Photo of a group of slave traders with their purchases...

[Zeno Lorea]

"Look what we picked up on holiday"

 

[Charon]

Thank fuck I don’t have to deal with that shit.

 

[NotHardUp1]

Honest to God, I thought you were going to post . . .

 

[NotHardUp1]

"Look what we picked up on holiday"

View attachment 2965689

I also thought slaves were captives made to work for no wages or freedom, not children from poor families or bastard births, or poor countries, who were given ot wealthy parents to raise as their own privileged scions.

Slavery is looking up.

 

[Dargelos]

The company name has been obscured on this picture but the words "international surrogacy" are still visible. So if these children are the products of the commercial surrogate industry, then this is not a case of giving babies a second chance in life, which is adoption and admirable, but baby selling, which is far from admirable. Volunteer surrogacy I have no problem with, the mother does it because it is what she wants to do and nobody is getting used. For profit infant manafacture is another thing entirely. The mother gets paid but she is still being used. No amount of cash is enough to pay her for what she has to go through, it is cynical exploitation of a needy woman.
Men with too much money who want a trophy baby as a status symbol can adopt and do something useful instead.

 

[Kahaih]

I also thought slaves were captives made to work for no wages or freedom, not children from poor families or bastard births, or poor countries, who were given ot wealthy parents to raise as their own privileged scions.

Slavery is looking up.

Where is sixthson when we need clarification?

Many Amish kids would probably like in on this, too, but . . . you know. . . They're just not cute.

 

[Zeno Lorea]

Men with too much money who want a trophy baby as a status symbol can adopt and do something useful instead.

That is indeed the point these women (the women protesting against baby-purchasing) were making.

 

[Zeno Lorea]

I also thought slaves were captives made to work for no wages or freedom, not children from poor families or bastard births, or poor countries, who were given ot wealthy parents to raise as their own privileged scions.

I guess the real slaves in this scenario are the mothers compelled to sell the fruit of their wombs to misogynistic gay men.

 

[NotHardUp1]

I guess the real slaves in this scenario are the mothers compelled to sell the fruit of their wombs to misogynistic gay men.

If you think that every mother wants to be one, or that there is some shortage of surrogate mothers, then you aren't looking reality in the face.

Plenty of women are willing to make money by that, just as there are plenty of men and women who choose prostitution becuase it is easier than working at a typical job.

 

[Zeno Lorea]

Plenty of women are willing to make money by that

Oh sure, but in the real world, they are only a fraction of the total.
Most of the women who do this live in poor-but-white countries and get paid a pittance.
From Moscow to Moldova and from Vilnius to Vladivostok.

 

[pigface]

The saddest part of that picture is that it might be anywhere in the world.
All the shopping malls everywhere have the same shops, inhabited by the same goods, populated by people who all dress the same.
There is no trace of local culture or history.

 

[NotHardUp1]

Oh sure, but in the real world, they are only a fraction of the total.
Most of the women who do this live in poor-but-white countries and get paid a pittance.
From Moscow to Moldova and from Vilnius to Vladivostok.

Do you have data to speak to the numbers? Or is this "common knowledge" without records.

 

[NotHardUp1]

The saddest part of that picture is that it might be anywhere in the world.
All the shopping malls everywhere have the same shops, inhabited by the same goods, populated by people who all dress the same.
There is no trace of local culture or history.

I don't think that is accurate. It is deliberately urban Western attire, but it could by no means be anywhere in the world. The caption in the back is in English, so that knocks out huge tracts o' land.

The women are dressed in pants, another very limiting attire for region.

There are no blacks. That knocks out sub-Saharan Africa.

Not a blonde or redhead, so not Ireland or Northern Europe.

The dark hair, beards, and skin, along with Aryan features, inform the viewer this is likely in some upscale area of India, or at least a locale where there are heavy populations of Indians, like South Africa or London.

The facial features all suggest that, all before you see a Sikh in the background. It also explains the English.

Your point is taken that the Western world has adopted a similar style of dress, but that wouldn't be relevant anyway, since the people in the picture are predominantly employees wearing uniforms with apples on the breasts.. The bearded man seated is wearing a block-print cotton shirt, also an Indian product.

 

[Zeno Lorea]

Do you have data to speak to the numbers? Or is this "common knowledge" without records.

Just google surrogacy for gay men and you will see what the demand looks like, and therefore the supply that cunning businessmen seek.
Yes, there are also lots of studies done at unis near me but I didn't save them for future reference, sorry.

 

[NotHardUp1]

Here is one such article:

https://www.hli.org/resources/surrogacy-ethical-issues/

It is a hodgepodge of sound reporting and extremism. After distinguishing between altruistic surrogacy and commercial, it nonetheless includes radical misstatements like

Whatever form it takes, surrogate motherhood is a form of “reproductive prostitution."

No, if you choose to carry a baby as an act of mercy, it is not prostitution any more than a pity fuck is.

That it should be regulated from the adopting side and from the selling side is needed. But, telling a woman that she cannot be compensated for it is an arbitrary decision, and one that lumps all together, which is wrong.

I'm not married, nor partnered, so my opinion shouldn't weigh the same as a couple's, but I cannot see why genetic procreation should be so valued over adoption. If you want to be a parent, adopt, or better yet, be the one who raises a kid from a broken home or similar. They are everywhere, and they may have problems, but they NEED a parent, and that's what these people want, is to be needed, not to crank out carbon copies of daddy and mommy.

 

[Zeno Lorea]

It's also worth mentioning that the data is increasingly polluted by things like this, “with birth certificates listing only the intended parents” meaning these kids will hardly be identifiable as adopted. This is bad for healthcare as they will not be invited for screenings they may need, but instead invited for screenings they don't. Oh, and the surrogate mother is forgotten right after pay day.
Female erasure, as lesbian feminists would call it.

 

[NotHardUp1]

That can be the case but it is by no means universal.

There are lots of online stories by gay men who include the birth mother and some incorporate her into their circle.

 

[johaninsc]

I don't think that is accurate. It is deliberately urban Western attire, but it could by no means be anywhere in the world. The caption in the back is in English, so that knocks out huge tracts o' land.

The women are dressed in pants, another very limiting attire for region.

There are no blacks. That knocks out sub-Saharan Africa.

Not a blonde or redhead, so not Ireland or Northern Europe.

The dark hair, beards, and skin, along with Aryan features, inform the viewer this is likely in some upscale area of India, or at least a locale where there are heavy populations of Indians, like South Africa or London.

The facial features all suggest that, all before you see a Sikh in the background. It also explains the English.

Your point is taken that the Western world has adopted a similar style of dress, but that wouldn't be relevant anyway, since the people in the picture are predominantly employees wearing uniforms with apples on the breasts.. The bearded man seated is wearing a block-print cotton shirt, also an Indian product.

I did an image search...
https://appleinsider.com/articles/2...ew-delhi-store-before-thursdays-grand-opening

 

[pigface]

I did an image search...

The image name said it was India, but before I read that, I thought it was 100% johannesburg. Not only the shoppers, but the outlets themselves - and entire malls - are clones of those in so many other cities. That wasn't so true a few years ago.

 

[NotHardUp1]

The image name said it was India, but before I read that, I thought it was 100% johannesburg. Not only the shoppers, but the outlets themselves - and entire malls - are clones of those in so many other cities. That wasn't so true a few years ago.

But a lot of that is branding. Iphone promotes an image, just as GAP does, Mercedes, or even Smirnoff.

And the homogeneity of malls is more a catering to the temple of wealth that middle class marketing is infamous for. Idleness. Capricious purchases of luxuries and prestige items.

With the globalization of media and commerce, it was predictable.