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by Jean Claire Dy
Now that the dust of the entertainment that is Wonder Woman has settled, I'm posting some thoughts...
What I think ails our society is the constant competition that is hoisted on women. Some fag hag used to say to me "everyday is a beauty pageant." And it is true, a woman is considered great if she can be EVERYTHING: Beautiful, strong, smart, and on top of that a womb bearer who can raise beautiful progeny. She has to be first and foremost a mother and not just one but the best one. All these other criteria and gender roles are important to follow lest you be judged as lacking.
So I understand that for some, the amazon or the real wonder woman is an image of Diana Prince in warrior attire and weapons and carrying babies. But there is a reason why the amazons never had babies. They were warriors. And they fulfilled that role to the best of their abilities sans men, sans children. And that is okay.
Child birth is a CHOICE. Motherhood is a choice. And all other roles should be choices. But MULTIPLE BURDEN isn't. In feminist and gender sensitivity talk, multiple burden is best imaged by exactly that picture of a female warrior carrying babies and possibly having more than one arm to do other things at the same time. All that reproductive and domestic and social work that's unpaid labor. Including other work and community management to ensure the survival of a family. Emotional labor as well.
What feminism tries to change is our own demands from women. To erase multiple burden, what is encourage is a sharing of load. So it is okay if say a woman is taking care of a baby, and the man does the household chores. Labor in all forms must be shared even fighting to save the world.
And you can still be called A WONDER.
And you can still be called A WONDER.
Note about the author: Jean Claire Dy learned the craft of writing at the New School New York City. She has lived and travelled all over Asia and Europe and the Americas. Now she calls Mindanao, Philippines her base camp.
