applause

virgo / 6H: work, helping others, health, science, being exceptionally good at their job, making a difference, cleaning, having order & control

libra / 7H: relationships, partnerships, art, beauty, idealistic partnership, balance and fairness, law, aesthetics, spiritual fulfillment

scorpio / 8H: mystical themes, sex, drugs, rebirth, dying & funerals, intense emotions, inheritance, deep transformational experiences

sagittarius / 9H: travelling, education, institutions, university, freedom, law, morals, adventures, global issues, higher truth, different belief systems

capricorn / 10H: public image, legacy, recognition, authority, social status, being seen with integrity, authenticity, career, creating a foundation

aquarius / 11H: inventions, societies, cultures, new technologies, close knit relationships, dystopian futures, aiding in societal change, creating a better world

pisces / 12H: spiritual & mystical themes, higher powers, divine healing, transcending material world, deep empathic scenarios, using artistic abilities, forgiving past trauma

© spirit-of-phantom 2023

[communistkenobi]

went on a terf blocking spree and they were sharing this tweet around

and like obviously this is factually wrong - “homosexual rights” happens primarily through de-pathologising homosexuality, quite literally an effort to redefine sexuality and sexual activity, which was commonly followed by a legal redefinition of marriage in many states as not only being between a man and a woman, and parenthood as not being strictly done by a mother & father - that’s redefining gender categories! Gender doesn’t exist as a repressive force independent of political & legal institutions. Universal paternity leave is a redefinition of gendered reproductive labour through employment and labour policy, it is a structural economic benefit that incentivises fathers to participate in child rearing. This is a (limited, partial) redefinition of what it “means” to be a man, just as gay marriage is a redefinition of what it means to be a husband or wife, just as allowing gays to adopt is a redefinition of motherhood and fatherhood. 

And this denial of being in an “ideological cult” is also intentionally downplaying the massive homophobic outcry that gays were/are in fact trying to destroy the meaning of family and marriage - that gay marriage would let you marry your dog, that gay parents are all pedophiles, that even expanding the definition of the nuclear family to include cis gays would threaten to destroy all categories of familial and civic life. Denying that gay rights are not viewed as an “ideological cult” of their own is laughably homophobic.

Taking this argument to its natural conclusion - that cis gays just want to be “left alone,” they aren’t here to “redefine” anything unlike the transsexuals - means a comprehensive denial of the law as an institution that produces patriarchal and gendered violence, that societal conceptions of gender (and the oppression produced by those conceptions) are unaffected by legal redefinitions of family and marriage. An absurd claim! This argument denies patriarchy as a social force, assigning it instead to this mystical abstract force that exists “out there” in nature, unable to be punctured or altered by any social response. Like tbh if you believe that why even fight for gay marriage at all? Just accept your lot in life as broken men and women with a mental disorder that makes you incapable of raising a family.

But of course they don’t actually really believe this, they know what side their bread is buttered on. Cis gays got themselves removed from the ICD and DSM, got gay marriage legalised in a bunch of countries (the tweet’s exclusive use of past tense when talking about gay rights implies the fight for gay equality is finished, an obviously self-centred western & homophobic argument) and said fuck you got mine! The king granted us entrance into his castle unlike you freaks, all we ever wanted was a seat at his table. Liberation is not the goal, cis gays just want to be permitted equal access to the power of cisheterosexual society. This tweet is arguing that gender is not a relevant mechanism in the oppression of homosexuals, that their oppression is altogether something else, unrelated to ideas of what it means to be a woman or man, because they want access to the violence those categories produce. Destroying these categories makes this goal unattainable for them, and so now cis gays are continuing to pivot to reactionary opposition to trans rights. But don’t take my word for it - I’m just repeating what this guy’s saying!

[dykeulous]

“woman” does not exist as a “protected” underclass.

the illusion of a loving, determined, self-controlled & providing man is just that. an illusion.

“woman” does not exist as as a “protected” underclass.

the lies they sell you about the “easy life” of tradwives are exactly that. lies.

“woman” does not exist as a “protected” underclass.

if you give a man the power to feed you, you are essentially giving him the power to starve you.

“woman” does not exist as a “protected” underclass.

the couples who tell you how perfect their conservative trad life is, how functional & happy they are, how easy the wife has it– are selling you misogynistic propaganda to cover up the reality of housewives, disadvantaged women; women who depend on their husband’s mercy.

“woman” does not exist as a “protected” underclass.

the oppression of women is not merely tied to, “they are weak & soft and should in turn have a loving & logical man provide & protect them”. the oppression of women does not exist in a setting of a “peaceful dumb subordinate and her rational and loving head”.

