Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Wow…that is really blowing it all out of proportion.
This thread has nothing to do with suffering of humans or animals. I have great empathy and do all I can to help people/animals in need. I still don't care for babies but I would never sit by while one suffers.
I know people that sleep with dogs in their bed. I could never do that because I feel it is unsanitary. So you are correct, it is about personal preference. For example one poster in this thread prefers dog poop over baby poop.
That might be because they are more used to dog poop. I work in nursing homes, 18 years now, and I feel more comfortable diapering an old person than I do a newborn. It doesn't mean I like cleaning up either one, I'm just more used to and more comfortable with elderly people because that's where my experience lies. The same is probably true of your friend.
I think most people are capable of loving more than one creature at a time. Having a visceral reaction to puppies doesn't mean you're not meant to have kids, don't want kids nor that you won't be a good parent.
Men in general don't, in my experience, have a visceral reaction to babies, they don't run up and need to coo and hold them...does that mean their genes shouldn't be passed on or that they won't be good fathers? I suspect this thread is becoming more aimed at women. and shaming them at that.
I'm a woman, and a parent. I never felt a particularly strong draw toward babies. I loved my own deeply, of course, but the stereotypical reaction of a mother being handed her newborn, instantly falling in love, and believing it to be the most beautiful baby in the world did not happen to me. They got to the point where they were pretty cute, but not ravishingly cute. I didn't expect other people to think they were adorable.
My kids are teens now, and I have zero desire to return to the baby days, to hold anyone else's baby, or look at pictures of babies. However, I'll hold baby animals and look at pictures of baby animals all day long. So either I'm defective, or people are who they are, and being a parent or not doesn't change that.
I also agree with this:
Quote:
Originally Posted by ABQConvict
I find baby animals to provoke a more intense viceral 'cuteness' reaction than human babies.
That said, I recognize the intrinsic "worth" of the human. In other words, if a puppy and a baby fell in the water, I'd save the baby first no matter how uninspiring it may be in terms of cuteness.
Of course. None of that changes the fact that I find (most) puppies cuter than (most) human babies. Actually, when I really find cute is kittens.
I was never really raised near or with babies, I was the baby actually, but I LOVE babies.
I'm the guy that'll go 'awwwww' whenever I see a baby, toddler, small child (under the age of 8), and animals. Love them and, apparently, they love me.
Downside to that is society immediately sees me and think I'm either gay, effeminate (I kinda am though as I dont care for gender roles), or just plain weird since I'm a male with a very girly and happy reaction towards small kids and animals.
However I only really awww when I see big "bully breeds". Pits, Rottweilers, Dobermans, German Shepherds. I'm into those breeds of dogs. I do love cats too however. I'm a cat guy.
Nope. I'm a parent, dearly dearly love my son - but the truth is babies are not cute. Lots of little kids are also not cute. They may do cute things - but by and large most babies are kind of ugly.
My son, for example, was referred to by a co-worker as a Marty Allen look-alike. And it was accurate. And it didn't bother me. Babies are blobby weird looking things with squashed faces and coneheads - and that's fine.
Kittens and puppies, on the other hand, are almost always way cuter than your average human cub.
Pyewackette, so true. I think part of the reason people may prefer a furry animal baby over a human baby in regards to 'cuteness factor' is most furry animals make carbon copies of themselves, in miniature form.
Humans on the other hand, start off as off kilter, not in perspective babies. Their heads are too big for their bodies, their legs are short and chubby, and they all seem to liken to some tone of deep pink or red. Human babies have to 'grow into' their shapes. Furr babies already look like their adult counterparts, but are in teacup form.
And the agility---to watch a baby snow leopard play with it's brother, is, well; just too cute
Have you ever noticed the reaction some women have towards baby clothes? Do an experiment. Show them baby sneakers. Their voice immediately gets really high and they say, "oooooooohhhhh! that is SO CUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUTE!!! It's so tiny!"
I never "got" those people who would hang up those calendars of babies dressed up like fruits and vegetables, but I totally embrace hanging up a calendar of cute animals. Why would you want pictures of some stranger's kids? Isn't that kind of creepy?
Ok, that made me laugh.
No, it's not any more creepy than people who hang up calendars or posters of hot firemen, gorgeous models in bathing suits, clowns, actors, atheletes, etc. Strangers one and all!
The point of those kid/baby calendars is the cuteness factor, just like it is with the baby animal calendars. Most of them have interesting props or the babies have funny expressions or that kind of thing, don't think you'll find many where the babies are just sitting there expressionless like a lump of clay, lol.
Ok, that made me laugh.
No, it's not any more creepy than people who hang up calendars or posters of hot firemen, gorgeous models in bathing suits, clowns, actors, atheletes, etc. Strangers one and all!
The point of those kid/baby calendars is the cuteness factor, just like it is with the baby animal calendars. Most of them have interesting props or the babies have funny expressions or that kind of thing, don't think you'll find many where the babies are just sitting there expressionless like a lump of clay, lol.
I find they do tend to become expressionless when they are relieving themselves. They sorta space out and grunt, then go back to giggling and laughing like "yo adults. diaper time!"
Desmond Morris, author and anthropologist, did many studies on pupil dilation. When we see something pleasing, our pupils dilate. When we see the opposite, they shrink. In one of his books - I can't remember whether it was People Watching or The Naked Ape... he talks about what happens when we see babies. The results are kind of hilarious but expected:
He splits us into 6 groups, married women and married men with children, married women and married men, single women and single men.
Pupil dilation: married women with children, married men with children, single women, and married women without children.
Pupil shrinkage: single men, married men without children.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
