The Kaleidoscopic Universe in Mna Loy's "Parturition"

Scholarly interpretations of Mina Loy often analyze her poetry as products of her eugenicist beliefs. Her poem "Parturition" is frequently paired with her unpublished polemic "Feminist Manifesto," which emphasizes the concept of a racially superior mother and her offspring. However, I argue that Loy's "Parturition" disrupts the racism and classism at the core of eugenics, rather than embracing the British colonial impulse. The power to modify eugenicist othering lies in her ever-evolving perspective in the poem. Loy's kaleidoscopic poetics weave through early 20th-century feminist campaigns, largely represented by social purists and liberal moralists, offering a multifaceted lens that undermines dichotomous binaries regarding female sexuality, marriage, and legal sovereignty. "Parturition" exemplifies this intervention by embracing a spectrum of perspectives and experiences of maternity. Through vivid and visceral depictions of the childbirth experience, rendered through her feminine language use, Loy disrupts and challenges the cultural (devaluation of motherhood She highlights the physicality of the sexual, profane maternal body as an organ of reproduction and parodies the myth of the Virgin Mary to demystify the culturally assigned sanctity of maternity. The poem, thus, advocates for an inclusive and fluid understanding of maternity that transcends racial and class boundaries. "Parturition" presents childbirth not as a monolithic event but as a kaleidoscopic interplay of emotions, sensations, and identities through a mother subject's conscious unfolding. It reframes maternity as a dynamic and evolving concept. In doing so, Loy's poetics critically dialogue with contemporary feminist discourse, offering a more expansive and inclusive representation of female experiences.