The great lie about women...

[loyalsister]

Why I Hate Mothers Day
Anne Lamott
It celebrates the great lie about women: That those with children are more important than those without

http://www.salon.com/2010/05/08/hate_mothers_day_anne_lamott/

[Bonobo]

1. Is that true for Father's Day as well? nt

[LostOne4Ever]

6. Father's day

Father's day is a relatively new and artificial holiday created to make corporations money:

http://www.cracked.com/article_20324_5-basic-facts-life-were-made-up-by-marketing-campaigns_p2.html?wa_user1=1&wa_user2=Movies+%26+TV&wa_user3=article&wa_user4=companion

[Bonobo]

11. Sad, but...

All holidays are made up.

The sad thing is that some feel fathers don't deserve a thanks as much as mothers.

[loyalsister]

34. Good point

And exactly part of what the article was getting at.

[Bluenorthwest]

16. And Mother's Day was dictated on Mt Sinai?

"The modern holiday of Mother's Day was first celebrated in 1908, when Anna Jarvis held a memorial for her mother in Grafton, West Virginia. She then began a campaign to make "Mother's Day" a recognized holiday in the United States. Although she was successful in 1914, she was already disappointed with its commercialization by the 1920s."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother%27s_Day
"Father's Day was founded in Spokane, Washington at the YMCA in 1910 by Sonora Smart Dodd, who was born in Arkansas.[3] Its first celebration was in the Spokane YMCA on June 19, 1910.[3][4] Her father, the Civil War veteran William Jackson Smart, was a single parent who raised his six children there.[3] After hearing a sermon about Jarvis' Mother's Day in 1909, she told her pastor that fathers should have a similar holiday honoring them.[3] Although she initially suggested June 5, her father's birthday, the pastors did not have enough time to prepare their sermons, and the celebration was deferred to the third Sunday of June."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Father%27s_Day

[hfojvt]

82. if William Jackson Smart was from Arkansas

wouldn't he have been a "Civil War Veteran" from the CSA?

Whoops, okay, I guess not. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=45306602

[HiPointDem]

113. not much newer than mother's day. and mother's day also an artificial holiday to make money.

both promoted by the same person.

jesus mary and joseph.

[niyad]

7. we would all be interested to read such an article on father's day, when you find it.

[Bonobo]

8. Oh.

[loyalsister]

14. I don't know

I do know that men are valued according to their relationships with their children in complex ways.

[smirkymonkey]

80. Yes.

[WhaTHellsgoingonhere]

109. Very good question. As a life long bachelor, I'll weigh in

Never married, no children. Anecdotally, a woman wouldn't get the kudos I receive for never marrying or having children. Maybe in a 100 years, but we won't be around for to witness that.

That being said, you raise an excellent point and my comment is merely an anecdote.

[niyad]

2. k and r for a most interesting read!!

[loyalsister]

15. Thanks

I had never thought of it that way. I send my mom, sisters, and grandma cards. I also recognize my friends who are mothers. I see this as analogous to Veteran's Day. I don't hate veterans (or mothers), but I am aware of the fact that they are valued more than average citizens.

[Awknid]

41. This part rings true for me:

"Ninety-eight percent of American parents secretly feel that if you have not had and raised a child, your capacity for love is somehow diminished. Ninety-eight percent of American parents secretly believe that non-parents cannot possibly know what it is to love unconditionally, to be selfless, to put yourself at risk for the gravest loss. "

[smirkymonkey]

96. Then they have never had a dog.

The most unconditional love ever.

[seabeyond]

100. how could anyone know the statistical number of a secret held, and not shared?

that is ridiculous. a ridiculous number and conclusion

[a la izquierda]

3. I have no kids...

Tomorrow will be great for my mom and sisters. Meh, I'll just drink and watch TV (it's been a very rough week).

[Skittles]

22. I LOVE "drink and watch TV" days

I do that on my "very rough weeks" too

[a la izquierda]

89. Yeah, it's been tough.

My grandmother has dementia and refuses to go into a nursing home. My poor mom...

[awoke_in_2003]

58. Happy Drink and Watch TV Day...

[a la izquierda]

88. Thanks.

I intend to enjoy it. It will probably be the last with my grandmother, and then all my grandparents will have passed.

[panader0]

98. Are there cards for that?

[awoke_in_2003]

106. There should be...

[smirkymonkey]

81. Cheers!

Happy to be single and childless!

