In her book, Unbearable Weight: Feminism, Western Culture, and the Body, Susan
Bordo examines the relationship between women’s bodies and pregnancy. According
to Bordo (2003), the dominant Western culture relies on “the ideology of
woman-as-fetal-incubator” which makes “greater encroachments into pregnant
women’s lives” (81). This ideology relies on women losing subjectivity in order
to give agency to the fetus. The needs of the fetus outweigh the needs of the
soon-to-be mother in the public's viewpoint. These unbalanced needs can have grave
affects for women’s bodily integrity. Bordo
includes the potential intrusions based on Margaret Atwood’s novel, The Handmaid’s Tale in order to
articulate potential problems. These intrusions include “court orders
prohibiting pregnant women from using alcohol, cigarettes, or other possibly
harmful substances, forbidding them from continuing to work because of the
presence of fetal toxins in the workplace..” and more. (as cited in Bordo 2003,
p. 81). The regulation of women’s pregnancy places the development of the fetus
over the women’s standard of life. This
idea of “the protection of fetal rights has burgeoned into a national
obsession” (Bordo 2003, p. 81). Bordo gives evidence to support a cultural
demand for fetal protection over the women’s bodily integrity. One example is a
waiter who describes a pregnant woman as selfish and reckless because the woman
tried to have one drink while with child (Bordo 2003, p.82). Within Bordo’s
text, pregnant women become an object of public surveillance in order to
protect the unborn child.
Because of the shift in
subjectivity, Bordo’s piece raises several questions. How do women react to the self and
public surveillance of their pregnant bodies? Do women see a difference in agency once they become pregnant? Why
is there a culture of legal and everyday monitoring? Does the surveillance end
once the woman has the child? Are
pregnant women’s bodies being turned into public property? Although I cannot
answer all of these questions, I am going to look further into the last
question.
Throughout Bordo’s text, I see a
transition where women’s pregnant bodies are being objects for public monitoring
in order to protect the developing fetus.
For me, I believe this transition changes people’s everyday attitude
towards pregnant women making the fetus a communal object. A common example of
the communal fetus can be seen when random strangers touch and rub a pregnant
women’s stomach as if entitled to it. Whether it is in the supermarket or at an amusement park,
strangers come up to pregnant women in order to gawk and touch the baby bump.
For non-pregnant bodies, the act of touching women’s stomachs would be
characterized as rude, intruding, and a social taboo. The difference between
pregnant and non-pregnant bodies reveals how the pregnant body becomes
collective property for the public to regulate, judge, and touch.
Pregnant women must navigate their loss
of subjectivity and agency. According to Bordo (2003), the women will “suffer
considerable personal inconvenience, pain, risk, and curtailment of their
freedom to do what their doctors advise is in the best interests for their
fetus” (83). Although this quote is about doctors’ advice, the idea of pregnant
women suffering for their fetus is seen
in the cultural realm. In regards to the bump touch, some strangers do not ask
before rubbing the women's stomachs, while other people including relatives talk to the fetus as
if the mother is not even there. This leads me to question is what can be done to stop or
avoid this intrusion.
Well, my mind first turns to the Do Not Touch pregnancy shirts that
women wear to remind the public that they cannot invade their private space.
The shirts restore some agency to the soon-to-be-mother because the shirts
remind others that the baby bump is not a communal object for everyone to
touch. Some shirts go so far as to answer commonly asked questions like what is
the sex of the baby.
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Why does the pregnant woman have to
worry about being ungracious? Is she suppose to be gracious about the public's concern for her
fetus? Why does the pregnant woman have to worry about placing the other person
in an uncomfortable situation as she is already uncomfortable herself? I
believe the comment reinforces the idea of the communal fetus. According to Bordo (2003), pregnant women who
engage in harmful activities “that have even the slightest risk are behaving “selfishly” and that others are only
acting responsibly in pointing it out to them” (82). By being rude and snarky,
the pregnant woman runs the risk of offending the community who is only acting out of care. This ideas relates to Bordo’s point of others having a responsibility to care for the welfare of the unborn child.The pregnant woman is expected to take bump touch as a sign of public
care and support.
I want to leave you all with this
final video. The video talks about a possible law in Pennsylvania that classifies an
unasked bump touch as harassment. What do you think this means in relationship
to pregnant women’s bodies? Is this in concern for the women or the unborn
child?
Source:
VIDEO:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SE1AT1Eo4-A
BLOG:
http://pregnant.thebump.com/pregnancy/third-trimester/qa/how-to-get-people-to-stop-touching-my-belly.aspx
BOOK:
Bordo, S. (2003). Unbearable
weight: Feminism, western culture, and the body. Berkley: University of California Press.
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