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The Violation of Mimi -- Invitation to Write #57

For Writers:

Singer Mariah Carey views her body as a temple, even going so far as to insure her legs for two million dollars. While a lot of her fellow divas, such as Gwen Stefani, Britney Spears, and Christina Aguilera, have had children, Mimi has declared that having a child "would leave me feeling violated."

Mariah has an interesting way with words, and to use a word like “violated” to describe the process of childbirth does make one pause for a moment. To be sure, what childbirth does to the mother’s body could easily be described as violent and tramatic, but a violation? A synonym for “violate” is “defile,” and both words carry with them a sexual connation. But does a child really make a mother “impure” or “dirty”? And does consensual sex that results in childbirth actually constitute “sexual abuse” as the word violate implies?

Far be it from me to suggest that everyone should have children, but perhaps it would benefit everyone to study the meaning of words – if for no other reason than for the “nostalgia” of it, as Mimi herself might say.

What word would you use to describe childbirth? Using that word thematically, develop a childbirth story – either from your own experience, or from someone’s experience close to you.

"I like trying to get pregnant. I'm not so sure about childbirth." - George Eliot

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