In my cluelessness, it took me awhile to find out about sites like The Feminist Bragger. A completely weird, bizarre parody designed to basically do nothing but make fun of The Feminist Breeder, I read a few posts and then moved on. Whatever. That was interesting, for like two minutes. Next?
Then last night I stumbled in to the virtual cesspool of "Birth Without BS," a fan page dedicated to cutting through what some people consider woo and getting to the heart of the matter, I can only guess. Fine, that sounds like a good place to start. While there's lots of information, blogs and other stuff out there, obviously it's not a one-size-fits-all deal, and much like shopping for a house or car, we can all choose what we want and don't want.
However, there's one problem: those who don't agree or like certain things have decided to start fan pages and blogs to talk about it. That one kind of left me scratching my head, and I considered it a very ballsy move. Is this what we teach our kids about conflict resolution and how to treat people we don't see eye to eye with?
While I might not agree with everything one blogger says, I don't start an entire blog dedicated to bashing that person and all the stuff she says or does. Who the heck has time for that? I think many women are smart enough to realize what they want or don't want, and I get so tired of hearing how so and so is "promoting" something - like unassisted birth, for instance - with the dreaded anticipation that scads of women are going to blindly follow suit. That expectation is about as bad as the "sheeple" mentality some people have, only in the other direction.
I guess I figure if you don't like it, don't read it. Move on. Do something else. But above all, be respectful of another person's decision or choices.
So now anyone who is different is labeled "BS." (I guess one person's woo is another person's BS. So it's all relative, right?)
Blogs like The Feminist Breeder, Rixa Freeze of Stand and Deliver, Birth Without Fear and Gloria LeMay have been nitpicked and criticized. It leaves me wondering, just who's side are you on, anyway? I find it profoundly strange and sad. And it only makes people like Dr. Amy briefly stop and reload while on her mission to bash anything and everything she doesn't agree with. (At least Dr. Amy has the guts enough to use her real name when attacking people.)
I just wish the drama would stop - it only stirs up more crap and leaves behind those women who are on the fence about birth choices and really need help and support. Instead we should be behaving like the powerful, strong women we are - instead of the childish, petty little girls we should have left behind years ago.
