Monday, June 6th 2011
Around the web: belated mother’s day edition
Apologies for the re-post, it was the only way to save the post and comments with the correct tags after the Blogger meltdown the other day!
I’ve been accumulating a lot of mother-y links lately, thought I would share. First two Mother’s Day columns that remind us that we shouldn’t just put Mom on a pedestal and give her some chocolate one day a year, but think in a more systematic way about the oppression of women and children worldwide. Read this one by Esther Cepeda, and this one by Nicholas Kristof.
Fertility
Women see Georgia O’Keefe art as erotic around ovulation. I’m not sure this really qualifies as evolutionary psychology, or needs that framework to understand that libido is higher near ovulation, which would increase the chances one would find erotic art extra erotic at that time.
Birth
Chimps give birth like humans. Very cool. I guess we didn’t notice until now because they are so solitary when they birth?
Cesarean sections are a major factor in maternal death. I don’t like how this article seems to blame the mother, given the way interventions seem to shunt many women towards C-sections whether they want one or not. But there are certainly many factors to consider in this issue, including the mother’s past health and the kinds of protocols used at the location where she is giving birth.
Cutting the cord too soon. This is an interesting piece in Time about the timing of cord clamping and its impact on respiratory issues in infants. Many birth centers and hospitals are advocating for a later time to clamp the cord for this and other reasons.
Mothering of all kinds
Hope for teenage mothers. This was a great story about a great program to help teen mothers have more success in school and beyond.
The amount of time a woman breastfeeds is related to her race and income. Not surprising, given that lactation support services are probably harder to come by, and that women who must earn an income can’t necessarily afford to go without pay for twelve weeks (that is the minimum maternity leave we get in the US, based on the Family Medical Leave Act, and most places give only that minimum). Even those women who do manage to get into a rhythm with breastfeeding lose it when they return to work, not just because of those short twelve weeks, but because few employers have workplaces set up for pumping.
Amy Poehler’s acceptance speech at the Time 100. She discusses the many other women (dare I say allomothers?) who support her as she raises her children and has a career. I may have teared up a little. Okay, I shut my office door and cried.
What measles vaccine refusal really costs. This is something parents should care about.
A hilarious account from a father about all the things you need to worry about — and expect to be judged upon — when having a child.
Finally, while this went around the interwebs when Dr. Isis wrote it the first time, re-read her AGORA post about why it’s all right to not be your mother.
Miscellaneous ladybusiness
The enduring gender gap in pay. Sigh.
Michele Bachelet should be everyone’s hero, if what I read in this story is any indication.
We can no longer escape the reality that BPAs (and other associated bisphenols, which unfortunately are what are being replaced in plastics that claim to be BPA-free) are endocrine disruptors that have negative consequences for health. Well, unless you’re Coca Cola. Then you are going to put your fingers in your ears and go “lalala!”
A lovely post on feminist reactions to street harassment. Another, very powerful read: kill me or leave me alone.
An important read about the use of language in journalistic storytelling, and the sexist way the New York Times originally covered the brutal gang rape of a little girl.
Historic STD posters. Were some sexist? Of course. But it only makes me want one for my office more, if for its ironic value.
