Non-birthing parent? Chest feeding?
These are apparently the latest "gender-equality" terms to come out of a university I attended.
What on earth has gone wrong? There is no "gender-equality" about these terms. They are ridiculous. I am sorry but they really are ridiculous.
I know some of you reading this will not agree with me but these terms are not right. May I explain why?
I had a cousin, sadly no longer with us. She had a female partner. They wanted a child. J... , being the younger of the two, was the one who went through the pregnancy. They chose the father themselves. I will be quite blunt here and say he and J... went through the sexual act for that very purpose and succeeded.
The child, P..., grew up with two "mothers" and one "father". That's it. There was no nonsense about gender-equality here. There was simply a recognition that this was the way they chose to handle the situation and get what they wanted. P... has been "mothered" and "fathered". She is as close to her father as she is to her mothers.
Is there something so wrong with that?
A university colleague was reprimanded recently for introducing her husband as "my husband". Her husband was not impressed by the reprimand. I heard him say, "It might seem old-fashioned to you but I am her husband and I am proud to be her husband. It is a term that has nothing to do with your so-called "gender-equality". It simply describes a legal relationship." Ouch!
There are plenty of other examples of attempts to use language to "change attitudes". Of course the language we hear and use influences us but don't we need to be careful that we are not allowing ourselves to be told how we "must" behave and thus think?
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3 comments:
If that chap who lives in my house is to be given a title, I think I would prefer "husband" to
"legal partner for tax and inheritance purposes who I stood in a church that we both were signed up for as youngsters, but didn't really believe in by then, but had to do it that way because I was young enough to need father's consent and he insisted 'cos otherwise the town would think I was in the family way, and he is still putting up with me to this very day" (The husband)
This sounds like one you want to keep too!
Yes indeed Cat - I knew he was a keeper back then and my Mum agreed with me. Dad always hated him. I am still besotted - 54 years and counting. Kindness is the key.
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