In section 5 of “I Sing the Body Electric,” we see Whitman praising the female form, even calling it divine – “The female contains all qualities and tempers them/She is in her place and moves with perfect balance” (line 17 – 18). Then, in section 6, he praises the male form. What is the man? He is “action and power” (line 2), but additionally “The flush of the known universe is in him/…Knowledge becomes him” (line 3, line 7). But there is one thing he specifically praises the female body for – procreation. In lines 12 and 13 of section 5 of the same poem, he compares male-female sex to birth, and then praises the female body for being “…the gates of the body… the gates of the soul” (section 5 line 15). Male and female are both described as containing all qualities, but men are distinctly described as embodying action, power, knowledge, the entire known universe. So I have to ask, what besides the general “all qualities” does the woman embody? What besides the bodies and souls of others, which do not truly belong to her? “She is to conceive daughters as well as sons, and sons as well as daughters” (section 5 line 19) – she equally conceives – but I can’t help but notice that the primary clause of this line is “She is to conceive”, she is expected to conceive.

In sections 7 and 8, Whitman mentions the begetting of children again. A man is “…the father of those who shall be fathers in their turns,/In him the start of populous states and rich republics,/Of him countless immortal lives with countless embodiments and enjoyments” (section 7 lines 19 – 21). A woman shares similar characteristics, she is “…the teeming mother of mothers,/She is the bearer of them that shall grow and be mates to mothers” (section 8 lines 2 – 3). But… that’s it. Nothing about populous states, rich republics, embodiments and enjoyments in his description of the female role within procreation – only motherhood and mating. Now, you could argue that he doesn’t need to restate that women are also the start of populous states and whatnot. But Whitman loves his repetitions. So why did he leave those things out when describing how a woman’s role in procreation benefits the world? Why does she only create more procreators? Because of this, I can’t help reading women as portrayed as lesser than men in this poem.

Now, I’m not definitive about all this – maybe Whitman is biased like this towards the male body because he’s gay, maybe I’m that one friend who’s too woke. Just wanted to share some of what I thought about while reading parts of Children of Adam.