So is there a mother's movement, or what?

I was cleaning up the piles surrounding my desk the other morning and unearthed a Fall 2005 issue of Brain, Child magazine with a feature article titled, "Why the Mother's Movement Hasn't Happened...Yet." It was fascinating re-reading, especially given the progress that has been made in a few short years.  It provides a good background of the "movement," describes a lot of the players to date, and might give us Activistas some ideas and a notion of where we fit in - and some inspiration, to boot.  One line I thought worth repeating: "Mothers can organize.  If they want to.  It doesn't take everyone - just a critical mass of motivated people."  Do you think there's a "mother's movement" happening now?  Nationally?  Locally?  In your own home??  Any feedback on the article?  Happy re-reading!

Comments

[Chris]

I like Brain, Child, but for really smart writing about motherhood, I turn to Judith Stadtman Tucker and her web site Mothers Movement Online: http://www.mothersmovementonline.org . Her piece The Writing on the Wall is the best I've read on what's happening now with the mothers movement, plus she links to so many other fantastic articles on the subject. That one article is such a treasure trove of insights, I can't recommend it highly enough.
http://www.mothersmovement.org/features/mhoodpapers/writing_on_the_wall.htm

[LeeAnn]

This is a complicated question. First of all, not all mothers believe that they have a lot in common w/ other mothers. Many moms refuse to even identify themselves as feminist. THere's the whole "mommy wars"
thing, which while over-hyped I happen to think really does exist, and to the detriment of women everywhere. And there's the fact that while women have made progress by gaining more access to power/influence, this is still a country run - in both the public and private sectors - largely by MEN, and you can bet your bottom dollar that for every woman who doesn't think she's a feminist, there's a dozen more men.

I really think any "mothers' movement" has to be a "father's movement" as well. More fathers need to be wanting and demanding paid parent leave. More dads need to want to be - and supported in this desire - stay-at-home dads. More dads have to have partners who are the breadwinners to understand that feeling of economic insecurity and vulnerability.

Just my two cents.

[Kristin]

I share the enthusiasm for Mothers Movement Online -- I work with Judith on a NOW committee and rarely have a met such a smart, informed, committed person. She's great! I also agree that fathers need to be included -- either to ensure that they can be as involved with their children as they want to be OR to be motivated to ensure that their partner doesn't share the whole load. How much for women is really going to change if men don't realize that parenthood is an EQUAL responsibility?

[TeriFAULKNER]

People in the world receive the business loans from various banks, because it's simple.