Regretting Motherhood’ Debate Rages in Germany

Politically charged BET Awards honor Prince, Muhammad Ali TUESDAY, JUNE 28, 2016 36 Indonesian Muslim women offer prayers on the 21st night of holy month of Ramadan at a mosque in the city of Surabaya. Muslims throughout the world are marking the month of Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar, during which devotees fast from dawn until dusk. — AFP ‘Regretting motherhood’ debate rages in Germany s it possible to regret becoming a mother? touched a chord in Germany because it “radically not mothers. They no longer wake up at night The question first posed by an Israeli questions the joy of having children in a society when their child is afraid of thunder and light- Iresearcher has stirred a debate in Germany that expects everything from mothers, and ning.” like in no other country, shattering a long-held where the mothers demand everything of them- taboo. “In Israel, it was settled in a week. In selves.” The notion that children’s well-being And the fathers? Germany, it has lasted for months,” said sociolo- depends on their mothers and not on the socie- On a slightly less strident note, the book gist Orna Donath, whose study “Regretting ty around them or their fathers, is deeply “Doing Away With Mothers”-which was seri- This image released by Warner Bros. Entertainment shows, from left, Samuel L Jackson, Motherhood” was published in 2015. Tired of entrenched in Germany and creates real obsta- alised by the respected weekly Die Zeit-argued Margot Robbie and Alexander Skarsgard in a scene from ‘The Legend of Tarzan.’ — AP hearing that she “would regret” not having a cles to women’s careers. “It’s not like in France, that “traditional” motherhood was being “deval- child, the researcher collected testimonies from where you can have a glass of champagne dur- ued” by the push for women to contribute to the 23 women who, on the contrary, love their own ing your pregnancy, limit the time you breast- economy. The media, meanwhile, swing wildly Robbie plays thoroughly modern kids but would, truth be told, prefer not to have feed and go back to work and adult life three between calls to “offer other images of mother- had them. The book taps into a usually-unspo- months after giving birth,” Vinken said, contrast- hood” that are less self-sacrificing, and taunts ken maternal ambivalence that may be far more ing Germany with its far more fecund neighbor. against “whining” young women who are ‘Jane’ in new ‘Tarzan’ film common than previously acknowledged in A mother who returns to the office without obsessed with their own fulfillment. “These chil- many places, including Germany, whose fertility taking maternity leave for a year-or often three- dren are the parasites of well-being. They are dis- rate is less than half that of Israel’s. opens herself up to being branded a turbing mummy in her search for herself,” Die ith her cut-glass cheekbones, porcelain ducers and directors are keen to work with her Several German books have since been pub- “Rabenmutter” (raven mother) — women who Zeit wrote sarcastically. skin and cascading flaxen locks, it is to give the role more depth. lished on the subject, including “The Lie of dump their kids in childcare so they can pursue Remarkably, the idea of doing more to bring Whard to imagine a better choice to play One notable feature of David Yates’s take on Maternal Happiness” by Sarah Fischer, along their personal goals. The political discourse has fathers into the mix has not really caught on. A Tarzan’s love interest than Australian actress Tarzan is that, for once, it is the male lead, with almost-weekly newspaper columns, televi- evolved since Angela Merkel took power a recent study by the DIW economic institute Margot Robbie. But the 25-year-old, who Robbie’s co-star Alexander Skarsgard, who sion chat shows and Twitter debates with the decade ago, ushering in new policies targeting found that even women who work full time do appears as Jane in “The Legend of Tarzan,” the spends much of the duration half-naked while hashtag #RegrettingMotherhood. “More than a the low birth rate including expanding nursery three hours of housework per day, exponentially latest take on one of Hollywood’s most enduring Robbie was able to keep her clothes on. Yates, third of women with a university education spots and creating incentives for fathers to take more than the men in their lives. Meanwhile, colonial era adventure stories, is anything but a who directed the final four “Harry Potter” films remain childless here, a situation that is unique parental leave. some