Karl, a Ph.D and faculty member at MIT, gave birth to both of his children — and despite being a foreigner, he is often asked to wait outside while nurses take care of his (non-pregnant) wife that. People cannot see both a man and a pregnant body, he said; As a result, Karl became more of a “fat man” than a pregnant one. Despite being designated female at birth (AFAB) and possessing a uterus and glands for breastfeeding, Karl is not – in the eyes of even the medical staff – a mom. Karl considers himself a PaPa; Other transgender parents choose the term androgynous more often, largely because of their understanding of motherhood. At best, parents with unusual pregnancies cause “utter confusion about gender” even among medical practitioners, Karl says, but at worst it leads to trauma, violence and harm. harm, in transgender men who do not receive emergency care during a miscarriage, in trans women who are treated like a pedophile, and whose identity is not often completely erased.
It’s not over yet woman and mom no, like never, are synonymous. In fact, no term has any objective reality at all.
Motherhood, like sex, is a social construct; “it exists because people agree that it exists. “We create buildings as a means of organizing the world and trying to control it. They are useful for organizing our thoughts; they become extremely dangerous when we mistake them for reality. Some commentators go so far as to suggest that a trans woman’s pregnancy “turns upside down” and curves up.immutable biological reality. But motherhood is not immutable, and it is not (necessarily or completely) biological. In recent decades, scientific technology has come closer than ever to making fertility possible for everyone, from those struggling with infertility due to conditions like endometriosis. low supply or number of gametes to people born with Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser syndrome (MRKH)a rare disorder in which AFAB women are born without a uterus or upper two-thirds of the birth canal.
The concept of “motherhood” must be detached from its unique connection with “women’s rights”, otherwise we risk turning into a society that punishes, punishes or commits violence against women. with parents or their children. We have formulated this term and imbued it with its meaning, and we too have been able to change it, and perhaps remove its divinity and demons.
Adrienne Rich, a poet and essayist, once described the “two ropes” of motherhood. One is an experience, and the other is a political institution in which “all women are primarily considered mothers; all mothers must experience motherhood invariably and in accordance with patriarchal values; and the ‘disinterested’ woman is seen as deviant. These restrictive assumptions not only limit opportunities for women; they limit access to health care for those who will become mothers but do not fit with traditional conceptions of motherhood. ( Recent draft decision of the Supreme Court regarding Roe vs. Wade makes these shortcomings all the more obvious, as transgender people with a uterus are consistently excluded from discussions of reproductive rights.)
Today’s skewed assumptions about gender are largely inherited from the rise of the middle class. Among the poorer classes, men, women and sometimes children work to maintain families; Among rich or aristocratic women, nurses and tutors often took over the care of the children. But the wealthy families of the 19th century, who could afford entertainment, only needed one parent to go out to work, and it became pride if a man could keep his wife at home. . The new middle class unites women, wives and mothers into one single type of society. The image of the submissive mother and housewife is further reinforced in June’s tropes of Cleaver in the 1950s and 60s. According to Pew’s time use studies, in 1965, the men Dad only spends 2.5 hours a week take care of their children. That is a woman’s job, even as a “mother” as The social role of women is a recent invention.
The social structures surrounding motherhood have always limited the experience to very specific and patriarchal groups. Class, education, and race are all used at different times to deny motherhood. In the 20th century, more than 60,000 people (mostly women of color, people with disabilities, and those with lower incomes) have been sterilized against their will in the United States. In California, female prisoner was forcibly sterilized in late 2010. And Immigration and Customs Enforcement teams have been charged with coercion disinfect the detainees in the past five years. All of these procedures are performed on people who possess reproductive organs to give birth and are considered “women” by those who have had their organs removed. For all the emphasis on motherhood that belongs only to those who have two X chromosomes and are designated female at birth, there are those who are willing to force the right to do so as soon as it fits their purpose. political purpose. Therefore, it is clear that no term is immutable.
Similarly, transgender women are often excluded from motherhood in a variety of ways. Some have been rejected the term “mother” by their children and even by court system, but the threats to transgender parenthood don’t stop there. As Mya Byrne, an American singer-songwriter, actress, and transgender activist, explains, transgender women are viewed by superstitious society as “problematic” parents. They were presented as “not safe“Around children through poignant rhetoric about sexism and sexism [Trigger warning: Linked transcript contains abusive language toward transgender persons]. Mya told me, “If a child comes to my door, I will take him and raise him. “If you adopt them, they are your own children. [Queer people] create family. We create parenting styles. And whether we reproduce through pregnancy or not, we can also be parents.”
