Mothers throughout the UK and beyond were deservedly celebrated this month. However, it's about time we consider that not everyone has a nuclear, conventional or traditional family and we adapt our approach to suit this. For example, some people may have two mothers, some may only have a single father who acts as both mother and father, some may be raised by grandparents and some may have transgender parents. Therefore regardless of the situation, we need to make sure that these individuals are also being appreciated by being more considerate in the language that we use.
What steps have been taken to do this?
High-end supermarket Waitrose, for example, made a conscious effort to reduce the use of the word "mother" on its cards and whilst traditional cards were still available, many were replaced with a “Happy You Day” range in a move to “broaden out who the cards can go to, whether it’s grandmas or transgender mums.” Waitrose has also been joined by other retailers, including Scribbler, whose cards included a “Two mums are better than one” card for same-sex couples and a “Dad, thanks for being the most amazing mum” card for single fathers.
What has led to this change?
The change has come after calls by activists to rename Mother's Day completely into something more inclusive with suggestions such as Guardian's Day and Carer's Day.
Some schools have also been referring to the occasion as Special Person’s Day or Mother’s and Special Person’s Day.
What other issues were there this Mother's Day?
There has also been a lot of dialogue around how having children completes a woman, this year and frankly, this is an absolute disgrace and a form of misogyny as we are judging women on whether or not they have children rather than considering them a person in their own right.
Additionally, there are some women out there who cannot have children and saying that they are incomplete without them in unacceptable.
Are we being too soft or overly-sensitive?
Some may say that we are becoming "too soft" or "overly-sensitive," however, we must consider the nuances of language and how much of an impact that they can have on an individual and community and subsequently on society.
If we've learnt anything from recent years, it would be that rhetoric does matter and political correctness is absolutely necessary for ensuring that we have a smoothly functioning society so why should our attitude towards Mother's Day be any different? There are those whose mother's have passed away and those who don't have those mothers and any right-minded person would be considerate with their situation so why are we not considerate towards the situation of those who live in non-traditional families?
Why do we need to be more inclusive on Mother's Day?
This is the 21st century and we are finally becoming more comfortable with Diversity within our society and by completely ignoring the fact that Mother's Day ought to be inclusive, we are effectively taking a stand against equality and it's about time this changed.
