'But I was interested by the fact that if a hypothetical mother really didn't cause their child's mental illness, she would still get blamed for it.'
Well no mother "causes" a child's mental illness. There are lots of different factors ranging from genetic predisposition to environment to outside influences to plain bad luck. But every parent is a contributing factor to some extent just because they're the parents to a child who became mentally ill. That does not necessarily mean they are to blame. I think you and the author are kind of mixing up responsibility and blame. Parents can have the best intentions in the world and think they are "good enough" parents and be held up as models of parenting, and if it isn't what their kid needs, it doesn't mean they are actual good parents for that child, or their contributions should be dismissed if the child becomes mentally ill. I think a lot of mothers have been blamed by bad psychiatric theories and society for illnesses. That is different, and more a manifestation of sexism in society.
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Date: 2017-08-04 05:29 am (UTC)Well no mother "causes" a child's mental illness. There are lots of different factors ranging from genetic predisposition to environment to outside influences to plain bad luck. But every parent is a contributing factor to some extent just because they're the parents to a child who became mentally ill. That does not necessarily mean they are to blame. I think you and the author are kind of mixing up responsibility and blame. Parents can have the best intentions in the world and think they are "good enough" parents and be held up as models of parenting, and if it isn't what their kid needs, it doesn't mean they are actual good parents for that child, or their contributions should be dismissed if the child becomes mentally ill. I think a lot of mothers have been blamed by bad psychiatric theories and society for illnesses. That is different, and more a manifestation of sexism in society.