Thursday, March 4, 2010 at 10:20PM
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Reader Comments (14)
Yowza. At least its almost 50 years old. But, it's not like we're post racial now.
I'm just sorta speechless...
Ugh, can't we just let this kind of stuff stay in the past? I mean what purpose does it serve to post this photo?
WTF, why pretend that the only time that exists is the present? Exoticization of non-white races, particularly women, is alive and well.
I am an extremely proud, natural African American woman so I clearly understand more than most. trust, I am well aware, maybe you are posting this for people who live under rocks.
I'm also reading into this image the idea (transcending race in a certain way) that any woman who wants to give birth in a position other than the one depicted here (flat on back, stirrups, forceps) is "primitive" ("backwards," not modern, etc.) That's certainly an idea that's still very prevalent within the medical community today, don't you guys think?
"maybe you are posting this for people who live under rocks."
Yep. There are plenty of people who have no idea why an image like this would be problematic or offensive.
I agree, Ashley. It's thrown out as a pejorative. "Oh, so you want to squat in a bush like African women or you think you can just give birth and keep on working like a Chinese woman in a rice paddy." So now you're backward and backward = "those other people," usually of a non-white race.
Holy yikes! But it's not like 1960 is that long ago; certainly in living memory of people my parents' age. Of course, my parents grew up in a fully segregated town, too, and were otherwise nice people who happened to be complete racists. They would have found this funny. Lots of people their age are still in positions of power and influence. Some of them work for hospitals, medical associations, and medical schools.
So no, not far enough in the past for me.
I have mixed feelings about the cartoon. Knowing what we know today, it serves, to me, only to make OB's with all their newfangled technology look stupid. Forceps? No thanks, I'll stick with my 'natural birth in the woods,' thank you very much.
I don't think it's just black women or other minorities that get treated badly - poor women, those who refuse an epidural, etc. are often treated the same way, even by their own peers. One study found recently that poorer, less educated women received epis, and personally, I think that even with their perceived lack of education, they are probably smarter than all those 'educated women.' I think that *all* women, not just minorities, are perceived as dumb and uneducated if they refuse birth interventions.
Wow. This speaks volumes about the mindset of a whole generation of OBs, and they are the ones mentoring the newbies.
TDH, do you have a link to the study? I'm curious about how they defined education level... could be academic education level or whether or not subjects attended CBE classes.
I'm not really getting how women who refuse epidurals could ever experience discrimination on par with that experienced by women of color (not that those two groups are mutually exclusive).
Hi Ive been following this blog for awhile but I think this is my first comment.
Here is the study:
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6W9P-4Y34MC4-1&_user=10&_coverDate=01%2F04%2F2010&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_searchStrId=1224549661&_rerunOrigin=google&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=9f0bbd29149267dbd671edbe67911e6f
Its called Social disparity and the use of intrapartum epidural analgesia in a publicly funded health care system
I read about it a few days ago on PHD in Parenting:
http://www.phdinparenting.com/2010/02/26/are-we-using-our-brains-when-it-comes-to-epidurals/
Oops Sorry I couldnt get my hyperlink to work so youll have to copy/paste