‘I think the term breast milk is outdated’
Patricia van Liemt is a radio presenter, writer and mother of Maria (12) and Phaedra (9). Every Friday she writes striking, honest, funny and above all recognizable columns about her life and motherhood.
Brace yourself, because this is going to be another piece of unsalted opinion from your columnist. There are voices that we should replace a number of terms related to the ordering process for more gender-neutral language. There are people who prefer not to be called a mother after childbirth, but prefer ‘parent in labour’. A British hospital recently introduced this new language.
Human milk
From now on they will use gender-inclusive language in their birth department. Mother’s milk becomes human milk and women in childbirth are ‘people who have given birth’. They do this for a small group of people who do not have to defend their gender identity all the time. ‘Giving birth is such a major moment in someone’s life that these small adjustments in language, for those who need it, can make all the difference to a positive birth experience,’ say the inclusivity experts.
“Mother’s milk becomes human milk and women in childbirth are ‘people who have given birth’”
Maybe you already suspected a dark brown, but I completely agree! Language is so incredibly important, and at the same time so easy to adapt. Many words are easy to make neutral. In fact, I think the word breast milk is even a bit outdated. We can make ‘milk’ or ‘parent’s milk’ just fine as far as I’m concerned.
Breastfeeding
There are also rumors that breastfeeding is changing to breast feeding. This is also due to the fact that as a transgender (or father… ehh I mean co-parent) you can give milk through a tube that is attached to the chest. And it also applies to transgender men who can still breastfeed after their surgery. In that case, the term parent milk is more appropriate.
88 years
Look, for me there are several reasons why I am very much in favor of these gender-neutral terms. Firstly, for the group of people who no longer have to defend themselves for their gender. And secondly for myself and my children. If the emancipation of women continues at this rate, it will take another 88 years (!) to achieve gender equality in the Netherlands*. Yoohoo! That is incredibly shocking. We may think we are already there, but in the global ranking for equality between women and men, the Netherlands is in a sad 28th place.
“If the emancipation of women continues at this rate, it will take another 88 years (!) to achieve gender equality in the Netherlands”
To cry
Some more facts to cry about: Almost half of the women in the Netherlands are financially dependent on a partner or the government. 42% of working pregnant women have also experienced pregnancy discrimination and on average women still earn thirteen percent less per hour than men. And so I can go on and on. That’s why I think if we start making our language gender neutral, it might go a little faster than those 88 years…
Source: woman inc
Would you rather listen to Patricia’s column? Which can. Every Sunday between 4 and 6 pm she reads it on Wild FM.
Post Views: 0
