I have never liked the Oxygen channel, but this right here just made outright despise it.
Read on to find out why.
I'm Having Their Baby
Here's a little piece that describes the show's premises:
Each installment follows two pregnant women who have made the choice to place their babies for adoption, and are making the life changing decisions that come next. In getting to know the birth mother, and in some cases the birth father and potential adoptive couple, the hour-long episodes allow viewers to bear witness to not only the adoption process, but the actual birth and heart wrenching final decision that each woman must face. The series documents a range of poignant, personal stories as the women struggle with an unplanned pregnancy and ultimately, decide whether or not to place their baby in the hands of another family. However diverse the case, there is one thing that’s common – each woman wants the brightest future for her unborn child, and a better life for herself.
[IHTB]represents a unique program offering for Oxygen, one that shows an honest portrayal of women who are in the midst of dealing with the most difficult decision of their lives," said Rod Aissa, Senior Vice President, Original Programming and Development, Oxygen Media. “These human interest stories are extremely powerful and relatable to our predominately female audience, as it reveals themes of love, hardship, and strength.”
Great. Alright, lets take a look at something here.
First of all, the phrase "I'm having their baby" is so fucking offensive to me, that I honestly can't find the right words to explain my fury. Who the fuck says that!? I have met a LOT of "birth mothers" or as I call us, "first mothers" or "natural mothers", and NEVER have I heard ANY of them say that they were having someone else's fucking kid. Derp moment.
Secondly, this whole description seems to completely miss the horrific side of adoption, the coercion, the fucking lies, the pressure. Nope, just "strength", apparently, for the mothers. Yea, that does not fucking happen!
I just read a wonderful article earlier titled "30 Things I Wish I Knew Before Adoption Entered My Life", and despite the fact that I do not want to have any more kids, this woman is right on point with every bulletin she lists.
Adoption is difficult, the trauma of relinquishment does not go away or get easier, it just simmers, and more than often, it boils over. Adoption isn't fun, it isn't happy. First mothers never get over the adoption. Never. On top of that, Americans view adoption as some fucking fix-for-all. "Oh, you're pregnant? Give it up for adoption! Oh, you don't want to be pregnant?? Give it up for adoption anyway!" and then the vicious cycle begins. Once the woman surrenders the newborn, she is treated like garbage, gets called nasty names, disrespected and in my case, I have been told that I should have just been better off dead than "to abandon" my kid. It's a Catch 22, a nasty one in that! I see people preach adoption, then I mention I'm a first mother, and they loose their shit on me, calling me heartless, or a bitch, or some shit. I don't understand it. If you want to preach it, why do you bash those who've done it?
Anyway, I just wanted to rant a little bit, because this shit is fucked up.
Thanks for reading!
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