Saturday, February 11, 2006

huh...right!

Women have been having babies for as long as the human race has existed.

In prehistoric times (and to this day in some societies), women used to gather food in the fields to feed their families- even while expecting- and then, once the child was born, they would carry him/her around in their backs or hips (which explain the evolutive characteristic of "the hips and ass" in women).

Fast forward to modernity and pregnant women are encouraged to exercise (I see pregnant women working out all the time), some go to school, a good percent of them continue to work until they give birth, they still take care of business at home among other things.

So someone explain to me, WHY DO PREGNANT WOMEN NEED THEIR OWN PARKING SPOTS?

You go to the mall, and there they are. You go to schools, there they are. You go to supermarkets, there they are. Even at the gym they have stork parking! WHY? WHY? WHY?

It seems to me that by giving pregnant women their own parking spots, society is treating pregnancy like a disease. Pregnancy is not a disease, it is a natural part of life uncomfortable though it may be! I mean seriously, so you gain weight, you have discomfort, your feet swell and every once in a while you wanna' puke. If you go by that criteria, we should also have parking for the obese!

A few days ago I went to the supermarket and this fairly pregnant lady (+/- 6 months) expected me (she didn't even ask me nicely) to give her my spot in the deli line just because she was pregnant. Her spot was right behind me. Hmmmmm...if you are physically capable to leave your home to go grocery shopping which requires walking, lifting, reaching, etc., you are certainly able to stand still for 3 minutes while I get some cheese.

Same principle with the parking.

If you are going to the mall, which by definition implies that you are going to walk around and do physical exercise, then why can't you walk from a regular parking spot like the rest of humanity? It's not like you are going to carry your bags yourself! It's not like walking an extra 20 meters is going to cause deformities in your child! On the contrary, pregnant women are recommended to walk!

On a hospital I understand that there should be pregnant women parking. A woman in labor is an entirely different story. But a pregnant woman who is healthy enough to leave her house to do stuff is no way uncapable of parking with the rest of the mere mortals.

Pregnancy is not a handicap.

If you are going to come argue with me and tell me that you need that parking spot because you have a high risk pregnancy and can't walk around a lot, then you shouldn't have left your house to begin with. Because if the walk from your car to the store can harm you or the baby, then the walk within the store can hurt you just as much!

Ugh! I swear to God, sometimes it feels like society takes 2 steps forward but 15 steps back!

8 comments:

ALRO said...

Interesting perspective ..
I would to see if the pregnant woman would allow a man who has a leg cast and is on crutches in her place....

My opinion??
Probly not!

Don't take this the wrong way - but i find that when a woman is granted something like this - they play the victim really really well - but god-forbid you tell them they are uncapable - because they will lash out and say they are just as good - if not better - than any man...

I see it all the time..

Anonymous said...

As a person who had a high-risk pregnancy... I'd like to say that I disagree with your opinion.

It would be great if we all had spouses or family to do the shopping for you. It's not always the case. Some of us are not so blessed.

I went out once a week to the grocery store, parked in the "pink" spot and waddled around the store for a bit, usually going to my doc that is in the upstairs of the building first.

I never butted in front of anyone, that's just rude, but I appreciated the parking because after walking that much, you just wanna sit back down in the car.

Anonymous said...

I am going to have to agree with you. Pregnant woman (as with all groups lately)have come to expect more and more special treatment. I have even been told by female friends that when they are on the subway and tired of standing that they will try to puff out their bellies a little bit to take on the appearance of a pregnancy! How can one do that?

I know that this is going to be an unpopular statement, but I'm going to make it anyway. You got laid, don't make me adjust my life to deal with the result. If you don't want the inherent inconvenience, use a rubber!

Grant said...

"Women have been having babies for as long as the human race has existed." Oh, yeah? Prove it. :p

I think it's nice that shopping centers reserve some closer parking for pregnant women, although the attitude of the woman in the deli was way out of line.

Our local Whole Foods grocery not only has handicapped and pregnant parking spots, but a couple labeled "Women with Child." Around here, being "with child" usually means pregnant, but it's a separate spot at the grocery.

gotbrains? said...

I agree with lil deb, not all expecting mothers are blessed with people (or fathers) in their lives to rely on.

Pregnancy parking sucks when the majority of women in the world take advantage it, but I'll take the risk for the small percentage of women that really need it. I would hope that if I have a high risk pregnancy, and have no one to help me, I can get little comforts like parking up close.

whitneydonkey said...

I don't remember the grocery being that bad. I worked until I went into labor both times. I try not to use any special parking spots. I figure there could always be someone who needs it way more than me. I hate seeing perfect, healthy people get out of their car in the handi. LAZY AND RUDE.

Anonymous said...

I park in those spots, why, becuz pregncy is not a handicap, if they are having medical problems due to the pregncy then they have the option to go to the doctor for a form to get a handicap permit. These spots are UP FOR GRABS in my book as any other spot NOT designated "handicap". Remember people, if the pregncy is THAT bad, then get a form from the doc and get a REAL handicap permit. Otherwise, you'll be seeing me in that spot. Plus, you can NOT get a ticket from parking in that spot, the local news even stated that.

Anonymous said...

The other good point is, if they are at a mall, then they plan to do alot of walking anyhow, so a few extra steps is NOT going to make a difference.