I have not yet had the pleasure of reading "From the Hips," by NYC authors (and Babble's Parental Advisory columnists) Rebecca Odes and Ceridwen Morris (due out May 22), but from what I've gathered, it is a book that has been a long time coming.
As far as I know, "From the Hips" is the first book of it's kind: the first pregnancy/childbirth/parenting guide to address the sexualization of pregnancy in our society; how our celebrity-obsessed media reflects our desire to be physically "perfect" without addressing the stress that arises from such pressure; and how playground cliques, mommy wars, and the judgment of others can lead parents, moms especially, down a self-destructive road of self-doubt, insecurity, and hopelessness. "From the Hips" promises:
"This book is about both sides of the story: the warm, fuzzy baby
blanket and the poop that gets swept underneath."
With a motto like "strive for imperfection," it's easy to imagine how wildly successful this book is going to be. Because isn't that what we've all been waiting to hear? That it's okay to gain "too much" weight while pregnant - and not feel badly about it? That it's okay to breastfeed for two years - or bottle feed for three? That we can't actually achieve perfection or self-fulfillment through pregnancy or parenting? And that it's okay to talk about all of this without feeling like a total failure? Yes! Yes! Yes!
One of the major themes of Rebecca and Ceridwen's opus is celebrity parents, and the epic battle that real women must fight when their desire to be as perfect as they perceive Angelina, Julia, et. al, to be, clashes with reality. While I agree that celebrity obsession is at an all-time high, I wonder... how realistic is it to blame celebrities for that? Is it fair to claim that celebrities' babies are "accessories" and that "all these celebrity parents who hang out with babies" are "a fantasy?" I mean, I hear what they're saying: those photos that we see of a beaming Gwyneth Paltrow, hand in hand with her perfect little Apple in People magazine, do not reflect what really goes on in their house, or their tribulations as mother and daughter. The photos aren't real. Therefore, they shouldn't make us feel like inferior mothers with feral, out-of-control children. But let's be honest - sometimes they do. So how much of the blame for the stress that comes with modern motherhood, and all its pressures and privileges, can we assign to Gwyneth, and how much to People, and how much to ourselves, for looking outside of our own lives and minds, and into the pages of gossip magazines, for validation and a sense of self-worth? I look forward to finding out how "From the Hips" addresses these very real, and uniquely modern, issues.
I have the feeling that this book is going to be big - "From the Hips" to every American mother's bookshelf.
