The Cost of Labour is the best kind of feminist writing: sharply intelligent, fierce and tender, and acknowledges the work of the writers and thinkers who came before.Ĭold Enough for Snow, Jessica Au’s second novel and the winner of the inaugural Novel Prize, is an intimate and transportive elegy that asks: is it truly possible to know another, and what are the ways in which we attempt to?Ī daughter and mother travel around a rainy Japan, a country that is both familiar and unfamiliar to the two, and it is through this act of travelling where histories of the mother’s childhood in Hong Kong and the narrator’s life as a young adult are revealed. This is an elegant work of nonfiction that is enjoyable, thought-provoking and leaves its reader with so much to think about. ![]() The intersectionality of The Cost of Labour is one of its greatest strengths-many readers will be able to see their own lives and experiences represented. In a section on the ongoing traumatic legacy of the Stolen Generations, Kon-yu asks: ‘If I, as a relatively privileged person feel uneasy in speaking out about how difficult parenting can be in our culture, then how must a First Nations parent feel?’ This question frames much of Kon-yu’s thinking in the book she is always aware of the fact that the stigma around discussing these problems is amplified by already-existing discrimination. It is with this inclusive spirit that Kon-yu considers many of the problems of parenthood-she interviews and quotes people from a broad range of cultural backgrounds. Throughout the book Kon-yu uses inclusive language while also dissecting the undeniable misogyny behind so much of the maltreatment of those who give birth. But she makes a clear acknowledgement that pregnancy and giving birth can be experienced by people of all gender expressions. They spent so long anthropomorphising women’s organs that by the end they figured women were feeble brains ensnared by a vicious biology.Īs Kon-yu is a cisgendered woman, her book is centred on her own experience of pregnancy, birth and parenthood. Women’s sexual organs were imbued with a kind of malice which male doctors argued made women susceptible to conditions like hysteria. Male doctors started to speak of pregnancy as a disease that required the care of a certified medical practitioner (who were, of course, all men). To understand how the Western world arrived at its present-day views on pregnancy and birth, Kon-yu gives historical context, going back to the 1870s: The Cost of Labour looks at pregnancy, birth and parenting through the lens of Kon-yu’s own experience, sources from academia and literature, and through interviews with women who have had harrowing experiences with pre- and post-natal healthcare in Australia. The Cost of Labour is the best kind of feminist writing: sharply intelligent, fierce and tender. But what I’ve found in writing about this subject is that I’m not so unusual.’ Early in the book, Kon-yu reflects that what helped her through such a difficult pregnancy was ‘ the idea that it was a singular experience… surely other people were not, are not, treated like this. Even as a middle class, well-educated person with a supportive partner, friends and family, it was a battle to get the physical and psychological care she needed. Kon-yu struggled through pregnancy, and was dismissed and mistreated by the medical staff who were supposed to be caring for her. With this set of problems, her mental health began to suffer. When Natalie Kon-yu was pregnant with her first child, she experienced severe symptoms: insuppressible nausea, restless legs, chronic insomnia and more. The Cost of Labour is our First Book Club pick for February-Stay tuned for features on our website and podcast throughout the month! ![]() Natalie Kon-yu (Affirm Press, available now)
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |