A blog about complicated and fascinating intersections between science, medicine, technology and humanities.
Showing posts with label motherhood. Show all posts
Showing posts with label motherhood. Show all posts
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Middle Age Motherhood
There was a story on Slate today asking "Is It Okay to Impregnate a 60-year Old?" In yet another example of bioregulation of female bodies, it sites the statistic that birthrate of women 35 and older has increased by 140% over 30 years and then asks "Is middle-aged motherhood getting out of control?" First of all, since when is 35 middle-aged. And second, while a case of a 66-year old getting artificially inseminated is unusual and ethically problematic, to extrapolated from it to a general need for regulation over "middle-aged motherhood" is yet another example how women's bodies are a site for societal biological regulations and discipline. When a man has a child at 72, no one calls for a stoning. There are some troubling assumptions there about the primary caregiver gender and role that need to be addressed.
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