matrescence
Since my latest post, a lot has changed in my life. I've undergone a metamorphosis - matrescence - a radical and intense physiological, emotional, and social transformation from individual to parent.
Childbirth truly is the most wild and beautiful experience, despite the chaos and the pain.
Three weeks into motherhood and I am overjoyed, sometimes overwhelmed, and always in total disbelief that I have brought a living, breathing creature into this world.
There's a lot of bullshit in this world today. Today marks four years since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Yesterday broke the news about the despicable and degrading comments made by Trump about the USA Women's hockey team (after they achieved the exact same feat as the men's team...), and the incredibly disheartening reaction from the Men's team themselves. I hope that my now one month-old daughter can grow up in a world where her accomplishments are not dismissed solely for the fact that she is not a male. I'm truly disgusted, yet not surprised. Sigh.
Tomorrow is International Women's Day. I am constantly in awe of the remarkable Womxn around me and around the world who are making waves, moving mountains, and sometimes just existing within the oppressive structures of the patriarchy (read: Iran). I am optimistic for what my newborn daughter's future will look like, but there are moments (see above) that bring me a deep sense of dread and sorrow.... Will things ever change? I have to believe that they are and they will.
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On another note - I wrote a blog post last month discussing some new-to-me words that I've encountered recently. Well, through this journey into early phase motherhood, I've discovered a word that is possibly a new favourite!
Galactagogues (... sounds so Star Trek-esque to me): herbs, foods and medications used to increase breastmilk production.
... like this fennel & fenugreek tea which I've been drinking each morning and quite enjoying! (after the initial resentment phase where I was grieving that my first drink of the day was no longer a coffee).
Other hilarious galactagogues, or so they say (lack of empirical evidence to support these): Guinness, Oreos. Author's Note: Yet another example of gender inequality, in the form of medical research treating the male body as the default human body, leaving women systematically understudied. Pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding have long been dismissed as “women’s issues” rather than essential health topics, and so research institutions and policymakers invested far less time, funding, and curiosity into understanding them. Hence the major gaps in knowledge that still affect women's healthcare today.
There's actually a word for this -
Gynopia: the systematic overlooking or invisibility of women in knowledge, research, or history.
Our local events & entertainment guide, The Columbia Valley Social, publishes a word of the week in the Ktunaxa language. This week's word felt so fitting as I'm spending my days holding and hugging my newborn.
Androcentrism: the practice of centering men or the male experience as the default or norm.
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