“However, not to promote something that is healthy and biologically embedded into our genes because we are worried about gender roles is beyond insanity.”
Men and women are clearly physiologically different, and therefore using the term “equal” seems rather simplistic to me. However, what I will happily concede is the fact that due to our advancements in technology, those differences hold little sway in our daily lives. With the move to allow women into combat arms jobs in the military, there really aren’t any gender-specific jobs out there anymore.
From a practical standpoint, we have really come to a point where our differences matter very little in the daily conduct of our lives. For example, men no longer need our physical prowess to hunt across the plains and then drag our prey back to feed a village. Likewise, the ability for women to differentiate a far broader range of colors may have helped them determine what plants were edible and healthy, but in our modern world, this offers no real advantage.
However, there is still one biological law that we must adhere to—the conception and birthing cycle. To this end (at least for now), women still hold an absolute role. They carry children into our world. Nature was not content to simply allow this to occur with no consequences. In the article “Mother-Infant Bonding: The Science of Smell” the author states,
“The bond between a mother and her child are much deeper than just emotional heart strings. Pheromones are exchanged in the womb, through breastfeeding, and through other means of physical contact which create a lifelong bond between mothers and their children.”
In fact, studies have shown over and over that the chemical bond that occurs between mother and child throughout the birth cycle continues with breastfeeding. With this stated, I am not passing judgment on those moms who choose not to, or are incapable of, breastfeeding. Everyone has unique situations, and I believe that people need to be free to make the best decisions for themselves and their families. Yet, even with this being stated, I see no reason not to promote this behavior, as there are no negatives to it…or are there?
Jessica Martucci and Anne Barnhill recently wrote an article speaking to the unintended consequences of breastfeeding. In their own words,
“Coupling nature with motherhood, however, can inadvertently support biologically deterministic arguments about the roles of men and women in the family (for example, that women should be the primary caretakers of children). Referencing the ‘natural’ in breastfeeding promotion, then, may inadvertently endorse a controversial set of values about family life and gender roles, which would be ethically inappropriate. Invoking the ‘natural’ is also imprecise because it lacks a clear definition. For similar reasons, the recent Nuffield report states that public agencies, governments, and organizations contributing to public and political debates about science, technology, and medicine ‘should avoid using the terms natural, unnatural, and nature’ unless they make transparent the ‘values or beliefs that underlie them.’”
Wait a minute and what the heck? Controversial set of values about gender roles?
ONLY WOMEN CAN BREASTFEED!
I admit it—I believe that the world has completely and totally lost its mind. This article has managed to take that belief and solidify it into fact. News flash for those who live in some alternate universe—women should breastfeed. Help me out here. What mammal does not breastfeed its young? This is not some judgment call on those women who don’t or can’t. It is simply a statement backed by lots and lots of hard science.
If a woman chooses not to, that is completely her choice, and she probably has exceptionally good reasons for it. However, not to promote something that is healthy and biologically embedded into our genes because we are worried about gender roles is beyond insanity.
The left has doubled down on their alternative view on the world, and it simply blows my mind that people do not stand up and call them out on it. This is further shown by the same article that Martucci and Barnhill wrote.
“Vaccines are often seen as ‘unnatural,’ and boosting immunity ‘naturally’ is viewed by some as the healthier and better approach. Online forums and blogs devoted to natural living offer countless examples of this perspective.”
So under their argument, promoting breastfeeding because it has been scientifically shown to boost immune systems, develop bonding, and have other social developmental benefits is outweighed by the fear people will not vaccinate their children?
Granted, I received my degrees some time ago, but when I was in college, I had to actually make sense with my research papers. For those who aren’t aware, there is a group called the Flat Earth Society. They actually believe that the world is a flat disc. There are web pages devoted to this science.
If we are to agree with the theory that promoting breastfeeding causes children not to get vaccinations, then we must stop teaching high school and college students physics immediately. Why? Because the Flat Earth Society states that “Einstein’s relativity proves the earth is flat.” If they can use physics to attempt to sway the ignorant or feeble-minded, we must protect them by immediately renouncing science as a whole.
Of course, I am being sarcastic, but my logic is sound. Just because you have people out there who will take a statement and draw grossly out-of-context conclusions does not mean you stop teaching science. Nor do you stop promoting healthy nursing habits for babies.
Martucci and Barnhill state, “The idea of the ‘natural’ evokes a sense of purity, goodness, and harmlessness.” Again, only in context. Snake venom is natural. I do not recall seeing masses of people promoting the release of cobras into schools to play with the children.
Here is where the left and right sides of the political aisles are different. I completely support the ability of the authors to publish their views. However, under the First Amendment, I also support my right to call out the absurdity of their conclusions. I don’t call for them to be banned from ever writing again or attacked physically in the street. I am not going to don a mask and hoodie and wait for them to leave their place of work so I can dump feces on them. I am not even going to riot in their neighborhoods, destroying businesses and hurting people who have nothing to do with their foolish ideas. No, I am simply going to call them out via the freedom of free speech, just like virtually all conservatives do.
Ann Coulter stated, “This is liberalism’s real strength. It is no longer susceptible to reductio ad absurdum arguments [arguing that a thesis must be accepted because its rejection would be untenable]. Before you can come up with a comical take on their worldview, some college professor has already written an article advancing the idea.”
This is the same thing that we see occurring with this article. In an effort to further take the mother out of the business of raising the children, the left has found a reason why breastfeeding is bad. Unfortunately, since they cannot simply come out and promote that viewpoint, they do it by claiming it hurts women’s equality to promote the idea that women should breastfeed. While I have heard some crazy arguments, this one really sets a new standard, and I for one am afraid of how they plan to break through that ceiling next.
