Please join us in thanking WEDU for an incredible portrayal of 20 years worth of labor on the MoM distilled into a 10 minute profile, airing tonight at 8:30PM EST on local/FL TV, by Producer Kristine Kelly, camera by James Borchuck and the entire production and staffing team at PBS on the creation of the Museum of Motherhood through a very personal lens.
MoM is a legacy project because of a deep need in our world and in our society, a vision that came through immense hardship, and a lot of grinding work, as well as some blissful and blessed support with volunteers and allies. Every single person who has put their energy behind this initiative can, and should, take pride in being part of something that in an amazing FIRST on this planet.
Each volunteer, visitor, student, board member, academic, artist, team member, donor, friend, and family member should consider this story of perseverance and triumph to be their own. We share it with you in every way.
New exhibits coming. Installation of Madison Hendry ‘The Womb’ Project is in progress.
Make it GREAT with us: This is OUR YEAR FOR UNMITIGATED SUCCESS. MoM is going to find the funding and partnerships it requires in 2024 to build our forever home – with your help, equity, and alliance! Together we rise!
Everyone has a #Mother, but #Motherhood encompasses much more than a traditional maternal role. We explore the art, science, and history of mothering in its myriad forms through the one-of-a-kind @MuseumOfMotherhood More episodes of Greater St. Petersburg are available on our website @ WEDU
In this special episode Josh Naaman of Naaman Creative interviews his grandmother, Nana, about her life, lessons on family, kindness, and peace, and discovers how these values helped shape Josh’s business model. This intimate conversation highlights the enduring impact of family bonds, emphasizes the joy of doing what you love, and explores timeless wisdom from a life well-lived. Join us in celebrating family, love, and the pursuit of happiness across generations. (Hear our MoM ad)
THANKS FOR BEING PART OF IT ALL!
We have a call out for VOLUNTEERS. Looking for onsite event volunteers for Second Saturday Art Walk, First Sunday Indie Flea, docents, and social media! Please give us a shout if you have a few hours a week or month to share and join our AMAZING team! Or, create your event, workshop, or gathering by getting in touch FORM. Also, INFO@MOMmuseum.org / 877-711-MOMS (6667)
“There are only four kinds of people in the world—those who have been caregivers, those who are currently caregivers, those who will be caregivers, and those who will need caregivers.” Rosalynn Carter.
What is a m/other, if not someone who sees to the wellbeing of her family whenever and if-ever possible? From birth on, the person who both gave us life and also the person who often sees to our care and upbringing are forever linked through body, mind, and psyche to the one’s whom they are connected.
Through our biologies, our relationships and our care-work, we are all connected in unfathomable ways
Our children’s cells live on in our brains. Whether we are caregiving forward towards our offspring or adopted children, or our neighborhood, or caring backward for a parent or grandparent , the circle of life involves constant attention to our collective well-being.
Research shows women who live near each other affect the other’s reproductive cycles. It is also scientifically proven that we share more than just our pregnant bodies with our offspring. “Women have microchimeric cells both from their mother, as well as from their own pregnancies” (Link). These remain in our bodies throughout our lives. We are indeed present in not only our physical reality but also our energetic one.
We honor the work of Rosalynn Carter and of all the mothers and others who have devoted large portions of their lives to caring for others: this can mean mental health care, infant care, healthcare, domestic care, professional care, partner care, community care, parent care and even environmental and pet care.
MoM needs your help as we nurture the nurturers and empower the future caregivers of the world
At the Museum of Motherhood we work everyday, round the clock to share the art, science and herstory of mothers. In September, we moved to a new 1,000 sq. ft venue in the arts district of St. Petersburg, Florida!
With over a dozen volunteers who reach thousands of individuals each month, we require the dollars to stay open, accessible, and free to the public.
WE NEED YOUR HELP!
Fundraiser Museum of Motherhood end of year 2023
Our ‘Mothers Give Everyday’ Campaign is a call to raise $30K:
Can you help us pay the rent and utilities in 2024 at our new venue?
