That’s Spectacular!

So, where was I? My father ad brother are visitig ad the ” o my computer keyboard is broke. I’ll leave it up to you to guess which one;o) Oh, it worked agai, wait, no it didn’t. Yes, it did! Okay, I either have to go buy a new keyboard or I don’t. And yes, the ‘n’ is working again, so YAY! That was confusing, I know, but just a taste of the week I have been having. My baby turned four years old and my father turned 69 on the same day that the Easter Bunny visited our house. It was quite the spectacle, and then to make it even more exciting we went to 6 flags the next day, FUN! So, since I still have company, but have a couple of moments, here’s a comic that I created almost 2 weeks ago ;o) Please don’t forget that I have a new book for sale, going fast!!!!

Buy it here!!!!!!!! 

In 2007, Hathor the Cowgoddess, the heroine of the comics by the same name, was battling an evil bottle-man, the Super-nanny, child-ism, and the term Boob-Nazi. This book is a collection of all the comics and most of the blog posts from that year, lovingly compiled by the author. Oh yeah, it’s also the year that thecowgoddess.com was voted Best Parenting Blog. Only $14.99!!!!!!!

Are you a $5 a month supporter of this site? You can get this book for only $9.99! You can send me an email and I’ll send you a paypal request for money.  ;o)

For those of you who aren’t members, or supporters, please consider joining the site, your memberships and the sales of my books are the only income that these comics make, and I’m always looking for ways to give my members extra love and special treats. More to come!

Hathor the Cowgoddess, Year 2007

The book is here! (it was two e-books before, now it’s all hold-in-your-hand real and everything ;o) Fondle it, caress the cover, fold over the corners, use it as a coaster, leave it on the coffee table for that Aunt that always asks, “Haven’t you weaned yet?” to see. The cover is in full color, the interior is in beautiful full-spectrum black and white, what could be more wonderful?

Buy it here!!!!!!!! 

In 2007, Hathor the Cowgoddess, the heroine of the comics by the same name, was battling an evil bottle-man, the Super-nanny, child-ism, and the term Boob-Nazi. This book is a collection of all the comics and most of the blog posts from that year, lovingly compiled by the author. Oh yeah, it’s also the year that thecowgoddess.com was voted Best Parenting Blog. Only $14.99!!!!!!!

Are you a $5 a month supporter of this site? You can get this book for only $9.99! You can send me an email and I’ll send you a paypal request for money.  ;o)

For those of you who aren’t members, or supporters, please consider joining the site, your memberships and the sales of my books are the only income that these comics make, and I’m always looking for ways to give my members extra love and special treats. More to come!

Broccoli Eater

I’m working on a series of comics about a statement in this article: Fearless Formula Feeders specifically that rates of breastfeeding are ‘spectacular’ because 19 out of 20 new mothers report that they breastfed at least once. This week I also heard Attachment Parenting called “the dominant parenting philosophy” of our time. This was on a blog post that claimed that mothers who self-identify as a attachment parenting mothers are (sneeringly) ‘tribal’ and ‘insecure’ and ‘aggressive’ and that, it’s tantamount to a mental disorder for someone that’s in a majority, to falsely claim to be in a minority just for the sympathy and the rebellion of it all. Indeed, I was going to do an entire series on THAT bit of freudian logic alone, but when I went back to the blog post the ‘dominant philosophy’ part was taken out. I guess the writer was clued into their hypocrisy by someone, drat them. Truth is, breastfeeders are still a minority of the populace and if you want to say that everyone who has breastfed at least once is a breastfeeder, then yes, we start to look like a majority, but seriously, that’s just on paper. And why do you want to get breastfeeders to look like a majority? So that mothers that don’t breastfeed can get the kudos of speaking truth to power, the sympathy vote? And here you have it, infant formula becomes an act of rebellion. SURE. Oh, and guess what sells? Rebellion sells.

I did some research on why there are a number of ‘parenting philosophers’ calling Attachment Parenting the dominant philosophy. firstly, they’re the ones decrying the philosophy, so I submit to you they are the ‘backlash’, and that they are usually taking money from the formula companies. AND I find they’re talking about an overall and general ‘kids first’ mentality. Yes, and good, if that’s true, then I’m glad that’s the dominant philosophy. I’m concerned that this ‘kids first’ version of Attachment Parenting is often falsely expressed in too much stuff: classes, planned activities, toys, but if putting kids needs out in front is where we are in this world then hallelujah!