women have opted to stay out of the shrinking violet. “I’ve never wanted to play the and is helming JK Rowling’s forthcoming Potter in Europe,” said scholar Barbara Vinken, who But cultural change has been slower in com- “mummy wars” entirely, defending their right damsel in distress, and Jane is anything but,” said spin-off “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find published an analysis on the “myth of the ing, with the top-selling Bild daily railing as not to have children rather than waging daily the actress, who rose to worldwide fame starring Them,” revealed he had turned down the studio’s German mother” in 2001. recently as last summer against women who battles about parental roles and career opportu- in Martin Scorsese’s “The Wolf of Wall Street.” suggestion of “Superman” actor Henry Cavill for “pursue careers, wear trouser suits, drink nities in Germany. — AFP Robbie agreed early on with director David the role of “Tarzan,” preferring Skarsgard’s lower ‘Raven mothers’ smoothies and work out”. The male columnist Yates that her take on Jane Porter, and later Lady profile and physicality. Speaking to AFP, Vinken said Donath’s study was not finished: “They look like men. They are Greystoke, in the 51st live-action Tarzan movie would be a feisty character, capable of fighting ‘Not completely naked’ back. In one memorable scene, Belgian ruler “He was so motivated. I did ask him-and I did Leopold II’s dastardly henchman Leon Rom, this with Eddie Redmayne on ‘Beasts’ because played by Christoph Waltz, demands of a cap- they both had to work out-’can you send me tured Jane that she scream to attract Tarzan’s photographs of yourself?’ which seemed kind of attention, and instead she spits in his face. It is a not right. “So every week, there would be photo- gesture of the kind of fiery insouciance common graphs of Alex naked-not completely naked-and in the roles Robbie has picked, from her portray- after about three or four weeks I just thought ‘ok, al of the feisty Naomi Lapaglia in “The Wolf of that’s fine, it’s great.” “The Legend of Tarzan” picks Wall Street” to the villainous Harley Quinn in the up the King of the Jungle’s story several years much anticipated “Suicide Squad” from DC after his adventures in Africa with Jane. Now a Comics. The Queensland native, whose first reg- parliamentarian in London, Lord Greystoke is ular acting job was in Aussie soap “Neighbors,” is persuaded by Samuel L Jackson’s former US civil enjoying an unusual trajectory in an industry war soldier George Washington Williams to go where many female actresses complain of the back to the Congo Free State to investigate shallow roles they are offered. reports that Leopold II is engaged in mass enslavement of the locals. Positive response Jackson told AFP he visited Washington’s Studies consistently show that men outnum- grave in Blackpool, northwestern England, last ber women by up to three to one among speak- year while shooting Tim Burton’s “Miss ing parts in feature films, with the few starring Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children,” which is female roles often largely just foils for the male due out in September. “George is a pretty fasci- star. “I think it’s definitely improving. And I think nating guy,” said the 67-year-old Hollywood vet- people have finally recognized that half the tick- eran. “He fought in the civil war, underage, and et sales are coming from women,” Robbie told had this darkness about him that AFP at a publicity event in Beverly Hills Sunday took him to the Mexican-American War for “Tarzan,” which hits theaters on July 1. where he joined the cavalry and ended up “And if they don’t create the kind of roles that killing a whole bunch of Indians, which dis- women are going to be able to relate to then turbed him greatly.” Jackson describes Tarzan as they’re not going to enjoy watching them as “an origin story more than anything else.” “You much. “And if they don’t enjoy watching them as find out exactly why he is Tarzan of the Apes and much, they’re not going to be able to make their what his relationship is to that ape community, money. I think they needed to recognize that how he was treated in it, who loved him, who and I think the industry has really responded in a bullied him,” he said. — AFP positive way and people are really making an effort.” Robbie says she is still offered parts that A woman walks with her 11-year-old daughter after picking her up from An empty swing is pictured at a Berlin playground. strike her as problematic, but senses that pro- school in Berlin. — AFP photos.

Load more