Can you help us make our website ADA compliant.
Will you add a name to our Tribute page?
MAKE A LEGACY DONATION IN THE NAME OF SOMEONE YOU LOVE ON OUR TRIBUTE PAGE! Donate here [Link at bottom) or on our GoFundMe page!
Join this campaign in memory of your mother, grandmother, and those people you hold near & dear: the blended families, the non-traditional families and the individuals that have nurtured you. Or, honor a professional who has impacted your life by taking care of your reproductive health: the midwives, obstetricians, nurses, doulas, and pediatricians. The teachers, aunties, and other mothers who have and are impacting the future leaders of our world!
After 20 years of creating conferences, working with students around the world, mentoring young women (and men), and creating a safe and then significant space for family members, we have landed:
HELLO ST PETERSBURG WE HAVE JOINED THE CITY OF MUSEUMS!
Make a tax deductible donation in any amount to the MOM Art Annex 591c3 for the Museum of Motherhood .
MoM loves you and values your participation.
Remember there is only one degree of separation between YOU and MOM.
Threads of Connection–Sorry/Not Sorry: Confronting mother (and other) blame–healing & resistance in contemporary culture and beyond
St. Petersburg, Florida & Online
March 22-24, 2024
CFP – Deadline, Dec. 15, 2023
The Museum of Motherhood is calling all scholars, artists, and community members for presentations and papers on the subject of mother (and other) blame, shame and pain, with a focus on resistance and healing.
Blame and shame can be self-imposed or projected by dominant social narratives that hyper-focus on the performative nature of motherhood as reinforced by unrealistic hegemonic constructions. This can be true for adult children reviewing familial relationships as well.
This international call for papers invites artists, sociologists, maternal psychologists, philosophers, anthropologists, women’s sexuality and gender professors, masculinity studies experts, birth-workers, doctors, researchers, students, and lay-people to share their work.
We encourage presenters to unpack the sociocultural domain of mother (and other) blame and the psychological, personal, professional, and media environment within which this topic is situated. Who is harmed by blame, and whom does it serve? How are oppressive systems reinforced or even sustained? How can we resist or dismantle these systems in large and small ways? What forms of resistance, peace-making, and healing can help improve our relationships?
The conference will serve as a site of resistance and empowerment as we deconstruct, reframe, and affirm the complex landscape of care-work and the ongoing labor within family systems everywhere. We recognize the scale, variance, and duration of these passionate debates and hope to this conference will contribute to the body of knowledge on this subject.
Last year’s Annual Academic (and Arts) MoM Conference yielded a marvelous distillation of journal entries on the subject of Reproductive Landscapes, and more. The Journal is now posted online with videos coming soon. MoM’s mission is to serve at the intersection of the arts, scholarship, and the general public, reaching as many women, mothers, academics, and life-long students as possible. We hope you enjoy this year’s edition.
— BIO: Hello! I’m Lera, a high school graduate from Rostov-on-Don, Russia. I aim to further my studies in college with a minor in Women’s Studies. My heart is set on social justice, art history, creative practice, Ed-Tech, and women’s rights. I am a designer and an artist, and my passion lies in the social application of my skill set. Last year, I began my internship at Borderless, an international Ed-Tech company that democratizes study abroad. I also co-founded She Exhibits, a non-profit gallery that counters gender-based discrimination in art. Additionally, I designed a social zine for an organization protecting women in the North Caucasus. Through these roles, I’ve learned a lot about the challenges women face daily. I’m particularly concerned about how women’s rights are being eroded in contexts of wars, authoritarian regimes, and government policies, such as those in Russia that affect reproductive and LGBTQ+ rights. Now, joining MoM as a Graphics & Research Intern, I’m thrilled to deepen my understanding of sociology, women’s rights, and motherhood through working in the vast specter of projects. During my journey at MoM, I’m eager not only to contribute to the women’s rights movement with my expanding skill set but also to further the conversation on motherhood as a daughter of a single mother!
