Pregnancy Perfection

I always learn something new every time I read a chapter from Full Frontal Feminism. Jessica Valenti seems to put the spotlight on things that we don’t seem to question and just go with. Although I have to admit that this chapter may have made another young girl decide not to have children. Pregnancy is something that always seems to come to mind after thinking about marriage. I had always noticed that after, wanting to get married, most women growing up want a baby as well. However if never crossed my mind to ask why are women always wanting to become wives and mothers because when you think about it a wife is there for her husband and a mother is there for her children. In general I think being a parent would be a thankless job no matter what, but what makes it that we don’t appreciate our mothers any less than our fathers. One reason that comes to my mind is that our mothers do way more for us than our fathers in most cases.
I think that notion of treating your body as if you were pregnant is just crap. It brings to mind the thought that women are only machines that have to last a lifetime. Having to keep your lady parts open for business, not being able to drink (or smoke if it pleases you), and keeping your body in the healthiest form forever. I don’t know about the rest of the population but I know that everyone has a different body type and some are harder to keep healthy than others.
Until reading what Valenti had to say I didn’t give pregnancy a second thought except I know I don’t want to have a child until I am stable in every way. She makes very good points about what is wrong with society when it comes to treating expected mothers. It’s almost like trying to find a balance between virgin and slut, the balance of being a good or bad mother. Once again the world expects women to be perfect and expects them to figure out how. There doesn’t seem to be an end to the long list of expectations women have to follow.