Prologue:
“...and you can see that we, this little group, are making our own little histories here. They're little histories because it's just a small slice of *relatively* small lives, but--these histories, these slices of people are perfectly preserved in this medium. And they're perfect examples of what WE are, for the moment.” ~Margula
Since the beginning of time, women have gathered together. Rites of passage such as menarche, birth and menopause were commonly recognized in sacred circles and celebrated. Traditions were passed down from each generation of women, lessons were taught and emotional support was provided. Intricate friendships were weaved and women could rely on one another for care during illness, assistance with childcare, cooking and household tasks. As time passed, these circles decreased in frequency, gradually being replaced by the nuclear family. When women entered the workforce not only were these small communities of women hard to come by, but women were expected to work and still carry on the role of mother, wife and keeper of the home.
(obviously we need more here...)
It was in this spirit of community that we came to know one another and create a sisterhood amidst the hustle and bustle of today’s world. The World Wide Web has created pathways for connections across vast distances. Bonded by a common interest, childbirth, we came to know one another via a debate discussion board on a popular parenting website. Each of us already had small children, were pregnant or trying to conceive at the time and the debates over the array of choices available for birthing women brought to light many heated discussions and raw emotions.
I think we could have references for some of the history as well. Shouldn't be hard to find, I think there's a lot in the Susanne Arms book, as well as in Henci Goer/Ina May... and I have some from my feminism paper that I can dig up - of course all of those are specific to birth, but it can't be hard to validate these assertions.
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