The Maternal Instinct

1 Pages 256 Words

“The Maternal Instinct” Response


Caroline Whitbeck makes a very compelling argument against the maternal attachment she refers to as ‘maternal instinct’ and biological differences resulting from various experiences. She introduces the experience factors of pregnancy, labor, childbirth, nursing and post partum recovery supporting her ‘biological differences’ theory. The obvious parental attachment shared between parents and their offspring is widely differentiated between males and females. Whitbeck argues that this too is a factor in her argument against ‘the maternal instinct’.
In her article, Whitbeck uses primates as an example of this attachment between mothers and their offspring being a learned trait. In this study, the determining factor for me was that while in captivity, many first time mothers in Resus monkeys were hostile towards their first-born even violent at times. But when second time mothers were examined, the monkeys were more nurturing and ultimately better mothers. This analysis in itself strongly supports Whitbeck’s argument that the attachment shared between mother and child is not one of instinct but rather of experience.
I did not however find much assurance in her comparison between infants and women. This comparison doesn’t hold true as Whitbeck herself writes. The thought that women and infants resemble one another in their innocence, helplessness, softness, etc. is part of the bond between them. If this were a valid comparison, men would also be

VanTine 2
closely attached with the child because of the same attributes that would attract a male to a female. This analysis is not accurate and I did not think it supported Whitbeck’s beliefs....