[msongs]

4. or, it's just a day for those that do instead of for those who don't nt

[Buzz Clik]

5. I never looked at Mother's Day in that way.

I really don't think that's the intention today's celebration.

[loyalsister]

10. Obviously that not the explicit intention

But there is no doubt that women who are mothers are valued more than women who aren't. Otherwise I don't think there would be such fixation on bringing every pregnancy to term.

The idea isn't to slam mothers, it's just to consider the contrast in how women are treated.

[Boomerproud]

18. There's the theory (probably proven) that the idea of witches has to do with post-menopausal

women-thus they are no longer valuable and sold their souls for powers. I am childless (not by choice) but I will celebrate my mom tomorrow so that her day is special.

[loyalsister]

23. Another theory

based in anthropology that explains why we live beyond menopause is the grandmother theory. Post-menopausal survival was selected for because the contributions of grandmothers are essential for survival.

[pnwmom]

36. Only a small portion of the population is "fixated" on pro-life issues. n/t

[loyalsister]

39. The point is to offer some explanation

The "miracle of childbirth" is a construct that is revered by both pro-life and pro-choice people.

[awoke_in_2003]

62. I hate the term "miracle of child birth"...

If over 40% of the population (I am allowing for infertility) can do it, it isn't a miracle.

[bravenak]

76. The miracle Is that we can survive it.

I almost died twice. I still didn't think it was a miracle.

[Awknid]

47. I've always noticed

Women with children being hostile toward the childless by acting as though they are superior. It often comes across as resentment and jealousy. And I wonder if they even consider that they might not have been able to have children? I mean, they assume the childless women must be horrible? It's fascinating!

[loyalsister]

60. And

I think most of us know or have friends who got pregnant to equalize themselves (my sister) among friends. Or, my old friend who got pregnant because she thought her boyfriend would value her more.
The point is that as far as social constructs go, motherhood is one that has broader implications than being a parent.

[sarge43]

86. More than once I've heard in one form or another, "You don't have children;

what's wrong?". Always from other women. My husband has never been asked "what's wrong?" by anyone.

I have no problem with Mother's Day. However, for very personal reasons millions of women don't have children and we're not lesser beings because of it.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

104. Really!

My own mother was always very snide when talking about women who chose not to have children.

[BainsBane]

29. I agree

and I'm a woman without children. For me it's a day to extend appreciation to my own mother, only I took her out to dinner tonight instead.

[Buzz Clik]

35. very nice. A good daughter.

[tammywammy]

50. I'm also a childless woman.

I'll celebrate by borrowing my mom's pickup truck to get a new washer & dryer. I'll fill up the gas tank.

Heh.

[tblue]

77. Mother's Day was started by mothers

in response to all the deaths of their sons in the Civil War. It's continued because housewives, lots of whom are mothers, have these difficult thankless jobs, and somebody wanted to remedy that, at least for one day a year. Do non-moms work thankless jobs too? Of course. So do a lot of men. I like Ann Lamott, but this piece is a little overthunk, IMHO. If women feel badly that they aren't mothers, then it can be a sad day. I get that of couse. If women choose not to have children, I guess some might not want to see children and mothers enjoy a holiday based on something they don't desired. But it seems kinda odd that anyone would begrudge others celebrating people they love. Maybe we need more holidays for more categories of people so no one feels left out.

It's not that I don't see the point Ann Lamott is making. It's just I don't see why she wants no one else to celebrate Mother!'s Day. If you do, great. If you don't, that's great too. There are many things people have that I'd like to have and don't, but does that mean they should hide their happiness so it doesn't bother me? Heck no. I wouldn't even want that.

[Buzz Clik]

78. Very elegantly stated.

Thank you.

[Dorian Gray]

87. I have a daughter

and a mother. And all I want to do is chill out, maybe watch a half hour of television, and hug my daughter when she'll deign to hug me today. (That's pretty much every day!)

I certainly don't think I'm more special than any other woman out there. (With or without children.)

I realize today can be difficult for those who lost mothers or those who don't have children. My heart goes out to anyone who might be suffering today for any reason.

[MineralMan]

9. I have a mother. She is 88.

I celebrate Mothers Day because of her. If I did not have a mother, I could celebrate nothing at all.

[uppityperson]

12. I guess Birthdays are saying those who were born that day are more important than those who aren't?

You can turn every holiday, every celebration around to say it is negative for those who don't celebrate it or for whom it is not about.

