Analysis Of A Mothers Day Kiss-Off

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In the article, “A Mother’s Day Kiss-Off,” Leslie Bennetts expresses her malcontentedness with corporate culture’s hostility toward mothers and care taking needs (42). Bennetts uses facts, figures, and even a testimony to shed light on the average mother’s modern dilemma. She attempts to show the unjust treatment of mothers by several different outside forces. In the article, “The Myth of Co-Parenting: How It Was Supposed to Be. How It Was.,” Hope Edelman vents her frustration at the mother’s inability to deny the role of the prominent parent (51). She uses her own personal experience to show just how ingrained societal standards are into the public. Her article goes through her own descension into the average wife, sacrificing her own career …show more content…

Bennetts exclaims “Why do any of us accept the fact that childless women earn 10% less than their male male counterparts, or that women with children earn 27% less, or that single mothers earn up to 44% less?” (Bennetts 43), continuing to question “Can any of us defend the fact that women’s standard of living drops by 36% after divorce, whereas that of men rises by 28%?” (Bennetts 43). Edelman, on the other hand, offers her own perspective by saying “I hadn’t bargained for how deeply the gender roles of ‘nurturer’ and ‘provider’ are ingrained in us all . . . “ (Edelman 53). Gender roles, people, and society are the main oppressors of mothers in Edelman’s eyes, but Bennetts would argue that the much larger and important threat of policy must be tackled first. She uses statistics to express her disdain for the policy makers in the white house, going as far as to claim that they merely “pay lip service” (Bennetts). Bennetts again takes a broader look on the issue to explain to Edelman why the terms “‘nurturer’ and ‘provider’” (Edelman 53) seem to appear even in this increasingly feminist society. Instead of lamenting this phenomenon and blaming the people, Bennetts counters Edelman with an analysis of the problem’s root in order to find a realistic

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