Decolonized Motherhood
I launched the Vida With Christie Podcast in 2018 with the intention to share my experiences, challenges, and lessons as I navigated motherhood. At the time, my daughter was a toddler and family/friends often commented positively on her behaviour and demeanour, and I felt this was a result of the way my husband and I were raising her. They mentioned how she would “actually listen” when we spoke to her and/or that she was so “well-behaved”. I was not applying some magic formula into my parenting style, but rather I was treating her how I would have wanted to be treated at her age. Back then, what I referred to “we are raising her differently than how we were raised based on our experiences” eventually came to be known as breaking intergenerational cycles.
Breaking Intergenerational cycles (and/or curses) has become a popular term for millennials and gen Z to share the ways in which we are actioning “it stops with me”. What our parents and ancestors experienced growing up was likely out of their control, however there is no doubt that resulting from those experiences they carry trauma which caused them to act and react in certain ways which impacted us negatively as we were being raised by them. As a result, we also carry trauma from our upbringing experiences.
As I explored and (me-)researched these elements deeper through my podcast and personal curiosity, I received a calling to pursue this work academically. Through my findings, I have come to the conclusion that the elements that caused and still cause trauma to myself, my parents and ancestors derived from colonialism. In fact, most of the oppressions which we experience within society, from racism to childism, derive from colonial thought, praxis, and foundations.
As a result, I began to see my parenting journey as un- and de-colonial. The things that I was originally trying not to repeat from my upbringing as I raised my daughter to be a happier and healthier child, I began to approach as decolonized motherhood.
Decolonized Motherhood goes beyond just the way I bring up my child, it reaches all the way to how I see myself in the world and how I also see the world. For example, when I look into the mirror I LOVE myself, see my ancestors’ strong and thick thighs, a belly that created life and carried the most precious human to me for 9 months, I see breasts that nourished my child for 2.5 years; even though there is a little voice in the back of my head reminding me of the many ways I should hate and criticize myself. That is a colonized voice, the voice that wants me to be insecure about my brown and fat body, even though my body is an incredible force to be reckoned with. When I check myself and tell that colonial voice to STFU, I actively decolonize. liberate and reclaim all the beauty and strength that I am.
Decolonized Motherhood is meant to be an inclusive community for all those that want to reflect, (un)learn, embrace, reclaim, empower, and so much more. It is meant to be a safe space for critical thought and collaboration, a space to examine, explore, call out/in, share, and then some. The paragraph above is a small sample of what’s to come through my work on this website. I look forward to sharing my thoughts, teachings and resources in the form of articles; while also expanding on Vida With Christie Podcast episodes with an academic and (me-) research-based lens.
Want to connect about my work?
Leave a Reply