“woman” does not exist as a “protected” underclass.

housework is only one form of unpaid labor. women have historically engaged in more physically exhausting & dangerous labor, unpaid labor– the role of a “gentle and nurturing housewife”, despite the role/labor of motherhood, childbirth & housework also being insanely dangerous & undervalued roles; is closer to a misogynistic myth than reality.

“woman” does not exist as a “protected” underclass.

marital rape is normalized. under a totalitarian marriage, a woman is not “protected” from rape. she is regularly raped by her husband. the law does not interfere since her husband has full ownership of her. to him, consent is given the second you say your wedding vows. marriage is an institution of oppression.

“woman” does not exist as a “protected” underclass.

nothing about our pain, suffering, and oppression is “protecting” us. quit using misogynistic language when trying to analyze systems of oppression.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for dismissing Motherhood?

🐣🚼👼

I (33f) work in a large financial institution, doing remittance processing. No customers are ever around us, and I sit with a group of 5-6 people every day. One of our cool supervisors came around greeting everyone and saying happy Mother's Day. He also asked my friend (29m) if he'd gotten his pregnant wife a gift yet. Friend replies that he's thinking about it. I say "well technically she's not a mother yet".

Here's where I might be TA. Everyone's reaction, erupting in a mix of laughter and gasps. (Gaspter, if you will) I am child free by choice and everyone knows that, as the conversation around kids comes up pretty often. And one of our coworkers (45f) who is pretty religious, was on break and everyone was saying how lucky I was that she didn't hear that.

Here's my thought process tho! WHICH I DID NOT SAY ALOUD. If someone is pregnant, even if they're up to 8.99999 months, horrible things can happen which lead to a stillborn baby. Someone who's had a miscarriage is definitely traumatized and in despair, but if they didn't have other kids, you wouldn't say "she's a mother/parent".

Maybe I'm wrong and it's some weird religion thing left behind in my child brain but until you breathe, you aren't born, and therefore become a Child.

Should I apologize for being insensitive? AITA?

[hairtusk]

do you have any other reading recommendations? feminist and/or philosophy in general? don't know much about these topics and would love to learn

absolutely, thank you so much for asking! i decided to interpret this as feminist texts, philosophy/political texts by female authors, and a sprinkling of feminist fiction, for ease. in honesty, i am more interested in political and theological philsophy than anything else, so there'll be a lot of that. each text is linked with the appropriate goodreads entry (i don't use the site, but i know lots of people track their reading lists there)

[necessary disclaimer! i do not necessarily agree with all of the ideas posited in these texts! i can't believe i have to reiterate this!]

Feminist Texts:

• Andrea Dworkin: Pornography: Men Possessing Women; Intercourse; Right-Wing Women; Woman Hating

• Simone de Beauvoir: The Second Sex; Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter (autobiography)

• Adrienne Rich: Of Woman Born: Motherhood as Experience and Institution; Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence; Essential Essays: Culture, Politics, and the Art of Poetry

• Audre Lorde: Sister Outsider; The Master's Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master's House

• Germaine Greer: The Female Eunuch; The Whole Woman; The Change: Women, Ageing, and Menopause

• Angela Davis: Women, Race & Class • Naomi Wolf: The Beauty Myth

• Betty Freidan: The Feminine Mystique

• bell hooks: Ain't I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism

• Susan Brownmiller: Against Our Will: Men, Women and Rape; Femininity

• Shulasmith Firestone: The Dialectic of Sex: The Case for Feminist Revolution

• Marilyn French: The War Against Women; A History of Women in the World (series); Beyond Power: On Women, Men & Morals

Philosophy Focused Texts / Criticism / Other Politics:

• Hannah Arendt: Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil; The Origins of Totalitarianism; The Human Condition

• Simone Weil: Gravity and Grace; Waiting for God; The Need for Roots: Prelude to a Declaration of Duties Towards Mankind

• Susan Sontag: Illness as Metaphor & AIDS and Its Metaphors; Regarding The Pain of Others

[femalethink]

Patriarchy has told the woman in labor that her suffering was purposive—was the purpose of her existence; that the new life she was bringing forth (especially if male) was of value and that her own value depended on bringing it forth. As the means of reproduction without which cities and colonies could not expand, without which a family would die out and its prosperity pass into the hands of strangers, she has found herself at the center of purposes, not hers, which she has often incorporated and made into her own. The woman in labor might perceive herself as bringing forth a new soldier to fight for the tribe or nation-state, a new head of the rising yeoman or bourgeois family, a new priest or rabbi for her fathers' faith, or a new mother to take up the renewal of life. Given this patriarchal purpose she could obliterate herself in fertility as her body swelled year after year, and pain and suffering might well become associated, for her, with her ultimate value in the world.

