I think the 'problem' on BB, and indeed on other forums (fora, whatever) is the situation whereby members submit to what I would term experience grading, and a willingness to self chastise; I've commented on this before. Every time anyone adds to/sympathises with a thread where a member is running themselves down because they had a c/s, a failed VBAC, a hard vag birth, problems with b/f etc etc, they are compounding the problem. This creates an underlying culture where unwarranted self criticism and unnecessary judgment is validated and even encouraged.
This is a very insightful comment, and one I have to agree with in part. I am aware of those threads that seem to enable the OP, rather than helping them work through a deeper issue. I actually posted something in the emotional growth section on "the search for validation". I also know of other members who try and prevent it from happening (such as "no more bad mother threads").

This process of validating our own experiences through sharing is something women tend to do more (probably because we talk more in general lol) but it happens everywhere, including IRL. I just think we can be more open on BB than in IRL, and there is a community of people talking all about their parenting experience, so guess what gets a lot of air time? Bfeeding, birth, parenting, etc etc etc. I think everytime we discuss something personal with another person we are in part validating our experience...its the way identities and experiences are forged and created...by identifying how our own experiences are unique.

I think the aim of any discussion should be to create some self criticism, rather than just unconditional validation - I think that is the issue on many threads. The aim should be to always gain a balanced viewpoint. Does conversation/discussion create unnecessary self criticism...well that depends on how you interpret that self analysis. Is it useful or destructive to you? If the latter, then you could a) stay away from the "triggers" and self preserve or b) work through why it is so offensive.

Anyhoo. This was a bit of a rant. I just wanted to say something about the signatures. I have homebirthing and cosleeping icons in my signature because I want to identify myself with Attachment Parenting or Gentle Parenting. I think it helps people interpret my posts. If they disagree entirely, maybe they can look at my signature and say..."oh she's one of 'those' hippy mums"...or maybe they don't care...who knows.

I am proud of my choices though. I worked damn hard to get where I am, through a lot of self analysis, criticism and soul searching. Just like all of us.