— PASSIONS FOR MOM: I am eager to spend a fruitful year with MoM, engaging with a broad range of projects, intertwining research and art! My contributions to MoM will include graphic content creation, and enhancement of the visuals of different initiatives. I’m also looking forward to conducting research endeavors and taking on creative projects to serve MoM’s community!
We have been working over the past few weeks to make the transition from our offices- where our permanent collection has lived for the last seven years at the MOM Art Annex to our new location at The Factory in the Warehouse District in St. Pete.
Only a mile from our current spot, heading south on 28th St., take a left at the decorative art pole on Fairfield Ave, and go a few hundred yards to a small parking area where a rainbow sidewalk appears. Walking through the double doors at 2622 Fairfield Ave., the Fairgrounds and Daddy Cool Records are on your left – then, to the right and up the ramp is the new Museum of Motherhood location! Whoo hoo.
This move signifies a huge leap for MoM in the state of Florida. As a woman-owned organization focused on art, community, culture, and education in a climate that holds so much potential, we aim to cultivate relationships based on inclusion, love, and empowerment. This means holding space that is both safe and welcoming.
We do our best, all the time.
We invite you to participate in this new grand experiment in St. Petersburg, Florida (and online), as the Museum of Motherhood explores women’s place and progress in Western society. Together, we will collectively develop new notions of what it means to grow and collaborate together while celebrating our shared legacy of birth, life, and death on this planet.
Join us in our unwavering journey to inform and inspire!
Welcome Please Our Newest Intern
Graziella Pierangeli s a senior English/Museum studies major at Bryn Mawr College. She is passionate about recognizing the academic and personal achievements of women throughout history. She has worked on projects highlighting the important work done by women scientists, on the role of motherhood in ancient Greek tragedies, and the unique perspective of lesbian authors. When she isn’t working at MoM, she can be found tutoring at the Bryn Mawr Writing Center, taking long walks around campus, or reading a science fiction novel. She is so excited to be included in the founding mothers project!
MoM has acquired the Mother Tree for our permanent collection! Thanks to each of you who donated through our GoFundMe, our website, or by private contribution. Thanks too, artist Helen Hiebert, artist and creator for trusting us and for additional support. Thanks to all of you we have succeeded in achieving this wonderful milestone.
This purchase represents the culmination of two years of fundraising for our permanent collection and we couldn’t be more pleased to share this success with each of you. If you have been fortunate to have seen the Mother Tree at the MoM Art Annex or one of her other previous exhibitions spaces, lit up and beaming, then you join an exclusive group who have indeed been fortunate. Moving forward we look forward to future large scale exhibition spaces where we can share her for public display.
May has been an incredible month for forging new connections, completing projects, and travel. For those of you who have been keeping up with travel blog reports from founding director, Martha Joy Rose, travels to the Goddess temples of Malta have been transformational indeed. You can read more about the Goddess’s of Malta at our founder’s blog.
Throughout June, July, and August, operations will continue at the MoM Art Annex though outreach activities are paused. Our team will be busy strategizing a year’s worth of exhibits for our 2023-24 season which commences in September. During the summer, internships, grant writing, renovations, and curatorial activities will be in full swing.
Finally, we want to share news from our recent experience at the Modern Herbal Apothecary in Tampa for a ‘Closing the Bones Ceremony’. Lyani Powers, doula and owner of MHA presented at this year’s annual academic MoM Conference on ‘Maternal Landscapes’. This ritualistic ceremony can be traced to South America, Africa, and Asia, yet here in American this ritual is not common. Founder Joy Rose was graciously invited to Lyani’s studio post-conference.
During the conference,Lyani shared that she performed ‘Closing the Bones’ on her mother-in-law so it seemed the ceremony could work on new mothers as well as older mothers. Here at MoM we recognize the ways in which many women continue symbolically, and in real life, remain attached to grief, trauma, and even may stay stuck emotionally or become over-involved in their adult children’s lives. Could this be a way to honor those sacred bonds while allowing space for closure and release? We were hoping so.
