A newborn child in the maternity ward of Kaliningrad Maternity Hospital No. 4. Photo (c): Igor Zarembo / RIA Novosti. All rights reserved.
“Returning to nature” is in fashion everywhere. Lovers of this “naturalness” associate it with something authentic and positive; the correct order of things, or the continuity of generations past and their wisdom. Naysayers, on the one hand, see it as a promotional gimmick, remarking ironically that the only difference between an organic beetroot and a non-organic one is its price.
On the other hand, they criticise this trend towards the “natural” as standing in the way of the modernisation of society – when, for example, the celebration of women’s “real nature” turns out to be another way of perpetuating the worst gender stereotypes.