[Moonwalk]

72. Um...Apples and oranges. EVERYONE gets a birthday, and so gets to celebrate a holiday--

for themselves at least once a year...but not everyone gets to celebrate being a parent, do they? Hence, bad comparison.

A more apt comparison would be Veteran's Day as we don't all get to be Veterans, but I see no complaint about that because said Veterans did do a job for our country. A woman can be a "mom" and, presumably, celebrated on Mother's day simply because she gave birth--not because she did anything else.

I'm afraid the complaint actually does make sense and can be seen as valid. Then again, you seem to have misunderstood it's point. It's not about being negative toward a holiday because it's not about "everyone"--as I said, no one is complaining that we all don't get to celebrate Veteran's day. It about being negative toward a holiday that celebrates something that doesn't put forth a valid reason for celebrating it. If one has to celebrate any woman who is a "mom"--like the addict who gave birth to a crack baby--what real meaning does that holiday have?

Why should said woman's accomplishment (giving birth) be celebrated yet women who are childless (can't have kids) are told they aren't worthy of a holiday? I think it is valid to ask that. It's not that women without children aren't getting a holiday, but rather a question of why those with children do get a holiday--why is that one accomplishment, irregardless of whether the woman raised her children well, worthy of a holiday?

[cherokeeprogressive]

13. "It should go without saying that I also hate Valentine’s Day."

Ms. Lamott sounds like the kind of person who could suck the joy out of, well, just about anything.

[Demeter]

43. Thank you! That is right in the gold

Methinks the lady doth protest too much.

[hfojvt]

83. there's joy in Valentine's Day?

"I already know that nobody likes me. Why does there have to be a Valentine's Day to rub it in?" Charlie Brown

[GreenEyedLefty]

17. I'm so sick of these snarky, cynical articles.

There's a billion of them out there, on every topic imaginable. Who gives a shit, really? If you don't like Mother's Day, then don't acknowledge it.

[Number23]

19. What a baffling and needless article.

Everyone has a mother. Whether you choose to celebrate that or not is completely up to you.

Sure it's a "Hallmark Holiday," and fairly useless in the general scheme of things, but how anyone can see Mother's Day as "promoting a lie that moms are more important than other women" is simply idiotic. By this logic, Memorial Day perpetuates the lie that veterans are better than everyone else.

I know so many women that have lost their mothers that use Mother's Day as a celebration of their deceased moms. I had no idea that there were people trying to politicize Mother's Day. Now I have truly seen everything.

[Gin]

20. Being a mother doesnt just mean having children.......people mother pets.....spouses...

Other peoples children.......mothering is also a state of mind. IMHO:

To all who have "mothered" in some capacity.......happy mothers day!

[loyalsister]

24. Good point

Thanks for not overreacting!

[freshwest]

40. I celebrate mother's day with all the motherly people I know, it's not about biology.

Agree with your take completely, I will greeting my non-mom friends and family tonight and tomorrow.

[raccoon]

92. Great post. nt

[Skittles]

21. I don't have kids and I don't see it that way

it's simply an apprecation of moms although an argument could be made against its commericailization. My mum died two years ago and while, yes, I think about her on Mother's Day , I certainly do not experience "profound grief"

[loyalsister]

26. I don't have kids either

And I don't experience grief. But there is a certain reverence to women who are mothers. It is probably rooted in primitive celebrations at a time when mothers were the primary forces maintaining social order and survival. The point is that we are technically beyond that and the mentality remains. I don't feel cheated. Just responding to an idea that I ran across.

[boston bean]

25. Every single one of us has a mother

And a father too, no?

It's meant to celebrate your mother, not yourself.

[October]

38. +1

[hfojvt]

85. unless myself is a mother

or a father.

In which case it would be MY day as well as a day for one of my parents.

[redqueen]

101. +1

I like it when Salon reinforces my decision not to bother with them.

[cyberswede]

27. ...and secretaries' day...

(I mean Administrative Professionals' day) tells us that administrative professionals are more important than those who aren't administrative professionals.

[Avalux]

30. To each his own I guess, but I don't agree.

I have a mother, so does every other person on this planet. It's a day to appreciate and celebrate mother/child relationships, and if for some reason a person doesn't want to do that, it's their choice. But please, let's not turn it into a controversy to pit people against one another. There's plenty of that in the world already.

[loyalsister]

33. I don't think the author is calling for activism

I got it from a woman who is an Episcopalian pastor and runs an organization that advocates for keeping abortion legal. She posted it because it ties into the stigma against women who have abortions.