Nestled into a residential neighborhood Lyani’s gorgeous space is stocked with teas, herbs, and scents that are both delicious and healing. The ceremony itself involved sage, touch, a holding of the body and swaying gently while being gently cradled. This was followed by a tight body- wrapping, a rest, and it concluded with a ceremonial tea and washing of the feet. There were low mutterings, incantations, and prayers for releasing old patterns and welcoming new energy and new ways of being.
This was all a marvelous closure to our founder’s extended trip to visit the Goddess Temples of Malta. The divine feminine has been with us and the world for at least five-thousand years BC. How do those threads get lost? How do the rituals that sustain us disappear? We must weave our way back in time together to activate the symbolic strength of women as respected and glorious members of society.
The Museum of Motherhood’s first online exhibition was in 2010. The launch featured a Sacred Feminine exhibit created Polly Wood online. Now, thirteen years later in 2023, Batya Weinbaum began work on the Goddess mural at the MOM Art Annex for her ‘Artist in Residency’ project. There is a lot of herstory in this world to be mapped – indeed, there is a link to all our shared legacies and experiences. We encourage you to do some research on ‘Closing of the Bones’ rituals. There is much to learn and much to celebrate if we can stay strong in our bonds to each other and continue to find ways to collaborate. Find our more at ModernHerbalApothocary.com or search ceremonies online. And, please, whatever you do, make sure to stay strong. You are beautiful!
Modern Herbal Apothecary
Herbal Tea Time
Delicious
The wrapping prep
Sage and Conversation
Lyani Leads
The Bone Closing Ceremony
Lyani Powers, Doula and Owner MHA
Flower Foot Bath
Mushroom Walls
The Closing of the Bones Ceremony brought a SONG to mind and is summed up well here:
I can’t really explain it I haven’t got the words It’s a feeling that you can’t control I suppose its like forgetting Losing who you are And at the same time Something makes you whole Its like that there’s a music Playing in your ear And I’m listening, and I’m listening And then I disappear (Lyrics from the song Electric- Billy Elliot, the musical )
‘Tis the season of grace and friendship. Let us shine our lights brightly and wide. Let us reflect on the past as we approach the new year. Let that include in our reflections a little understood, often neglected vast herstory of Goddess-wisdom from within the pagan evolutions of this holiday season rooted in mystical wisdom and earth worship.
As the director of the MoM for almost twenty years, I have met with academics, artists, and m/others from around the world. They often share elaborative perspectives on women’s issues, family studies, and feminism. I often meet people who have lived experiences vastly different than my own. They always inspire.
For example, artist, scholar, and Femspec editor, Batya Weinbaum arrived onsite at MoM for a month of mural-making and herstory speaking at the beginning of December. Everyday, there is some new story. Beginning with her early years in Manhattan as a young feminist participating variety in consciousness-raising collectives to her systematic sharing of stories of art-making and land-living. Batya regularly teaches college coursework, hosts online art circles, and speaks at international gatherings. For me, she has become a wise, welcome daily fixture onsite at MoM, where young families regularly visit to hear her stories and where we collaborate on some art-sharing circles.
Batya Weinbaum Mural at Museum of Motherhood
Batya Weinbaum Mural at Museum of Motherhood
Batya Weinbaum Mural at MoM
Feminist Circle Art-Making at MoM
Family Hannukah in the Feminist Playhouse
Batya Weinbaum
Batya is a graduate of Hampshire College and a mosaic muralist acclaimed for an eight year art installation project on Isla Mujeres, Mexico, where images of fertility goddesses from around the world and across cultures were assembled in large figurines in order to lend strength to the Maya fertility goddess, IxChel. Her work elaborates on the Neolithic period, influenced by the works of Marija Gimbutas, Riane Eisler, Monica Sjoo (The Great Cosmic Mother) and Elizabeth Barber (Women’s Work: The First 20,000 Years), who discuss periods of human history when motherhood was not a liability but something to be revered.
