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hel_anaNPR this morning carried a story about "Prenatal Portraits". The new ultrasound technology produces a picture that's much clearer than the traditional black and white fuzziness of the past. American business ingenuity being what it is, this has given rise to a number of storefront operations (many of them in malls) that are akin to fetal "Glamour Portrait" studios. (And one woman interviewed actually referred to it this way, giggling inanely all the time.)
Of course, they haven't *yet* started offering the makeup services, though in time I'm sure they'll figure out that if they put a Photoshop expert in each storefront, they'll be able to capture the market that wants to make Jr's little soldier the focus of the picture.
Not surprisingly, the FDA and medical establishment is a bit concerned with this, since ultrasound (while being among the least invasive form of prenatal testing we have) is AN ACTUAL MEDICAL PROCEDURE, with ACTUAL MEDICAL CONSEQUENCES.
Does it strike anyone else that the same people who won't stand in front of a microwave while they're pregnant are most likely to shoot sound waves into their gravid body for shits and giggles, in order to get frameable pictures of little Timmy-to-be?
You know, maybe it's that I've been exposed to the changing face of pregnancy and childbirth all of my life, and have seen the trends towards the "boutiquing" of the process. Maybe it's that I've unconsciously picked up the attitude of my mother toward that same boutiquing. But this whole thing is just one more brick in the wall of my sense that we're headed toward the same fate as the Romans. What's going to be our lead viaduct?
Of course, they haven't *yet* started offering the makeup services, though in time I'm sure they'll figure out that if they put a Photoshop expert in each storefront, they'll be able to capture the market that wants to make Jr's little soldier the focus of the picture.
Not surprisingly, the FDA and medical establishment is a bit concerned with this, since ultrasound (while being among the least invasive form of prenatal testing we have) is AN ACTUAL MEDICAL PROCEDURE, with ACTUAL MEDICAL CONSEQUENCES.
Does it strike anyone else that the same people who won't stand in front of a microwave while they're pregnant are most likely to shoot sound waves into their gravid body for shits and giggles, in order to get frameable pictures of little Timmy-to-be?
You know, maybe it's that I've been exposed to the changing face of pregnancy and childbirth all of my life, and have seen the trends towards the "boutiquing" of the process. Maybe it's that I've unconsciously picked up the attitude of my mother toward that same boutiquing. But this whole thing is just one more brick in the wall of my sense that we're headed toward the same fate as the Romans. What's going to be our lead viaduct?
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What did you expect?
Date: 2004-04-20 03:22 am (UTC)Utter side note - can I pick your brain about thyroid stuff?
Re: What did you expect?
Date: 2004-04-20 03:35 am (UTC)Absolutely, of course.
You wanna do it in an email?
Just FYI for everyone reading this -- I hearby give blanket permission for anyone who's interested to pick my brain about thyroid stuff.
no subject
Date: 2004-04-22 10:19 am (UTC)Liberalism and race-mixing. Heh.