Melissa Singer
Mothers have to put up with a lot, not least of which is a society where terms such as “baby brain” and “mumpreneur” can cut down as many women as they empower or emancipate.
But one Australian magazine is seeking to smash the stereotypes around “juggling” motherhood with other pursuits in a feature about mothers who are making their mark.
“I went in search of renegades, for women who don’t simply ‘juggle’ motherhood with other pursuits … but women who have scaled new heights.” We explore the creative epiphanies that motherhood can bring in our #BornAgain issue, out now.
A post shared by RUSSH Magazine (@russhmagazine) on Dec 17, 2017 at 10:28pm PST
RUSSH magazine contributor Anna Harrison was spurred to write “New Dawn” after her own conflict around how having a child would impact her work.
“Mothers are badass, this much is clear,” Harrison writes. “[But] the overriding message is clear: motherhood is akin to a vice that constricts a woman’s potential to grow and prosper in most other areas, namely professional and creative.”
Harrison went on to write that to resolve her dilemma, she “‘went in search of renegades, for women who don’t simply ‘juggle’ motherhood with other pursuits … but women who have scaled new heights”.
And while she interviewed several women who had artistic or professional epiphanies during the early stages of motherhood, the magazine chose to illustrate the piece with a series of arresting images of model Helena Vestergaard breastfeeding her baby, River,
And in a world where breastfeeding, especially in public, is still stigmatised to some extent, RUSSH‘s artistic direction matters.
Just last week, a Grammy-winning pianist and cancer researcher, Mei Rui, was reportedly kicked off a flight for disobeying crew orders when she was busy trying to finish breastfeeding her baby when the Spirit Airlines jet was due to depart.
According to the Washington Post, Rui claimed she was feeding her son as close to takeoff as possible to minimise the risk of him crying in flight.
Making history … former Senator Larissa Waters with her baby Alia in June. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen
“Every parent with a young child can imagine, you don’t want to be that parent on the plane,” she told the paper. “It would be very embarrassing. I was just trying to avoid that.”
Even celebrities including Gisele Bundchen and Olivia Wilde, are outspoken members of the #brelfies and #normalisebreastfeeding movements, which among other things are lobbying social media platforms to stop censoring images of nursing mothers.
And this year, former Greens Senator Larissa Waters’ daughter, Alia, became the first baby to be breastfed as her mother passed a motion in the Upper House.
Despite some negative comments over Waters’ totally ordinary actions, many women found themselves asking: Why did it take so long?