We need to detach the myth of motherhood from the reality | Angela Saini
by Angela Saini from on (#2R92P)
Maternal instinct - the devotion that informs our idea of archetypal motherhood - doesn't mean only women with children can care about future generations
As a mother, I understand the powerful bond that can exist between a parent and child. I love my son, and I really would do anything for him. Society assumes that all women, with enough exposure to their babies, will feel the same sense of endless, selfless love. We're thought to be biologically programmed this way. But the truth is far more complicated.
It's hard for any woman to escape the expectation to be a mother. The maternal myth suffuses every human culture, from Catholicism's Virgin Mary to Hinduism's goddess mother. It's considered the most natural state of womanhood, leaving the childless woman the object of pity. Let's not even mention the woman who doesn't want or like children at all.
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