Attachment parenting, as far as I’m concerned, is a set of actions, often beginning with natural childbirth (that’s the one that’s not an absolute, as mothers often have no personal control over the birth), exclusive and extended breastfeeding, baby-wearing, co-sleeping, and a general hanging-out with and respecting of kids, that’s attachment parenting. I live in California, in the land of Dr. Sears, and even here it’s obvious AP is not the dominant philosophy. There are no statistics on attachment parenting, that I can find, but exclusive breastfeeding rates are probably okay stand-ins. In the US exclusive breastfeeding rates through three months are 36%, not a majority and NOT a dominant parenting philosophy.

I’m thinking that when ‘parenting philosophers’ claim that attachment parenting is “dominant”, or that breastfeeding rates are ‘spectacular’ they’re trying to falsely place them in a majority and hence place themselves in a minority, definitely a comfortable place to be if you want to get sympathy, inspire rebellion, and ultimately raise funding. Your thoughts?

I’d also like to point out that this comic is a rare glimpse at my diet almost exclusively chocolate, viva la Broccoli Eaters!!!!

Formula Fear

A bit ago I was passed this article: Fearless Formula Feeders. I spent some time mulling it over and wondering to myself what did they fear and why? Formula feeding is the socially acceptable way to feed babies, so it can’t be a fear of ‘public opinion’. What could it be a fear of? I’ve pondered whether it might be me, and you, and other breastfeeding mothers, are we scary? But I’m shrugging that off, it can’t possibly be us, I know I’m really nice. It must be the government and the agencies that are promoting breastfeeding, yeah that must be it. What do you think?

In my 10 years of creating comics my characters have rarely ‘talked’ directly to a mother who feeds her baby with formula, okay, maybe a handful of times and then it’s rarely about the bottle and almost always about the stroller the mother is choosing to use. Because rarely do I have a beef with a formula-feeding mother, unless they’re all up in my business about breastfeeding, then I do, oh yes I certainly do. My complaint is with the Formula Industry and their marketing practices, the hospitals that peddle their stuff, the doctors that promote it, the society that reveres it, the culture that thinks it’s ‘best’, and so my comics address those twerps, most of the time. But here is a group of women who are declaring themselves ‘fearless’, when they’re in the majority, to what could they possibly be reacting?

More comics are coming…

Double Standard

Once I came to the idea that the exceptions to the NO NIPPLES EVER laws, were for working nipples, you know, breastfeeding nipples, or stripping nipples. It was only a matter of second before I wondered what work do men’s nipples do? Why in the world can their idle nipples get to bask in the sun on the beach, when my nipples can’t just sit idly around? My nipples can only be uncovered if they’re hard at work, my idle nipples have to stay in their covers, lounging in their hammock, sure, but covered all the same. Don’t I need air? Here’s some reading if you want to check out more on the subject: tera.ca

This is the last of the nipple nudity comics, at least for a little while, enjoy!!!!

Working Nipples

So, I’ve been thinking about the NC nipple law, if you’re unsure what I’m talking about, here’s what Raw Story had to say, titled: N.C. Lawmaker: Women should duct tape nipples to stay out of jail, I kid you not.

Republican state Rep. Rayne Brown told lawmakers that she was co-sponsoring the bill because activists had held a topless women’s rights rally in Asheville last summer, where as many as a dozen women bared their breasts.

Although Brown’s district is 100 miles from Asheville, she felt it was important to act before women tried to assert their rights again by going topless at another rally.

“You’ve got local governments passing ordinances to protect themselves from just this thing,” she explained. “These folks don’t need to be doing that, but they do it because they’re not sure about the law.”

Under the proposed law, women could spend up to six months in jail for a first offense. “Incidental” nipple exposure by breastfeeding mothers would be exempt from the law.

And then I was thinking about how there is an exemption to nipple exposure violations for breastfeeding and of course for strip clubs, but why the exceptions, why not just make all nipple exposure illegal? But then it came to me that the exception is for working nipples, if your nipples are idle or resting cover them up, pronto. Funny though, what work, pray tell, do men’s nipples do? (I have some thoughts and that comic is coming ;o)