While visiting the MOM Art Annex, she will be constructing a fertility goddess mural from 6000 BCE. She believes women need to get in touch with origin myths in order to be strong women today. I agree!
This energy is significantly meaningful for students of all ages. Beyond contemporary celebrity icons, it is important to channel the power of the little studied leaders of a more female-friendly, woman-centric world.
Dr. Weinbaum’s contributions to MoM will serve up inspiration as well as a powerful legacy of connection to community members touring the MOM Art Annex as we build together towards our vision of a Museum of Motherhood here in St. Pete.
“Batya’s work hits on so many different levels for women, whether or not they’re mothers or feminists… And even in our current political climate, I think all women can and will find a unique resonance with this booming goddess that she’s installing at MOMMuseum. For me personally, as someone who has always struggled with balancing humility and pride, Batya’s raw, bold work inspires bravery and pride in addition to capturing the colorful joys that mothers contribute to a community.” – Dannie Snyder, Artivist & Educator
BIO: Batya Weinbaum is a visionary artist whose works have been sold at the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, the Oberlin Art Museum, and many galleries in NY, Boston, VA, OH, Hawaii and Michigan as well as Mexico. She has been active in the Association for the Study of Women in Mythology. Some of her work can be seen at goddess vibe.org. Dr. Weinbaum teaches online at Boston College in the Lynch School of Education and Human Development, and American Public University. She earned her doctorate at UMass Amherst, her Master’s at SUNY Buffalo, and her Bachelor’s at Hampshire College. She has published numerous creative and critical works, including award-winning essays, fiction and poetry. She was a cofounder of the Feminist Mother’s and Their Allies Caucus and Task Force in National Women’s Studies Association, where she petitioned for child care, and has published extensively about the impact of motherhood on grassroots political organizing in Palestine/Israel, in numerous journals and anthologies.
Great Cosmic Mother
As Batya writes, “A museum dedicated to the study of motherhood deserves a message from the past via an image of a goddess, a fat fecundity image seated on a throne flanked by lions from Catal Huyuk now in Turkey, conjuring up shrines where goddesses were revered for giving birth.”
Ms. Weinbaum splits her time between Floyd VA and Cleveland Hts, OH, is happy to grant interviews about the project. Her art, publications, workshops and adventures can be followed on IG #divinefemimineartworkshops
I’ll admit, I am mostly an observer on social media. Hanging back, commenting occasionally, and mostly tuning in when it seems interesting friend-wise, geographically or plant/food-wise. My kids send me weird stuff all the time from here and occasionally I get lost in the weirdness.
Recently, there has been an outcry in the broader social media community and in the news regarding a plethora of topics having to do with mothers.
I’ve been immersed in the world of M/otherhood for a very long time as a scholar, a family person, and a museum curator. I think a lot more could be done, with our group here at the museum, and in our new Membership Community to collectively empower us.
For today I would just like to put it out there, that the formula crisis- or I should say the ‘lack’ of infant formula crisis is a reflection on how we treat those to procreate in general in America.
I want to avoid any hot responses or trolling type of things and just generally assert that for the population that makes humankind viable (mothers), for better or worse, who live in a country with no Social Security benefits for their time at home, an ongoing non-equitable pay situation, and a lack of federally mandated parental leave, the formula crisis is just another tip of the iceberg (among many other things). For many this is a life and death situation that begins with birth and ends, in the case of many, with death. I am specifically noting the fact that the US has the highest maternal mortality rate of any developed nation.
Now I recognize that social media is often a place to vent and occasionally to also problem solve with positive suggestions. Advocating that women should simply breast-feed is not really in tune with everybody’s reality. There are a myriad of reasons for this, so I would be in favor of those with experience, sharing their strength and hope.
