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Monday, September 26, 2011

Am I a Bastard?

My good friend the Declassified Adoptee wrote a thought provoking post on the use of the word "Bastard".
http://www.declassifiedadoptee.com/2011/09/rihannas-new-song-should-you-use-word.html
One of the meanings of the word "bastard" as posted is:
a person born of unmarried parents; an illegitimate child.
Now I was born in wedlock. My parents as written on my birth certificate were married.
However, if we are to consider that my "biological" parents were never married and had no relationship, then technically I am a bastard child.
For myself I am not offended by the term (although others would be), I take it more as being a statement of fact, even though I know the term was used by society in a derogatory sense in this regard. Yet I am sure some people might refer to me as being a bastard for reasons other than my parentage, but that is another matter.
Do I think all other DC people should refer to themselves as bastards?
No.
It would depend on how each offspring views their parentage. Some only see the people who raised them as being their parents and if they were married, then they would not fall into this category. I choose to acknowledge 3 parents, one maternal and two paternal (one being my father and one being my dad).
The word parent can mean a progenitor of a child and or person who acts as a guardian over a child.
So yes I do in fact have 3 parents, technically as does every other DC person whether they choose to acknowledge it or not. I am sure my mother would be shocked and upset that I associate myself with being a bastard, however, I see no shame in accepting biological fact.