You’ve heard the expression – or used it yourself.
“Didn’t your mother teach you any manners?”
“Where is your mother?”
“What was his mother thinking?”
Whether good or bad – mostly in the bad instances – we call questions down on people’s upbringings. And that usually leads to questions about parenting. Which are directed most often at mothers.
The worst types of insults involve mothers: motherf*cker or son of a b*tch.
I can’t figure out if this pervasive reference to motherhood and by default women, means we are all powerful or if we are the bane of humanity. I ruminated on the toll mothering takes on a woman in my momoir for first time mothers, Mommy But Still Me.
In either case, until scientists really get that cloning thing going, you’re stuck with us.
Hope today you get a chance to shower some attention on a positive female figure in your life. After all, doesn’t she deserve some praise to go with all that blame?
Reader Comments
“I can’t figure out if this pervasive reference to motherhood and by default women, means we are all powerful or if we are the bane of humanity.” Interesting question. I once read a source I trust that the energy of the universe is predominantly female. Now of course, to know whether that points to an answer to your question, I guess we would have to have some sense of what is meant by the”energy of the universe.” But what it does say is whatever moves us moves a whole lot of things. I love interesting questions and you, Mohana, do ask a number of them. Hats off to you.
Yes we do! And thank you for reading and discussing Christina. Makes me want to keep asking :).