For example, the New York Milk Bank has been working for years to distribute donated breast milk. Another recent news story I stumbled on suggested that mother’s milk may soon be able to be grown in a lab (?), and when my kids were infants I sometimes supplemented with a homegrown mixture of powdered goats milk, carrot juice and molasses (the recipe can still be found online), though I am not advocating with for a specific solution as the founder of MOM, but rather raising the bar on visibility of those with experience in this area.
Tonight, May 22nd from 7-8:30PM, MOM shares 90 minutes with filmmaker and scholar Bonnie Silvestri online on Zoom: her film addresses American family policy among other things. The screening and talk back are free. The best way to participate is to sign up at our Community and then RSVP to join us for the 34 minute film, followed by open discussion.
Before, I sign off today, I also want to share the work of one fierce, feminist advocate Jul who created the banner for this blog and also creates awesome items which we’ve added to our store onsite at the MOM Art Annex, because, well, because every little bit helps. We need the next generation of women artists, leaders, moms, and advocates to rise. Here is Jul, in her own words:
My name is Jul and I am the artist and owner of Jul Uncensored—a Shop and Podcast centered around body positivity, sex education and social issues! I sell art, pussy pillows, badass t-shirts, funny feminist finds, and so much more in order to create awareness, spread positivity, and maybe even make people smile and laugh! The majority of the goods sold are made with up/cycled, reused, repurposed materials in order to cut down on environmental waste. You can follow me on my journey on my socials @jul_uncensored or on my website: http://www.juluncensored.com
For me personally, and for the Museum and our members collectively, whatever we can do to spread the good word, create collaborations and to encourage community, is a win-win. At least we’re not suffering alone, and who knows – we just might find solutions if we work together?!
What are your thoughts and how might we collaboratively move ahead to support each other and to solve these kinds of problems? Hope you can join us for the film tonight. Here’s the link again. Once you join the FREE community, you will have access to the event ‘Funnel of Dreams’. It would be awesome to see you there. Because, really – Motherhood IS one fuck of a journey!
Hello World. Read here: New podcast, MOM Conference, Acquisitions, and the Feminist Playhouse!
We continue to keep our focus high and our voices strong here at MOM. To that end, we had a beautiful weekend in St Petersburg filled with art and celebration as people from all walks of life and far-ranging geographies came to enjoy the MOM Art Annex gardens (featuring art byLuci Westphalfrom the AEHK neighborhood and in our online store), exhibits, as well as the Feminist Playhouse, where Martha Joy Rose lectured widely on womyn, equality, and mother Studies, while making lemon art.
Special shout out to our Remote Residency Participant Rebecca Louise Clarke (Monash University, Australia), who is completing her PhD as well as a book on maternal objects and museums for Routledge Press. Her recent feature on cardiCast episode 84 podcast was a marvelous and generous sharing of our work here at the Museum of Motherhood and her time studying with Martha Joy Rose. It is a marvelous listen and well worth tuning in (link is above and here).
This weekend, MOM hosts its Annual Art and Academic MOM Conference in person and on Zoom. Only registered participants may attend this two-day activity. Our topic this year features Creativity for a Cause with luminaries, activists, and professionals from around the world. You must be a member of our new Community Page to attend and be pre-approved due to Zoom limitations.
Finally, we have been slowly building our collections here at MOM. Our newest additions to the collection are Jo Spence, Remodeling Photo History: Revisualization 1981-82, black and white print (England). This photo serves as a study in deconstructing breastfeeding, asking us to interrogate deeply held assumptions (with a totally punk rock spin).
Also new to the collection is Sallie Hackett Brown’s sculpture Tender or Threat. Sally is an AEHK icon. The sculpture’s movement of the wood and metal is evocative of a figurative male/female dance, with all its complexities, though the sculpture itself is quite simple.
