Mother’s Day Activism

Mother’s Day and Feminism: Honoring Strength, Choice andLove

Every second Sunday in May, we pause to celebrate mothers — the ones who raised us, nurtured us, and shaped us. But behind the flowers and the brunch reservations, there’s a deeper story to tell — one that ties Mother’s Day to the heart of feminism.

Take a moment to watch this short video on the origins of Mother’s Day(i):

https://youtu.be/TG73A1SkU1c?si=u2ut3inNKRTp7Zyn

Motherhood has often been boxed into narrow expectations. For centuries, women were told that their highest calling — perhaps their only calling — was to become a mother. Feminism shattered that mold, arguing that motherhood should be a choice, not a mandate. That mothers are full human beings, not just caregivers. That honoring motherhood also means honoring the rights, needs, and dreams of women.

Former Labor MP Kate Ellis writes inSex, Lies andQuestion Time: “The gains women have made have only ever been achieved as a result of protest and agitation, pressure and persuasion.” Why perpetuate the myth of ideal mothers endlessly stifling themselves for a pay off of flannelette pjs and breakfast in bed every May? There should be more.(ii)

Feminism reminds us that motherhood is not one-size-fits- all. Some mothers work outside the home; some stay home; some do both at different points in life. Some become mothers through adoption, surrogacy, or fostering. Some decide not to become mothers at all  —  and  their choice is just as worthy of respect and celebration.

When we celebrate Mother’s Day through a feminist lens, we recognize a few important truths:

This Mother's Day, let’s celebrate the women who mother — with all the messy, beautiful, exhausting, and life-giving energy that entails — and also honor the freedom to choose if, how, and when to mother at all.

Because feminism doesn't diminish motherhood. It lifts it up, in all its beautiful, complicated humanity.

Happy Mother's Day — to every mother, and every woman charting her own path.

Please continue to reach out to me personally or professionally as we continue our work to make NFBPWC  a  better  organization, because together we are stronger.

Best Personal Wishes,

Megan Shellman-Rickard
Immediate Past National President
immpastpresident@nfbpwc.org

Sources for reference:

i.  https://www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/mothers-day-for-peace/#:~:text=Ann%20Jarvis%20of%20Appalachia%20founded,protest%20the%20carnage%20of%20war.

ii. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/may/09/mothers-days-origins-are-in-activism-todays-saccharine- version-is-suffocating