There have been a number of musings and critiques in the feminist blogosphere lately about the community of "Christian lady bloggers" who reject feminism, egalitarian marriage, and even sometimes women's suffrage. I like these two posts by Echidne of the Snakes.
(NOTE to my Christian lady blogger friends: Yes, Echidne titles her first post "Travels in Wingnuttia." But as she hastens to explain that the term "wingnut" is a term of endearment employed by us feminazi/moonbat types. Her tone in both posts is critical and bemused but not hostile. And the first post includes pictures of some adorable little sweaters she knit.)
But actually my main point is that one of the bloggers discussed, Kim C. of Life in a Shoe, is currently live blogging her labor. Now I have to say that's kind of cool. I know she does not intend it as a feminist act, but there seems to be something very modern and feminist about recording and publicizing the experience of giving birth from the perspective of the mother herself. In the past, the birth process with all its messiness and pain was something to be swept under the carpet and only discussed among the women folk and only then in hushed whispers. It is always good to be reminded that giving birth is not necessarily an easy thing (although I certainly wish Kim C., who has 7 daughters already, a relatively easy and pain free labor). It is also good to be reminded that the laboring mother is still a human being with thoughts and decision-making capacity and emotions and agency. (My mother is still irritated 35 years later that before and during delivery, hospital staff referred to her in the third person as though she weren't even present.) And finally, every birth and the prodigious efforts of every mother during labor and delivery should be celebrated whether one comes from a pro-choice or anti-choice perspective.
Of course, I know that Kim C. neither lives nor blogs as a feminist. I don't know for sure but I suspect that she believes that all or most women should enslave themselves to their reproductive system by marrying, declining contraception, and carrying all resulting children to term. Nonetheless, I am cheered by her live blogging. Women expressing themselves, even or perhaps especially about intimate aspects of the female experience, can only be a good thing.
UPDATED: Kim had her baby -- a little boy, 8lbs, 9oz! Congratulations Kim!
Ha! I was just taking a break from reading her blog to see what you'd posted today. How funny. I agree with your thoughts and I'm glad she's sharing this. Ok, gonna go refresh her page again and see what's happening. :)
Posted by: Alice | June 28, 2006 at 07:11 PM
HF, thanks, that's a fascinating link.
Several of my friends are currently pregnant, and I've been shocked by how ignorant of the process I am (which is especially embarrassing for a professional biologist)! Pregnancy education at schools would be a great idea, if only the politics could be kept out of it.
Posted by: MissPrism | June 28, 2006 at 07:26 PM
I raise a suspicious eyebrow at this Kim person--I'm sorry, but how far into your labor are you actually capable of blogging?!
Posted by: mythago | June 29, 2006 at 01:06 AM
Mythago,
Depends on the labor, and whether the computer is between you and the bathroom.
With my first, no way! But God is gracious, and after a few trial runs labor tends to be a little easier.
:)
Posted by: KimC | June 29, 2006 at 02:37 AM
Wowza! I am so honored to have someone commenting on my blog while in LABOR!
Posted by: The Happy Feminist | June 29, 2006 at 05:59 AM
I think the idea of pregnancy education in schools is a great idea. I am fairly ignorant myself. I think people tend to think of it as an easier thing than it is. Of course, KimC actually does make it look easy.
Posted by: The Happy Feminist | June 29, 2006 at 06:39 AM
Kim's mother is 52, not Kim herself! Lovely little boy.
Posted by: Letty | June 29, 2006 at 09:32 AM
Oops. That's what happens when I read too fast. I thought that seemed really amazing. I corrected the update.
Posted by: The Happy Feminist | June 29, 2006 at 10:05 AM
Wow, thanks for the unbelievable link to the Echidne posts. The husband who wants his blogger wife (who would rather not vote) to vote, is obviously a pragmatist when it comes to principles. Here's an unkind thought: if only one could disenfranchise the wives, then maybe the political landscape in the U.S. would change...
Posted by: Heather | June 29, 2006 at 02:33 PM
Other "mommy bloggers" have blogged their labor before, and I love reading these "live" birth stories. (But no birth blogging for me -- my kids were all born well before I had a blog, and all of them were c-sections!)
By the way, some consider "mommy blog" to be an offensive, trivializing term -- though I`ve never minded it.
Posted by: L. | June 29, 2006 at 04:32 PM