I’ve never watched as much television as I have while breastfeeding (I find it hard to juggle a book and feed because I'm uncoordinated in terms of breast sports). In fact, I was talking to a few friends the other day about this and how it can affect your state of mind. A good friend of mine had a son 9 days after September 11th, 2001. Her entire first few months with her baby were spent watching coverage of the twin towers over and over and over again. She will always remember how much she analyzed that tragedy and how she followed all the coverage – the conspiracy theories, the falling man, and the hunt for Bin Laden.
When Franklin was born I’m sure there was a lot going on in the world. I watched CBC News as it reeled its news loop over and over and over again. There isn’t much that I remember as there wasn’t anything as all encompassing as 911 but I do remember one specific news item –
Michael Jackson dangling his son, Blanket, over the balcony.
I was horrified. What was even more perplexing than a sheltered superstar with no sense of reality showing off his latest acquirement was that no one in the media seemed to think it was a dangerous thing to do until the following day. It was like all the childless reporters were all, “Hey! Look at Wacko Jacko” and then those with children saw the clip and saw the reality of what was happening – a terrified child was dangled out of a balcony because his father had no sense of consequence.
This time around I’m still in front of the television while breastfeeding. I’m also in the company of a five year old boy with a dinosaur / shark / Ben 10 obsession so I watch a lot of this as well. However, there is one thing that sticks in my mind and it isn’t terrorism or child abuse. It is botox.
We were watching reality tv the other night – Hell’s Kitchen. (Wow. There is crap on telelvision, by the way, and this is one of them.) The
masochistic junior chefs were cooking for a sweet sixteen party and the mother of the birthday girl was a stereotypical debutant mother – with the typical face of a person who lives in an alternate universe than mine. I suppose it was more noticeable because of the “reality” contestants and their “relaxed” faces. Her face was smooth and tight and cartoonish. I started noticing it in other television women. It was like when I started to see breast-implants as sore, engorged breasts on the verge of mastitis.
I suppose when you see this on a regular basis in your routine life, you don’t think you look all that different. Perhaps when you are used to watching women on television look this way one may think that this is just the way television looks. However, I can’t get over this now. Everywhere I look in the media… botoxed, poisoned women. I’m scared for them – and frankly, disgusted.
So, with Franklin I witnessed Wacko Jacko in a delirious fit of immaturity and with Eliza I see women walking around perpetually frozen and trying to stop time from appearing in their faces by paying people to inject botulism toxins into their bodies.
Ugh.
Posted by Ada
Comments
I think I can safely say that since getting cable, the station-tuning has been: 98% Treehouse 1% Much Music or MTV (hoping to catch some videos and see what's 'hot' but mostly being thrilled by their station-announcement commercial thingies) and 1% other. I've caught snippets of all sorts of reality shows, sitcoms, dramas and other misc series and all I can think is, O.M.G. I am so incredibly detached from the popular media culture -and that this is a very good thing.
I sit there for less than 15 minutes before I start to feel like my skin is too flawed, my hair isn't lustrous enough, my clothes aren't sleek enough, etc, etc and I can't bear it. I used to be able to watch TV even though there was nothing to interest me on at the time, I'd just watch something for the sake of killing time or turning my brain off but now I can't. I don't know if I've retreated into a 'hippy' state more or if TV is just worse than it used to be. It could very well be both.