—Adrienne Rich, "Of Woman Born: Motherhood as Experience and Institution."

[djuvlipen]

But as surrogate mothering is normalized, it is crucial to highlight the classist and racist premises on which it is founded and its destructive consequences for the children thus produced and for women. A worrisome one is the presence of a number of “suspended children,” who, having been denied, for various reasons, legal certification in the countries where the “intended” parents reside, or having been born with disabilities, are rejected by both the surrogate mother and the commissioning couple. A Reuters investigative report has also found that through the internet adoptive parents, at least in the US, can dispose of children adopted abroad, without any difficulty, through a practice called “private rehoming” that is totally unregulated. Even more worrisome is the evidence that some surrogate children are channeled to the organs market, for once the transaction has taken place no institutional oversight checks what happens to the children marketed this way, who in most cases are taken to other regions, thousands of miles away from the place of their birth. ... While defenders portray it as a humanitarian gesture, a gift of life enabling couples who cannot have children to experience the joys of parenting, the fact is that it is women from the poorest regions of the world who generally take on this task, and surrogacy would not exist except for the monetary compensations it fetches. Quite properly, then, in “Surrogates and Outcast Mothers: Racism and Reproductive Politics in the Nineties” (1993), Angela Davis has argued that surrogacy is continuous with the breeding practices that were enforced on the American slave plantations, with poor women in both cases being destined to forfeit their children, once born, for the profit of the rich.

-- Silvia Federici, "Surrogate Motherhood: A Gift of Life or Maternity Denied?" in Beyond the Periphery of the Skin

[laurelwen]

Like Minds Tarot Cards, Part 1 of 3

Possessed initially by the idea of putting Alex and Nigel into the Lovers card, of course I immediately expanded my ambition to make all the Major Arcana. Tarot is incredibly subjective and personal, as are interpretations of these characters and moments. Reversed meanings are included for most of these because I feel many of the cards embody a complex mix of both energies. (Sally as the High Priestess is just entirely reversed. Complete failure, no one is doing intuition worse than her.)

The Fool - Beginning a journey, standing at the cliff’s edge, taking risks, reckless folly, spontaneity, impulsivity

The Magician - Enacting your will to manifest an outcome, potential manifesting into reality, determination, willpower, resourcefulness, cunning, manipulation

The High Priestess - Intuition, insights, mystery, secrets, inner knowledge, understanding.  Reversed: Failure to listen to your intuition, incorrect instincts.

The Empress - Motherhood, fertility, abundance, nurturing, compassion. Reversed - sterility, negligence, domestic problems, stagnation.

The Emperor - Authority, leadership, fatherhood, law and order, status, control, structure. Reversed - authoritarianism, rigidity, abuse of power, absentee father.

The Hierophant - Religious beliefs, conventional values, conformity, tradition, institutions.

The Lovers - Union, partnerships, desire, soulmates, mirroring of the Self. Reversed - disconnection, conflict, imbalance, distrust.

Like Minds Tarot Cards, Part 2 of 3 Like Minds Tarot Cards, Part 3 of 3

[Like Minds Masterpost- Main] [Like Minds Masterpost - Aesthetic]

[haruosaki]

[moontyger]

Yoon-Kim Ji-Young, a professor at the Institute of Body and Culture at Konkuk University in Seoul, argues that in South Korea, women are up against a multibillion-dollar industrial complex, including cosmetics, plastic surgery and entertainment, which sends women mutually reinforcing messages.

"This huge mechanism unilaterally defines the ideal body image for young women, as well as the direction and size of their dreams," she says. As a result, she says, many young Korean women aspire to become YouTube makeup coaches.

Traditionally, she says, Korean women are taught that beauty is their biggest asset. By getting married, they can exchange that asset for social and economic status. Even today, such views affect women's options and choices related to careers, marriage and motherhood. Rejecting beauty standards leads some women to rebel against an entire social structure, she says, and that means boycotting romance, marriage, sex and childbirth.

"Women are not simply looking to destroy the cosmetics industry by smashing makeup," she says. "Their aim is to subvert the huge male-centered matrix called the patriarchy."

Yoon-Kim adds that not until they have "escaped the corset" do many women realize that they've been taught to blame themselves for the discrimination they encounter, and to feel that it's their own fault for not being young, skinny or pretty enough. A 2017 poll found that nearly 40 percent of respondents experienced discrimination based on their appearance when applying for jobs. Applicants are commonly asked for photos, as well as information about their height and weight.

