Child birth is gross and I think very ugly

[TiSteamo]

I witnessed the birth of my daughter and well, I think it's a thing for very strong hearts ... Not only for the "splatter" part, but also for the emotional involvement in seeing a new life that is born.

I felt something indescribable and I didn't know yet to be "fucked" forever!

 

[Nina]

you're not sure how this is anti women?
Childbirth is a female only bodily function, as in only women do it, framing it as disgusting feels to me like an expression of misogyny

 

[arb]

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[Nina]

He's talking about giving birth, only women give birth.

granted yes it is not an explicit reference to women but it is very powerfully implied... do you not think?

If I started a thread where I talked about how ugly and disgusting I think penises are would you not wonder if I was a misandrist?
(you do understand of course that I would never actually do anything quite that weird and impolite?)

 

[arb]

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[Nina]

But but you do get that it's a metonym/ synechdoche don't you? (or at least it functions as one in this instance)

Anyway childbirth can be profound amazing terrifying life-changing ect, women undergo it at enormous cost to their mental and physical health... to their bodily integrity

other areas of human life are similarly profound, powerful and yet difficult to stomach, hard to watch, not for the faint of heart etc
but to dismiss them with 'eww gross' would seem puerile
(Edited for clarity)

 

[arb]

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[shredder]

i understand having a baby is a necessary for us to advance as a species but why does it have to be so nasty? People screaming, horrible smells and sights. I think it is too much to bear and nasty business that I don’t want anything to do with.

My guess is your not going to like death either.

 

[ClearBlueLou]

i understand having a baby is a necessary for us to advance as a species but why does it have to be so nasty? People screaming, horrible smells and sights. I think it is too much to bear and nasty business that I don’t want anything to do with.

Fortunately for all of us, *you* don’t have to have ANYTHING to do with it. Just don’t ever do any of that icky gross sex stuff and you’ll never have to bother with babies, or birth, or women I’m sure the women of the world will be grateful for your distance.

Poor dear, wiping your ass must be SO traumatic for you!
Such a shame you’re an animal like the rest of us....

 

[Madri-Gal]

But but you do get that it's a metonym/ synechdoche don't you?

Anyway childbirth can be profound amazing terrifying life-changing ect, women undergo it at enormous cost to their mental and physical health... to their bodily integrity

other areas of human life are similarly profound, powerful and yet difficult to stomach, hard to watch, not for the faint of heart etc
but to dismiss them with 'eww gross' would seem puerile
(Edited for clarity)

It's interesting how our childbirth experiences were so different. I'm so sorry you felt there was such cost to your physical and mental health, and bodily integrity. My experience was vastly different, in that I was perfectly healthy after childbirth, both physically and mentally. My bodily integrity was fine. I actually felt better about my "bodily integrity " after giving birth, and nursing. As for the "enormous cost", I had babies and got on with raising them, the same as my Mother, and her Mother, and her Mother, etc. I wasn't particularly brave, or strong of stomach, and was pleased mirrors were placed so I could watch my babies being born.
Some people are particularly sensitive to biological processes, so if watching the birth process bothers them, it's fine if they don't watch, at home or in a hospital. Myself, I can't stand movies with blood. I always look away during the gory bits. However, I can watch childbirth, or surgery, watch someone give a shot, draw blood, or put in an IV, and not bat an eye. If watching birth bothers a person, they shouldn't have to watch. They won't find it profound, and they might even faint. I know if I'm going to expose my girly bits, I prefer it to be welcome in the company I'm in. If someone doesn't want a look, I prefer they not be around.

 

[HighMtnSkier]

Timely thread. My first child is due at the end of July. I’m beyond excited to take the journey with my wife.

 

[Ramahs]

What can we say? It's biology. Biology can be mucky and messy and weird and gross.
That's not a good or bad thing. It just is what it is. Deal with it.

Children aren't for everyone...but I respect those that do go through the trouble of breeding (even though we, as a species need to breed less).

I love kids...but I prefer other people's kids. I can be the cool uncle and have fun with my friends kids...but I don't have to deal with any of the difficult parts of raising the kids. I don't have to do all the parenting work.

Hopefully we will eventually have sufficient synthetic-womb technology that women will eventually be able to choose if they want to have an old-fashioned pregnancy and use their own bodies to gestate embryos, or or do it synthetically with an external womb that is equal to or better than a natural womb. Then women who want to have genetic children will at least have the choice.