[cynatnite]

31. Geez, that first paragraph is more telling than the entire article...

Perhaps Mother’s Day will come to mean something to me as I grow even dottier in my dotage, and I will find myself bitter and distressed when Sam dutifully ignores the holiday. Then he will feel ambushed by my expectations, and he will retaliate by putting me away even sooner than he was planning to — which, come to think of it, would be even more reason to hate Mother’s Day.

[loyalsister]

32. Too bad there wasn't a sarcasm tag in the article

Sheesh!

[cynatnite]

44. You are right. n/t

[freshwest]

42. Yeah, lot of pain leaking out there. Save hate for mosquitoes, that's my motto.

Little no-good blood suckers!

[klook]

71. Some mosquitoes are mothers too, you know.

And all mosquitoes have a mother!

[freshwest]

73. Yup, they need extra blood for reproduction. Sorry. Smack!

[Politicalboi]

37. But they are more important

Mothers have children who NEED them. Dying is sad, but isn't it sadder when it's a mother of 4 rather than some female age 49 no children. It's for the children that we respect mothers more. And I have NO children. I enjoy spoiling my nieces and nephews, and saying good bye Sunday night and not have to care about them till next time I see them.

If I was at a point where it was either my life or a mothers life, I would rather it be me killed. If not, some poor child will be heart broken for their mother, and it may have an effect that they may never get over. Could ruin a family in many ways. So yes, mothers are more important. IMO.

[Awknid]

52. Right

They are more important to their children.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

45. Here, here! I have no children and probably too old to have any. Mother's Day reminds me that I am a

loser.

However, I still love sending my Mom and grandmother things. I also enjoy sending all my aunts cards. It is, however, corporate.

[mercymechap]

54. It's like Boston Bean said -

it's about celebrating your mother, not yourself.

And, it doesn't have to be corporate unless you make it. You can always just make a phone call. I have 5 grown children and some years all I got was a phone call from some of them, and you know what, I didn't care, I was just glad they thought of calling me that day.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

56. They're lucky to have a Mom like you! Happy Mother's Day!!

[mercymechap]

69. Thank You!

[graywarrior]

46. I can't bear the thought of what my sister will go through tomorrow

[Nye Bevan]

48. I hate the Olympics too.

Because it makes those who suck at sports feel inferior.

[BeyondGeography]

55. Basically

the author hates everything that makes anybody feel bad about anything:

I hate the way the holiday makes all non-mothers, and the daughters of dead mothers, and the mothers of dead or severely damaged children, feel the deepest kind of grief and failure.

She wrote that. She really did.

[treestar]

63. Different

Because those of us who are not mothers are not inferior. We're allowing more space on the planet for those who do have children.

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

49. The common thread is that we all had a mother

and a father.

[BeyondGeography]

51. Laughable

[FBaggins]

59. Exactly

It celebrates the simple truth that women who have children are usually more important to those children than women who aren't their mothers.

I hope the author doesn't get invited to many birthdays or weddings (etc). Heaven forbid that anyone else ever be the center of attention.

[mercymechap]

53. Geez, not everything is a

competition. That children want to celebrate and honor their mothers doesn't mean that those without children are being dishonored.
Seems like the author, Anne Lamott just about hates everything!

[La Lioness Priyanka]

57. no the great lie we celebrate is that we value mothers

in any real way. instead we make it really hard to be a mother and attain personal goals by making work incompatible with motherhood and making motherhood far more important than fatherhood.

[loyalsister]

65. I don't think those facts are unrecognized by reasonable people

nt.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

67. i think they are very much unrecognized by most people

which is why we have the shittiest laws around mothers and families in the industrialized world

[loyalsister]

68. I suppose one could argue that most people aren't reasonable.

nt

[raccoon]

93. Good point. nt

[arely staircase]

61. should I cancel my plans with Mom for tomorrow?

nt

[Orrex]

99. Call her and tell her that she's no more important than anyone else.

That'll make her day--promise!

[arely staircase]

107. yeah, no kidding

that would go down well. I can explain to her that taking her to lunch is an insult to my childless girlfriend. that will help shore up their relationship too.

[TampaAnimusVortex]

64. Britta from Community can tell you all about it!

Go for it Britta!

[treestar]

66. Those with children are not more important than those without

But they do allow for greater consumption.

That's why we have to buy them presents for being mothers.

[gollygee]

70. I've heard about 7 or 8 variations on this theme today

Was it this Salon article that started it? I had a couple of people say something similar at an event I went to today, and I read a few things people posted on Facebook about how awful Mothers Day is.