The Mother Tree is on loan from artist Helen Hiebert. Helen is a nationally recognized paper artist and a friend of MOM since the museum days in New York City. This seven- foot-high sculpture is intended to invoke the way in which nursing mothers nourish the world. The long silken tendrils cascading from her chest lead towards a collection of hand crocheted yarn collected around her feet which reach into the community connecting all our best intentions. (Also pictured in the background, ‘In Black and White’, photographs by Alexia Nye Jackson for Mother the Job).
Our online fundraiser is ongoing. Please consider joining us by adding your name to our Mother Tree Fundraiser. The link to our GO FUND ME is here!
February is Black History Month! Here at MOM, we celebrate Black motherhood by kicking off our Library Features by highlighting the work of author and activist Kimberly Seals Allers.
Kimberly is a graduate of Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, executive director of Narrative Nation, inc., president and chief health communicator of Shift Health Communication Strategy and author Of “The Big Letdown—how Medicine, Business & Feminism Undermine Breastfeeding,” published in January 2017. [1] Recent accomplishments include a yelp-like app that fights racism from a public accountability perspective. Find out more here [LINK].
Kimberly Seals Allers is passionate about the ways motherhood intersects with race, class, and policy. [2] She had her first baby shortly after graduate school and was very anxious about birthing complications, that, as a black woman, she was statistically more likely to face. She felt her concerns were brushed off by the hospital workers, and then was inspired to invent strategies to improve birth and breastfeeding conditions in America.
Since she kept hearing of more traumatic experiences from black and Latina women, she and her 13-year-old son decided to launch an app calledIrth , that helps people of color find prenatal doctors, birthing doctors, postpartum doctors and pediatricians, by showing reviews similar to Yelp. You can even search for reviews by the race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, or income of the reviewer, allowing users to make sure the medical professionals will be inclusive of their needs. Although currently only available in New York City, New Orleans, Sacramento, Detroit, Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia, she hopes it will eventually be launched nationwide. She also hopes it will grow to include fertility specialists and breast cancer doctors, and that it will inspire white women to take allyship.[3]
She also wrote The Big Letdown about how breastfeeding is stigmatized in ways that promote unhealthy baby formulas, and how it relates to oversights in feminism and public policy. [4]
By the logic she uses, breastfeeding babies for the first six months of their lives has been proven to benefit their physical and mental health in many ways, including decreasing chances of disease and obesity. It is also proven to benefit the breastfeeder by lowering chances of past-partrum depression, increasing confidence, self-esteem and calmness, improve sense of connection with the child, and lower chances of cancer, diabetes and endometriosis. [5]
However, as women now work more than ever before, many mothers, especially black mothers, have been convinced that baby formulas are better, because they don’t take time away from work. Health care, daycare, and maternity leave have gotten less attention now that women can feed their babies through pumps and don’t need the time to breastfeed. [6]
In addition to the scheduling preference for formulas, breastfeeding in public is typically shamed, as most people have noticed. Even though breasts are commonly shown in advertising and media for straight men’s sexual interest, many people are uncomfortable seeing breasts used for an essential action. The association with sexuality causes anxiety, embarrassment and confliction about breastfeeding in public.
Studies have proven that social status, level of education, and especially, amount of support from friends and family, all improve chances of making healthy infant-feeding decisions;but, even the majority of women who breastfeed still believe it’s wrong to do in front of men.[7] even in Australia, where there is a law banning discrimination against breast-feeding, formula feeding is still more popular due to lack of knowledge on how to breastfeed properly, pressure to return to work, conflicting medical advice, isolation and lack of support. [9] Many argue that it’s a personal choice whether you breastfeed or formula feed, but I’m not sure it’s an informed choice, when so many people are unaware of the benefits of breastfeeding.
Feminism and sociology aim to change this by promoting normalization of female/reproductive body functions. Professionals in this field have aimed to show how much women and breasts are seen as sexual objects, designed to tempt men and boys, [11], and create changes towards breasts being seen as a simple body part. As they might argue, the stigma against breastfeeding is part of the issue of women, transgender people and children being seen as less “natural” and suitable for public exposure.