 

[Nina]

I'm so sorry you felt there was such cost to your physical and mental health, and bodily integrity

thank you for your kind words Madri-Gal, however I wasn't speaking about my own experiences I was referring to the fact that generally speaking and on a worldwide scale childbirth is very risky for women, and that bearing and raising children is something that we do at enormous cost to ourselves

 

[Maninthemachine]

thank you for your kind words Madri-Gal, however I wasn't speaking about my own experiences I was referring to the fact that generally speaking and on a worldwide scale childbirth is very risky for women, and that bearing and raising children is something that we do at enormous cost to ourselves

It wasn’t Always that way was it

 

[His_Highness]

If I started a thread where I talked about how ugly and disgusting I think penises are would you not wonder if I was a misandrist?

No...I would assume you have 20/20 vision. I am very fond of my penis but I wouldn't call it beautiful. Actually, I call it Henry.

 

[-dab8-]

I can sort of see both sides.

My children being born was one of the most magical, mysterious, wonderful, incredible experiences I have witnessed.

In the same vein, does it include biological functions and smells we often deem as “gross” outside of childbirth? Sure.

Separating the latter from the former, it is easy to label childbirth as “gross”, but in doing so you have just removed everything about childbirth that actually matters.

I would like to say something a little off topic.
If sex wasn't so funny, would we really be seven billion on Earth?

I feel like, and I don’t want to speak for everyone, but while it is important to have a sense of humor in the bedroom (or where ever you decide to “get jiggy with it”), I typically don’t have sex for the laughs.

 

[TiSteamo]

I feel like, and I don’t want to speak for everyone, but while it is important to have a sense of humor in the bedroom (or where ever you decide to “get jiggy with it”), I typically don’t have sex for the laughs.

Perhaps there are translation problems since English is not my mother tongue.
Anyway, I hope the concept is clear!

 

[Deleted Member 1643]

Can't resist @2 Cycle's provocative posts!

The only thing more disgusting than childbirth is child conception, IMO. Suppose finding the humor in it is the way to go - especially after graduating to old people sex. Honestly, celibacy's not so bad.

Slaughtering a sentient being is completely different than birthing.

Disagree - making more babies is as much humanity's way of saying screw you to the rest of the living world as murdering it outright.

 

[TiSteamo]

Ladies and gentlemen, let's start the Festival of Originality!

 

[Maninthemachine]

Can't resist @2 Cycle's provocative posts!

The only thing more disgusting than childbirth is child conception, IMO. Suppose finding the humor in it is the way to - especially after graduating


Disagree - making babies is as much humanity's way of saying screw you to the rest of the living world as murdering it outright.

What made you say this ?

 

[ClearBlueLou]

For the record, I *DO* have ‘skin’ in this game: my one child, a daughter, was born at home, and I was there for the whole thing. At the end, I made a chair of myself and my wife sat on me, and she was delivered through both our legs with the assistance of gravity.

I clamped the cord, I cut the cord, I held my still-bloody baby, bonding with her while her mother was cleaned up.

I would not exchange the experience for *ANYTHING*: the blood was inconsequential, I remember no smell. After all was done, I cleaned the blood out of the carpet myself and was proud of the job I did on it.

Birth is REAL, birth is LIFE. If you can’t handle it, don’t reproduce, don’t have pets, don’t even work up a sweat: Life is too real for you.

 

[Deleted Member 1643]

What made you say this ?

The playful nature of @2 Cycle's post, of course. It's (probably) not meant to be taken too seriously. That, and it's true. But that's the fun of this sort of thing.

 

[Maninthemachine]

The playful nature of @2 Cycle's post, of course. It's (probably) not meant to be taken too seriously. That, and it's true. But that's the fun of this sort of thing.

I mean your comment quoting mine ,that killing a person is the. Same as bringingnone into this world ? Please explain

 

[Tranquility]

I, myself, was born three months early, and was in an incubator for the first eight months of my life.

Reba, is that you?

 

[Deleted Member 1643]

I mean your comment quoting mine ,that killing a person is the. Same as bringingnone into this world ? Please explain

Not murdering people, murdering animals. One way to look at it is as competition for resources. Making yet another human mouth to feed means that other mouths will go unfed just as surely as killing those other mouths does - especially at this late point in our history.

For the record, humans have as much right to reproduce as any animal, so go for it if you're so inclined. Just please don't think of it as anything other than the fundamental selfishness of life.