Why It Matters That I’m A Mother, Not A Generic ‘Parent’ Or ‘Grown-Up’While activists with a political ax to grind continue their efforts to erase mothers, the nature of a mother’s role is irreplaceable.BY: ANNA KALADISH REYNOLDS
MARCH 01, 2023
Something odd is happening in the public sphere: Moms are disappearing. Oh, they are still seen out and about, but more and more rarely will you hear them spoken about as mothers.
You’ve likely seen the updated, politically correct vocabulary: breastfeeding is now “chestfeeding,” pregnant moms are now a “birthing person,” and in some countries mothers are identified only as “Parent 1” or “Parent 2,” as if it is not obvious who they are.
It’s not just political activists who are pretending mothers do not exist. At public events, organizers increasingly find cute new ways to refer to mothers. They might call them the children’s “grown-up” or “big person.” Teachers and librarians coo, “Turn to your grown-up!” “Bring this painting to the grown-up you came with!”
The mania for inclusion means we now ignore that most children still attend library story hours and kiddie museums with their mothers. Enlightened adults will nod and affirm how wonderful it is that we are no longer excluding people who don’t have mothers.
Mothers themselves often meticulously scrub their vocabulary of gendered nomenclature, calling themselves “partner” and “parent,” never “wife” and “mother.” We are attempting to convince children that their female parent figure — if they have one — is no different from any other parenting stand-in, replaceable and not unique.
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Motherhood is not merely linguistic but reflects a substantive reality. A mother has a unique role that benefits women, men, and their children. When we change the way we refer to mothers for the benefit of the handful of kids at an event with dad, grandma, or the nanny, what is lost?
Young children look to a mother, whether biological or adoptive, for comfort and nourishment. As radical as it sounds these days, this fact has a clear basis in the phenomenon of pregnancy. Every person now living was nurtured and brought into the world by a mother.
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Source:
https://thefederalist.com/2023/03/01/why-it-matters-that-im-a-mother-not-a-generic-parent-or-grown-up/
