The relationship between the female subject and food appears innate and biological, yet is also profoundly associated with the subjecthood of being a mother. Replace the word ‘food’ with the comparable ‘nourishment’, and the relationship becomes clearer: a mother provides her child with nourishment through breastfeeding. In Edith Frampton’s discussion on breastfeeding narratives, she states that breastfeeding is a subjectivity founded on interconnectedness, the intertwining of individuals, focused on nurturing with mutual pleasure, on respecting, and seeking to meet psychosomatic needs. (667)
Breastfeeding is the perfect intersection of food, nourishment, and the mother-child bond. Repeatedly through the novel, Naoe tries to recapture the feeling
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According to Susan (Contratto) Weisskopf, “Intercourse, for the mature woman, is the first mothering activity” (769). Despite this, the divide between sexual identity and motherhood is found within a “pervasive ideology of asexual motherhood” (Weisskopf 768). Weisskopf indicates that this ideology proposes that “good mothers do not have sexual feelings in relationship to children, that good mothers are generally asexual” (768). For Naoe, even the touch of her skin by her own daughter is too much to endure, as Naoe is “[t]oo bitter, too proud to fall into [her] own flesh” (Goto 39). Naoe describes herself as “[e]ighty-five years old and horny as a musk-drenched cat”, whose only human contact is when her daughter washes her hair (39). The “split between sex and motherhood” is what “fragments” Naoe’s experience (Weisskopf 780), leaving her torn between her sexuality and her subjectification as an aging mother figure. Even when Naoe is finally willing to express her sexual urges through masturbation, her daughter walks in and cries, “Obāchan! What are you doing?!” (Goto 40). According to Weisskopf, “Maternal sexuality becomes “unthinkable” in a sexually restrictive society such as ours when it conjoins the myth of the all-powerful mother” (782). Naoe is unable to fully address her sexuality until she leaves her daughter’s “restrictive” house. However, the image of the “all-powerful mother” is something that Naoe is criticized for not rightly embodying. As a younger woman, Naoe’s ability to become a mother is questioned using food
Milk is what makes up the mother-child cycle of unity, although, in Beloved, Sethe is unable to be apart of such unity due to her being a slave. Slavery corrupts her ability to own such things as a child, her freedom, and even her milk. Milk represents one’s ability to provide for their child, which assists with the idea that milk is what harbors the bond between a mother and her child. Milk in Beloved is portrayed as far more than just a resource for the baby, but is a symbol of love and communion. The importance of milk to its retainer is shown when Sethe reflects on the sense of violation and horror that she endured when her milk was taken from her by the school teacher’s nephews (Morrison 83).
When they were in their mother's presence, they were happy, but still resent their mothers. Resenting their mothers for not being able to take care of them, they both ended up in an opposite appearance compared to their mothers. Roberta’s mother being religious and conservative led her to being freer about her sexuality. While Twyla’s mother was more open, she was more conservative, working a regular job, and having a normal family. Problems for women or anyone being able to express their sexuality can come from their upbringing.
During the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth-century women’s sexuality was dictated by the family and society as there were specific rules put in place for each gender. This became problematic for women in the century, as they could not express their sexual identity. However, the protagonist in both Kate Chopin’s The Awakening (1899) and Angela Carter’s The Magic Toyshop (1967) demonstrate the consequences of going against the family for women. Jeffrey Weeks states, “The very idea of sexual identity is an ambiguous one. For many in the modern world-especially the sexually marginal-it is an absolutely fundamental concept, offering a sense of personal unity. Social location, and even at times a political commitment.” (Capaln, 1989:
Women throughout time have been compelled to cope with the remonstrances of motherhood along with society’s anticipations
Mulder, P. J. (2006,). A concept analysis of effective breastfeeding. JOGNN: Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, & Neonatal Nursing, 35, 332-339. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1552-6909.2006.00050.x
Dermer, Alice. "If Breastfeeding is So Good, Why Aren't More Women Doing It?" Medical Reporter.
What is it about sex that makes everyone so uncomfortable? Upon reading Randa Jarrar’s A Map of Home, one of the major themes that the novel goes in depth about is Nidali’s sexual awakening. Many students would argue that this novel is littered with too much sexual activity, i.e. masturbation. However, A Map of Home is a novel about finding your place in this world; the search for your identity and purpose. Sexual identity plays a significant part of that continuum. You may question, “Well, could you have figure out a way to describe her story without all the sex stuff?” This statement would demolish the novel’s relatable and sheer honest tone, as well as disintegrate the genuineness behind the narrative if Jarrar would omit Nidali’s sexual experiences. The complete fact that young teenagers do think about sex so often makes one grasp the true relatability this novel showcases through the main character’s sexual experiences. In this essay, I plan to explore the importance of sexual awakening, Nidali’s own reasons for experimenting with her sexuality, and what we can ultimately learn from being open with what we want in that context.
