Dear Colleagues,

A friend of mine (not a philosopher) has asked for a good book or article
that addresses the aesthetics of pregnancy. Here is what he has written to
me:

"I know someone who I think of as being very traditional in her views of
gender roles. But, she believes pregnancy is a fundamentally ugly thing,
and that pregnant women should do everything they can to hide the changes
that they are going through.

After much conversation, I came to realize that these views are tied in
with this person's association of the celebration of pregnancy with the
sexist idea that women are just 'baby-making machines', i.e. that the
proper role of women is just to be pregnant. Given this individual's
otherwise traditional views of gender roles, I was a little surprised to
realize that her very negative views of the pregnant body's appearance is,
in a sense, an expression of her feminism.

Those who view pregnancy as beautiful (as I do) she views as disrespecting
women via their aesthetic response. I was fascinated - I had simply never
thought about it that way, but I suppose I can see where she is coming
from. I do not see that however as the direction that feminism (at least in
the US) has generally gone - somehow, our culture has come to increasingly
view pregnancy as a beautiful thing which need not be hidden (as though
that were even possible), while simultaneously respecting the role of women
in the workforce, in higher education and academia, in politics, and other
positions of power. Our culture doesn't seem to view these two things as
existing in tension.

I would assume much has been written about the aesthetics of pregnancy in
the context of feminist ideals, but I can't say I've read it or even know
where to begin. I think some background on that would be very helpful."

Any suggestions?  Please reply off-list to me at [log in to unmask]
If others are interested in getting the responses, I'll be happy to compile
them and post later.

Sophia Wong
Associate Professor of Philosophy
LIU-Brooklyn
http://sophiawong.info

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