Well here is another debate..Feminism and interventions in childbirth......
As I experienced and lived feminism I saw a divide a] there were many in the childbirth movement pushing for births of our choice with information and support the important components. Out of this focus came childbirth classes support groups and some memorable political activity..in those groups "natural childbirth' was the benchmark as was long term breastfeeding and this was in a society that was mostly bottle feeding etc Women were rarely in the full time paid workforce This was also a time when many other women were starting to stay in the workforce after childbirth..the 'luxuries' of classes support groups etc being lost in the scramble to accommodate everything. Some high profile women chose to tell their stories and I'm sure many described themselves as feminists but too often they were tales of c/sections so life could be planned or inductions..... and the advantages of long day childcare. Feminism is about Equity, Justice and Fairness.. sadly the equity was often the only aspect on the agenda...gains were so hard, that we often believed just getting one aspect of an equation was enough with the prospect of getting the rest later...Problem... women were too efficient and the next thing you know they were doing twice as much as ever and no business/company saw maternity leave; breastfeeding time out; flexible hours; etc as part of the essential agenda.... Being a feminist is not necesssarily a protection against brainwashing lets face it many young women today don't want to be labled 'feminist' I think they have only seen a small aspect of what feminism is and could do for women and have judged it...the same with childbirth. I am really only touching the surface of these issues... Elaine Odgers Norling -- This mailing list is sponsored by ACE Graphics. Visit <http://www.acegraphics.com.au> to subscribe or unsubscribe.
