Kate Middleton is a contemporary example of a high class
woman. Coincidentally, she is now pregnant with her first child and developed a
case of morning sickness. The media took advantage of this opportunity for a
story and exposed to the public, to the dismay of the Queen and their family.
Kate Middleton obtained the morning sickness and was placed in a hospital for a
few days. This has some resemblance to bed rest and how women were advised to
stay in bed for the sickness. Would a middle class woman have had the
opportunity to receive the same treatment? I believe that a middle class woman
would not have been able to take off of work if she was working. Middleton,
being upper class did not have to worry about work; she only had to cancel some
commitments that she had made before.
Prince William was not with her the full time she was recovering. This Hollywood
Life article shows a statement that shows a patriarchal society still in use, “[Kate]
wants him to quit the military — she’s terrified he might get killed! But
William is torn between his traditional duty to ‘Queen and country’ and his
devotion to his wife.” William does not choose to comfort his wife while she is
recovering, but chooses to keep working and provide for the country. Does this
show any inequalities in the relationship? Why or why not?
Darren Pope
While I do agree that it seems a bit odd for a women to be hospitalized for morning sickness, I think we should also be aware of tabloid press. The English monarchy is a huge tourist catch for the country and the royal family is always front pages news. (Let's not forget their wedding which was a world-wide ordeal.) But the issue revolving around Prince William in the military is also a bit interesting. It maybe his royal duty to serve in the military, but because he is royalty he is generally avoided from real danger. I believe there was a bit of a controversy when his brother Harry served in a tank division in Iraq, but his presence was not reported in the press. Of course, once the press got word of it, his tour did not last. Regardless, tabloids will report for entertainment, so I am not sure if this is an accurate look into their relationship.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that it shows any inequalities in the relationship between the two. While i do agree that it is strange that Kate was in the hospital it is not uncommon for women to be hospitalized with severe morning sickness. The fact that Harry is choosing to continue to do his duty is the right thing to do in my opinion. I'm sure he was informed of what was going on and were the case more severe then I'm sure he would have been by her side.
ReplyDeleteOn the flip side, perhaps the media was too quick too judge and she actually has a serious problem that requires hospitalization? The way people like the royals work, they might be glad the media assumes it's just her being lazy, instead of the paparazzi getting really riled up over a serious medical issue. She is pregnant after all, and I would be apt to guess she isn't a classic "pampered" royal since she married in. I think it's all being blown out of proportion.
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