In Sigmund Freud’s “Sexual Morality and Modern Nervousness”, contained in Sexuality and the Psychology of Love, the writer presents separate roles for men and women as it relates to sexuality, even referring to a “double code of morality” (22) for the genders. In his paper the former often takes the role of the subject while the former becomes the object. In fact, women are described as the “true sexual guardians of the race” glorified, it seems, instead of truly studied. However, in one particular section of the essay, Freud turns his focus onto the female sexuality. In specific he references the various factors that, in his eyes, can influence the female sexual formation. The primary influences being that of the society, primarily the institution of marriage, and that of the family, which would include both a woman’s parents and children. After discussing these elements, Freud then
Modleski claims that this desire to build and maintain relationships is only thwarted by the presence of the ‘good mother’s’ anti-thesis: the ‘villainess’. As she signifies the contrary values of the ‘good mother’ (she is selfish, manipulative, scheming, etc.), the ‘villainess’ embodies the entirety of the spectator’s displaced, repressed anger at her own powerlessness.[4] She, as Modleski describes, takes everything that makes women vulnerable and turns it to her advantage (pregnancy, for example, is used by the villainess for the sake of manipulation, not guilt, shame or responsibility).
Is there any food on earth that can provide the PERFECT nutrition to a human? Yes, and it is breast milk. Breast milk is the perfect nutrition. This superior food contains hormones, live antibacterial and antiviral cells and essential fatty acids (What Makes Human Milk Special?, Mar-Apr 2006). All of which are helpful in protecting against any harm. Sicknesses in infants are lowered by the help that breast milk gives. Breastfed children are sick less often than children who aren’t breastfed (What Makes Human Milk Special?, Mar-Apr 2006). Breast milk contains all the nutrients that an infant needs as it continues to grow. When the child is brought into the world it has no way to fight off any d...
Women need to stop being scolded and frowned upon for using their bodies in a way they are meant to be used. Breast feeding is a good example of this. Many people frown upon breast feeding, mainly in public. They say that such a sight makes them uncomfortable. However, what about breast feeding makes people uncomfortable? It cannot solely be the sight of a woman’s breast, because often times, people are still uncomfortable when it is covered, simply because they know that it is under there. Perhaps the reason for the uncomfortableness that is experienced when seen that a woman is breast feeding in public is caused by the connection often made between women’s breasts and sexual acts. However, women have breasts for the sole purpose of feeding their child, and the objectification of women’s breasts as “toys” has created this uncomfortableness when women use their breasts for their original and proper purpose.
"Breast is best." A slogan widely known across the nation encouraging mothers to give their infants what the American Academy of Pediatrics acknowledges as a multifaceted health booster for mothers and infants alike. American Academy of Pediatrics recommends mothers exclusively breastfeed for the first six months of their infant 's life, yet many mothers are falling short of this recommendation. Survey research indicated 75.5% of children were ever breastfed. Of that 75.5% of children ever breastfed, only 12.4% were reported to be exclusively breastfeeding at six months.
During one of my shifts on postpartum I was helping a nurse look after a mom with her first baby. She really wanted to be able to breastfeed but she was having a lot of troubles getting her baby to latch on. It was a Saturday and there was no lactation consultant working who could come in to help her. Her baby was also small for gestational age, so she did have risk for hypoglycemia, making it really important for her baby to be feeding to ensure her blood sugars would not drop. After each attempt at breastfeeding and being unsuccessful, the mom would look very upset. The nurse tried to help her by showing her different breastfeeding positions and techniques and teaching her to express her milk and put it in the baby’s mouth. The
Ramona T. Mercer is the theorist credited for developing the theory of Maternal Role Attainment, which is also known as the theory of Becoming a Mother. “Maternal role attainment is an interactional and developmental process occurring over time in which a mother becomes attached to her infant, acquires competence in the caretaking tasks involved in the role, and expresses pleasure and gratification in the role (Tomey & Alligood, 2006, p. 608). Mercer’s career has been primarily focused in pediatrics, obstetrics, and maternal-child nursing. Mercer’s greatest accolades have been based on her extensive research on the topic of maternal role and development (Tomey & Alligood, 2006, p. 605).
Sex has been a taboo subject for many generations in nearly every culture present in the world. Many seem to rely on the traditional idea that one should abstain from sex until marriage, while others evolved and began to exercise the idea of sexual freedom and are not held down by any certain beliefs or traditions. Leslie Bell takes an in-depth look into this complex situation by taking into account various psychoanalytical theories and first-hand experiences in order to make sense of this complicated subject. One can argue that sex becomes a much more complicated rather than a pleasurable experience for women due to the confusing standards that society has put in place, their upbringing from childhood to adulthood, and their overwhelming desire