I can't argue with all the reasons people have trouble with Mothers Day, but it bothers me that this is the holiday people decide to take a stand over. This and Columbus Day, but the problems with Columbus Day seem much more real to me.

The idea that Mothers Day claims that women with children are more important hasn't been the reason everyone has given me for not liking Mothers Day. I've also heard that Fathers nurture their children too (to which I replied, yes of course but they also have a holiday), that it hurts people whose mothers have died, that it hurts women whose children have died, that it hurts women who have been unable to have children. Hmm I think there were more but those are the ones I remember. I can't argue with the reasons and don't even personally celebrate Mothers Day (despite being a mom.) I'm am a bit bothered by how much negativity I've heard about mothers being recognized though.

People who have lost loved ones are hurt at all holidays, though I definitely empathize. I have lost a family member and I found the first Christmas following her death, and the anniversary of her birth to be very difficult. I guess if I heard these same arguments used against Fathers Day, it wouldn't bug me. Maybe when Fathers Day comes people will say the same things though.

[loyalsister]

75. I think there's a distinction between "important" and "valued"

Mothers and fathers are both essential to our world as they reproduce and nurture children.
The point the author was trying to make is that women who give birth seem to be valued more in our culture. I thought it was thought- provoking. People seemed to take it literally.

[kickysnana]

74. What a sad way to look at things.

[BrotherIvan]

79. I just visited my friends tonight who are parents

I got to enjoy their 2 year old having a meltdown for two hours. My special present for being child-free was coming home to peace and quiet and a lovely Malbec.



I do not begrudge them their holiday.

[Lady Freedom Returns]

84. Mother's day Sucks.

Yep. I said it. No, I did not forget the Sarcasm smiley, I mean it.

Early next month will be the 3rd anniversary of my Mothers passing due to the indifference of my father. It will be, in a few short days, the 2nd. anniversary of the lost of my two four legged babies.

Add to it that I am, my father's words mind you, that I really was not worth that much due to not giving him a grandchild like my baby sister did.

I knew when I was very young that I NEVER wanted to be a mom. My mother was very supportive of that. Most people never judge me about till recently. Now that I am not anywhere near as successful as I was, I have found I need some help from religious ( mainly protestant) groups who have treated me less than other women due to not having kids. I have been told that I really need to have kids if I am to contribute to society. I have been looked down at and been made the brunt of many a joke by other women in shelters due to having no kids.

Once I would have scoffed at the idea of people getting treated like I have been of late. But now, I find it a disgusting truth. I have had this Holiday, for they last 2 years, used to show me that I need to have a kid or I am less than a woman.

As I said, Mother's Day SUCKS!

[raccoon]

94. Sorry that is happening to you, esp. what your father said to you, that was cruel.

"I knew when I was very young that I NEVER wanted to be a mom. "

So did I.

[roody]

97. I'm always glad that I did not have kids.

[loyalsister]

114. I am willfully barren

I knew I didn't want children and had my tubes tied when I was 29. My Dr. made me wait a year to think it over before she would do it.
What your father said was horrible. I have speculated that a male gyn would have been less likely to do it.

Compared to other women, I think I get a pass for not having or wanting to have children. Having Epilepsy factored into my decision, and the shock goes away when I explain it with that factor.

I have nieces and nephews who I love to spend time with. I am glad the their beds are in my sister's house, though. I love and respect my mom, aunts, sister, and my many friends who are moms. I don't see why rethinking what a holiday means to people who are not on list is entirely negative.

[Seeking Serenity]

90. Haters gotta hate, I guess

Is there NOTHING that happens in this country that some snarky, "cool kids" writer can't defecate on?

Ugh

[Donald Ian Rankin]

91. Is that wholly a lie?

I think there's a strong case to be made that the lives of people (*not* specifically women) with children - especially dependent children - should sometimes be put before the lives of those without.

If you were trapped in a burning building and had to choose between a bunch of volunteers to risk their life trying to get out, wouldn't "I don't have dependents" be one of the things that would make you accept someone?

That's not quite the same thing as those people being less important, but it's a lot like it.

People with children aren't morally superior; they don't contribute more to the human race; they're happiness isn't more important. But I think that preserving their lives probably *is* more important than keeping the rest of us alive.



What I suspect Ms Lamott has correctly identified as a big lie (it certainly comes up in dispute more often) is the conjugate of this claim - that having children is the best and most important thing a woman could do.