As Allers herself argues “[t]asking about breastfeeding means talking about women’s bodies, feminism, policy gaps, commercial interests and physician education.” [12] She, and others in similar fields, aim for breastfeeding parents to have support from their partners, family and friends, and eventually, improve birthing conditions, children being treated equally and adequate muttering leaves. [Tap on the image below to read more about Kimberly].
This project is made possible through the MOM Internship Project. To find out more about Violet Phillips or to read about our interns, go to our Internship Page here at MOM [LINK].
Our Bodies, Ourselves was written by The Boston Women’s Health Collective in 1970, with the goal of promoting women and girl’s health, reproductive rights, and sexuality. The knowledge presented was radical for its day, illuminating topics as varied as masturbation and abortion.
To quote the Los Angeles Times, “Forty years ago, a copy of “OBOS” on the shelf signified you were a certain type of woman — curious, and unashamed of it. In control. You were not the high school junior who was clueless about sex and pregnancy and missed six months of classes due to “mono.”[1]
Three years after Our Bodies was published, abortion in America became legal with the passing of Roe Vs Wade.[2] Sex education programs in classrooms had been gaining in traction in schools since the 1960s.[3] However, controversy about girl’s bodies and who controls them has continued to be a topic of debate and public discourse.
Even in 2020, there is still growing pressure for women to get plastic surgery and sexual images shown on media pressure teenagers to engage in certain behaviors. While there have been many systemic changes, teenage girls’ vulnerability to STDs, ongoing pressure to have sex at a young age, and unrealistic beauty standards haven’t changed enough. Society continues to evolve, but when it comes to recognizing individual’s personal choices there is still room to be more inclusive.
Early versions of Our Bodies, Ouselves did not include information about transgender identities, environmental concerns, or mental health advice. However, the writers have since expanded their knowledge. In 2020, Our Bodies, Ourselves launched a website. Today, they give well-researched advice, on health, sexuality, and wellness for women, girls and also transgender people.
Throughout the years, The Boston Women’s Collective has inspired health care policies, research on women’s health, feminist activism, feminist studies, health care, and health activism. Prior to the publication of this seminal piece of literature, in many parts of the world, sexuality as well as reproductive rights had many negative associations.[4]
I have grown up in an era of increased knowledge. Gone are the early-day doctors who focused on women’s reproductive value, and used “hysteria” as a diagnosis, which minimized women’s emotional wellbeing and invalidated women’s experiences.[5] My grandmother nearly died from a botched illegal abortion in the early 60s. The original copy of Our Bodies, Ourselves in my bookcase was inherited from her. Because of the work of the Boston Women’s Collective, I am privileged to enjoy a more positive outlook than many women from my grandmother’s age.
Access to the internet in 2021 connects us at unprecedented levels. One recent novel titled, Conversations Between Friends published in 2017, by Sally Rooney, discusses the topic of endometriosis. The main character gets diagnosed at 21 years old. The disease is often undiagnosed and rarely mentioned in the media, even though it’s been known to have serious effects on mental health, and even on education. Endometriosis is addressed on the new Our Bodies Ourselves website.[6]
Despite a prolific and sometimes superficial “wellness culture” that includes dubiously helpful information, there is a forty-year-plus history of Our Bodies Ourselves which gives people verified information that is dedicated to addressing topics as wide-ranging as motherhood, health, reproductive-control, and emotional well-being. That is a good thing!
urselves– and how one book can change your entire life.” Laura lambert. Brightly. Online. Accessed January 9, 2021.
[5] The female problem: how male bias In medical trials ruined women’s health.” Gabrielle Jackson. The guardian. November 13, 2019. Online. Accessed January 8, 2021.
Meet our newest intern, English major Violet Phillips from Mills College, Oakland, CA. Read more about Violet on our Internship page. We look forward to her ongoing reports from the MOM Library, posted here throughout the next few months.