"The constant feeling of obsession, self-hatred and fatigue in this competitive society," she says, "robs us of the energy to address its fundamental, structural inequality."

[multidimensionalguidance]

Jupiter-Uranus 2024 (The Big Zap)

I noticed this very interesting planetary force that will be coming together and will be felt specifically from February till end of April 2024.

It’s something that only occurs every 14 years, and paying attention to how this will affect in a collective and an individual level during this time could be beneficial.

Jupiter bring expansion and Uranus gives it a sudden “oomph” or energy force making it even more noticeable. As sudden and bright as lightning, and perhaps as loud as thunder. It comes with major spiritual AND technological changes to the entire collective that will trickle down to all of us in some way.

For a lot of people this might be the “lottery ticket” or sudden activation that will lead them to a very significant event, and for some others it will be the sudden realization that will lead them to upgrading a certain aspect of their lives. As if it was a necessary calibration or adjustment.

It is important to have the correct focus and to be in alignment to enjoy the more positive effects, and its not to say that if you are not aligned to your path it will be terrible, but its like the universe will push you towards doing so which might not necessarily be pleasant.

Here are some briefs explanations of how this conjunction will play out depending on where it will be sitting in your natal chart:

1H ➡️ sudden changes or expansion in your desires, environment, physical appearance, health, mannerism, outlook towards life, personality, and self-interests.

2H ➡️ sudden changes or expansion in your resources, finances (gain or expenses), security, freedom, and perhaps necessity to become more vocal/expressive.

3H ➡️ sudden changes or expansion in your hobbies, skills, vehicles (for good or bad so be weary), communication through technology, gossip (towards your or you towards others), reading, academic duties, short traveling (meaning within your country or outside but for a fixed amount of time), and overall your mindset.

4H ➡️ sudden changes or expansion in your home (meaning moving to a different one or something radical occurring within it), shocking family news, in your emotions, real estate from homeland, wealth from parents, and mothers health could improve for the better or the opposite if there are underlying conditions that have not been treated.

5H ➡️ sudden changes or expansion in your creative expression (hobbies as well), friends, romantic life/love affairs (won’t necessarily be long term), motherhood (getting pregnant 👀), feeling the urge to take more risks (like gambling or market stock), overall lots of fun/joy that could lead to overindulgence so be mindful.

6H ➡️ sudden changes or expansion in your daily routine (adding more technology day to day or it breaking down), in healthcare, in exercising, in work (workaholic vibes or changes in employment), cooking (doing so more or having accidents in it), healing, getting a new pet, employees (if you have a company).

7H ➡️ sudden changes or expansion in your agreements (contracts), partnerships of all kinds (beginning of one or change in status if you are in one already), one-one businesses, perception of others, and overall interpersonal style.

8H ➡️ sudden changes or expansion in your finances (particularly savings or income you get from others as gifts of some sort), occult practices you’re interested in, perceptions of your sexual energy, psychic experiences, partners family, and overall major transformations that will help you integrate more your dark/toxic traits. an opportunity to reinvent yourself.

9H ➡️ sudden changes or expansion in your beliefs/religious/spiritual systems, opportunities of settling abroad (permanently or just a long journey), high education (getting more educated in a subject through an institution), fathers health, or abilities to predict future events.

10H ➡️ sudden changes or expansion in your career/profession, public perception (getting more noticed for good or bad), finances (money earned from work), ambitions, worldly perception, and anything related to the relationship you have with your superiors.

11H ➡️ sudden changes or expansion in your social circle (close friends and acquaintances), ambitions/aspirations for the future, memberships you pay of any sort, finances (return from investments, business income, or anything that affects money long term), social media presence, and overall your hopes or wishes might take a sharp turn to align you where you are meant to be.

12H ➡️ sudden changes or expansion in your finances (loss of money or increase in expenses), opportunities to travel abroad, hidden affairs, spirituality, self limitations, karmic responsibilities, and possibilities of working through your blind spots.

If you want to take it a few steps further, take a look at where the lord of that house is sitting at, and it will give interesting details to the grand picture.

Example:

Jupiter-Uranus conj sitting in 2nd house of resources and finances

Lord (planet ruler) of 2nd house is sitting in 9th house of foreign travel, luck, growth, beliefs

There will be sudden financial changes or expansion of their resources in relation to foreign matters, education overseas, father, ideologies, spiritual growth, traveling, etc

Please keep in mind these topics will manifest differently depending on the natal planets or angles in your chart it might touch as well.