I wrote this post about the inequities facing women in 2014. Unfortunately, it’s all still true!
You’ll have to forgive me if I’m cranky about Mothers Day. Once again marketers will drape the world in pink, but I’m not feeling it.
One Reason I’m Cranky
Mothers Day is another working Sunday — plus a whole lotta cultural baggage that doesn’t have a thing to do with Jesus. Still, the baggage can’t be ignored and it makes the day heavier. (I have another post about church celebrations on Mother’s Day.)
The Other Reason I’m Cranky
Mothers Day is a massive contradiction. Do we actually respect women in our culture or not? The fact is that our culture is full of inequities toward women. Rather than addressing these, society pawns us off with a card and a brunch once a year (if we’re lucky!). Meanwhile, society ignores basic facts:
- women still earn only 79 cents on a man’s dollar
- legislators pass harsh laws about female reproductive organs (did you know there are also male reproductive organs?) (that’s an old link but there are hundreds more recent ones, especially as of 5/3/22 when the news leaked about the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade)
- there is much talk about whether women can “have it all” when the question doesn’t even come up for men
- we don’t talk frankly about the fact that the church is becoming a pink ghetto, and what that means in terms of salary and power structures
Go ahead, paint the world pink for a day. I’ll wait. Sooner or later brunch will be over and you’re going to need something from the women who are holding up the world. Then let’s talk about the inequities facing women.
If mothers know anything at all, we know the importance of the long game.
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