Queer as Moms
Meri Perra blogs about the challenges she and her partner face in trying to raise their girls with feminist values
A couple of years ago, I wrote an article about the City of Toronto’s breastfeeding-friendly restaurant campaign. I talked to several restaurant owners, most of who happened to be men, about breastfeeding in public.
They were all – yes, all – quite positive about having women breastfeed in their businesses. Most of them did not think the campaign, which involved sending breastfeeding-friendly decals to every restaurant in Toronto, mattered one bit.
Long before they had a sticker on their door that said so, they told me, women breastfeed in their restaurants. Moms dinned while babies BTOB (brought their own breast). Sorry.
One owner told me, “It’s the most natural thing in the world, why would anyone have a problem with it?”
Why indeed. Read more...
Queer as Moms
Meri Perra blogs about the challenges she and her partner face in trying to raise their girls with feminist values
Our three-year-old, Rosa, has started dropping race bombs. Take this one from Wednesday night. We had just gotten home from day care. I was busy, starting the get home–make dinner–do bedtime marathon. Rosa began to tell me about her day. She talked about lunch:
“We had salad, and tomatoes and pasta and sauce,” she said.
“Did you eat the salad?” I asked.
“No,” Rosa shook her head.
“Did you eat the tomatoes?”
“No,” more head shakes.
Rosa is a strict meatatarian.
“Did you eat the pasta?”
“Yes,” she nodded. “I had a little bit, and then a little bit and then a little bit more.”
“That’s great,” I said. “What did you like about the pasta? How does Farrah (day care cook) make it?” Read more...
Queer as Moms
Introducing a new weekly blog from Meri Perra, a talented journalist interested in social justice issues. Meri writes about the challenges she and her partner face in trying to raise their girls with feminist values.
I’m not the first feminist-turned-mother to talk about this. And absolutely for sure, I will not be the last. But this Christmas, the two most popular presents our little girls received were a baby doll that does the drink and pee thing (in my opinion, ick) and a mostly pink, plastic dollhouse. And our little girls are going nuts over both of them. Those girly gifts did not come from us mommies. Instead they came from two people who didn’t think so much about our daughters’ personalities when they were shopping, as they did their gender. And lo and behold, gender rules. Read more...
