Originally Posted by
MissMischief
So according to its definition, a maternal instinct is some kind of innate need to create a child/children and need to create an innate skill of rearing a child/children. The online Collins English Dictionary gives a similar definition of maternal instinct: “the natural tendency that a mother has to behave or react in a particular way around her child or children”.
This would imply that maternal instinct is actually the result of human biology that does not allow a personal choice to be made to be a mother or not, and that it, as a biological predisposition, determines the manner in which the mother should act and rear her child. Otherwise, if such internal urge and mechanism that guide the mothers’ actions are not experienced, that would be regarded as something unnatural and abnormal.
Although the term “maternal instinct” is widely accepted in everyday language, there is still no fixed scientifically accepted definition for it. It is supposed that it would be a natural/innate tendency in mothers for a certain type of behaviour and reaction towards her child/children. But is it indeed so, is there really an innate instinct that guides them to behave and react properly towards their own children, which would allow proper mothering and rearing, in order to continue the development and the existence of the human race?
Well, according to latest scientific research, maternal instinct is actually just a myth:
Perpetuating the myth of maternal instinct harms all women, whether they have children or not.
What are your thoughts about this? Do you think maternal instinct is real or it's just another instance of social constructionism? Do you question, stigmatize and judge the women who don't have or choose not to have children?
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