[FarCenter]

95. Hormones during gestation and lactation change mom's brains

Brain preparations for maternity--adaptive changes in behavioral and neuroendocrine systems during pregnancy and lactation. An overview.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11589124

[nolabear]

102. I like a lot about Anne Lamott but I think this is absurd.

Subtracting excuses to be loving toward one another just bleeds life dry. Hell, if she wants to add a Women Without Children Day, I say go for it! Let us all enjoy one another for our joys and accomplishments, for choosing either way, for having someone to show love for, for the bizarre and amazing way we come into the world. Women with children are just women with children, but we like that and to shame us for it is mean and strange.

By the way, I say this as someone who hasn't had a mother since I was thirteen. But I had a grandmother who stepped in and a stepmother (who wasn't on the scene til long after I'd left home but who is a marvelous woman) and I have appreciated them tremendously, even as I've known there was an enormous hole where many people have something, for better or worse. And I have two marvelous sons who are taking me out today, and whom I love like life itself.

[LittleBlue]

103. Oh god

You just knew someone was going to shit on Mothers Day. Crap attitude.

Hint: You're going to have the other 364 days to not feel bad about Mothers Day, while the mothers have their children working them to exhaustion. This day is to recognize their incredible hard work and sacrifice to bring us ALL into the world and raise us to adulthood.

[shcrane71]

108. You're completely missing the point of the article...

A successful author and mother is stating that the day makes her uncomfortable because it celebrates and perpetuates a cultural bias that all women are good for are having and raising children.

HINT: You have 365 days a year to be superior and say snarky things like "oh you just don't understand how you can love someone so much until you have a child" to all those women who couldn't have children or chose not to have children. Enjoy your day, and we'll all tell our mothers how much we love them while appreciating our childfree sisters as well.

[LittleBlue]

110. You're right. We would never celebrate fathers being good at raising kids

Oh wait

Silly article, silly sentiment, and increasingly a silly publication.

[loyalsister]

111. I have always been amazed

at how celebrated fathers are just for doing what they are supposed to do.
They get way more credit for doing the jobs that women are expected to do flawlessly without a lot of support.

[LittleBlue]

117. What do you want?

I'm sorry you didn't get the recognition you thought you deserved. It's hard to tell whether the issue is women being put in a role unfairly, or men getting too much recognition for theirs.

To be frank, this is coming across as a load of whining. It's like society should apologize for thinking of mothers in a motherly role.

[loyalsister]

119. A civil conversation maybe?

I don't see how questioning how the culturally parental roles are defined and what it means for people who aren't parents is so ridiculous.

[shcrane71]

121. Thank you. It is impossible to have a civil conversation with

someone who finds self-worth in despising those who aren't in situations just like him or herself (i.e. a parent).

[LWolf]

105. Anne Lamott needs some context.

Something not related to commercialized flowers, cards, etc..

http://codepinkalert.org/article.php?id=217

[HiPointDem]

112. and does father's day say the same about men? stupid article.

[loyalsister]

116. I have notidea

I would speculate that there is not the same pressure for men to have children. Men would have to answer that question.

[lumberjack_jeff]

115. Maybe it's not about celebrating you. It's about celebrating your mom. n/t

[loyalsister]

118. I don't think anyone has or would

propose a holiday celebrating people who were born. Stupid red herring.

[GeorgeGist]

120. Spoiled much?

[shcrane71]

122. Our nation should do more than declaring a working holiday to help women

be the best mothers that they can be. For starters, we should have mandatory, paid maternity/paternity leave. We should have subsidized child care. But instead we get one shitty Sunday a year where all the restaurants are packed with people guiltily taking Mom out for a well-deserved meal. Well, I guess it's something.

Instead of meaningful reforms that would benefit mothers and all of society, Americans get to listen to their newly mothered co-workers cry because they just left their 6-week old with a daycare provider. Women, who are infertile or choose not to have children, work extra hours and holidays for those with little ones.

As Ann Lamott correctly said, women without children are less important than those with children, and sometimes mothers, like Ms. Lamott, see the societal disparity and realize that childless women often do make thankless sacrifices for those women blessed with children.

[loyalsister]

123. Absolutely

I don't usually like easy answers, but I think availability of childcare and universal healthcare would elevate middle class and working poor mothers tremendously.

[LeftishBrit]

124. I disagree - it is intended to celebrate your mother, not yourself

One can legitimately criticize the commercialist sentimentality surrounding the day, but I disagree that it marginalizes those who aren't mothers.