How motherhood was invented (feat. my mom)
Have we always believed in motherly love? Do women have an instinct to mother?
In this video, I explore the history of motherhood in the Western world and the myth of a maternal instinct. Along the way, we talk about Rousseau, Freud, and more of your favorite Famous White Guys who had lots to say about moms (all recounted by your favorite Non-Famous White Guy who has a lot to say about moms).
Lots of information from Elisabeth Badinter and Sarah Blaffer Hrdy, read their work for more info!
▶ CHAPTERS
0:00 What does it mean to mother?
1:28 ✨ disclaimer ✨
1:54 Where does the idea of maternal instinct come from?
6:35 Why do we still believe in it?
9:30 What about biology?
11:35 What is really going on here?
▶ ABOUT LOWER ED
Lower Ed is an edutainment video series that looks at big questions about culture, media, history, and other topics in the humanities.
▶ SOURCES
Elisabeth Badinter - “The Conflict” and “Mother Love”
Sarah Blaffer Hrdy - “Mother Nature”
Elaine Tyler May - “Barren in the Promised Land”
Infanticide in Rome Statistics from “The Child: An Encyclopedic Companion”
Wet Nursing Statistics - Wolf, Jacqueline H, "Wet Nursing", Encyclopedia of Children and Childhood in History and Society (2004).
Hubertine Auclair quote - Allen, Ann Taylor. Feminism and Motherhood in Western Europe, 1890-1970.
Jennifer Aniston “For The Record” in Huffington Post
“How Doctors Fail Women Who Don’t Want Children” By Alanna Weissman in New York Times
“The panda who didn’t know she had twins” by Alfie Shaw in BBC Earth
“Parental Care” by Paul R. Ehrlich, David S. Dobkin, and Darryl Wheye on Stanford Web Page
“Is Maternal Instinct Only for Moms? Here's the Science.” by Sarah Gibbens in National Geographic
“Mother love: evolution and the maternal instinct” by Alison Jolly in the Guardian
“She loves me, she loves me not” by Susan Caba in Salon
“Looking into our hearts” By Dolores Vigil in Associated Press
Manya Koetse, “15 Chinese Ad Campaigns That Make Abortion Procedures Look Glamorous”
▶ HASHTAGS
#feminism #history #philosophy #theory #biology #freud #rousseau #darwin #sociology #motherhood