Betty Rollin, in his article has condemned motherhood terming it as less important especially in the modern society. He concludes her article claiming that if God was to speak to people in an audible voice, he would say ‘multiply and be fruitful’ (Rollin 377). This is contrary to the biblical scripture that encourages people to increase in numbers through giving birth. Rollin has looked at motherhood in a negative perspective that is not fitting especially to a woman. She has neglected many other positive attributes of motherhood and mainly concentrated on the negatives. The fact is that, despite the challenges that come with motherhood, it remains the most amazing experience any woman can have. Motherhood is the only responsibility that women have outshined their male counterparts. The fact is that motherhood is a stage that comes with different experiences that make a woman more responsible.
Contrary to what Rollin claims, that motherhood is more of psychological feeling rather than a natural instinct; all women were born mothers and tend to display such qualities to an early age. There is however, some rare features that involve abuse that make some women hate motherhood. This hence means that a woman is naturally a mother and such a nature can only be hindered by some abnormal happenings in their lives. The women who detest motherhood like Rollin may have had negative experiences and more especially with the male counterparts. The changing attitude towards motherhood began during and after the civil and world wars in United States. The realization that motherhood prevented women from accomplishing some responsibilities that were male dominated made them change their views.
It is abnormal for any person and especially a woman to undermine motherhood considering the fact that they were brought to the world by their mothers and shaped their childhood. Despite the experiences that a person may go through being a mother or being an offspring of a less responsible mother, the world will never do without the love of mothers. Everybody needs motherhood, not just to raise children but also to feel the love and the care that comes from a mother. Women have been designed to effectively handle the pressure that comes with motherhood. All it takes is proper planning and spacing of children. Realising the responsibilities that a woman has, she can always plan her time to ensure that she gives attention to her children, husband and even career.
One of the reasons why some women complain about motherhood is because they are ill informed on the subject. The most surprising thing is that most of the women complaining about motherhood have been born in a modern society where they have the chance to effectively plan for their children. They forget the fact that some of the mothers that brought them up were ill informed about family planning yet had to handle the numerous children they had. There was an understanding within them that the greatest responsibility they have was to bear and raise children (Chodorow 4). Gender roles were clear and there was no competition on what men and women should do. Such an understanding also made it comfortable for the men to play the role of providing for their families. There is a raising complaint among women who feel that they also need to engage in careers to supplement for the family income. This only became an issue when women neglected their homely born responsibilities and started competing for positions with the men.
The responsibility of motherhood was not to be overwhelming in the first place, to the level that women would stage a demonstration against it. Irrespective of whether one is living in the ancient or modern society, motherhood has to be taken with a positive responsibility. The negative attitude that such women crusaders are planting into the young girls who are aspiring to be mothers is the reason why the society is suffering because of a neglected generation. As more women despise motherhood and live their children in the hands of caregivers who are mainly concerned about the returns rather than shaping the morals of the children. The results are being reflected with younger children and especially girls who face abuse in the hands of such nannies despising motherhood (Nilson 545). Even though motherhood is an inborn instinct in women, older women who are too busy for the responsibilities that they do not impart the same on their daughters are abusing it.
Rollin has raised a concern over the poor needless children that are roaming on the streets begging and being overworked in home. He cites this to the fact that some women give birth to children they are unable to take care of and hence making the society to suffer for it. The issue of homeless and poor children should never be a reason why motherhood should be despised. The fact is that some of the women who abnormally neglect their children have their own reason, which stem from abuse and not getting the needed support from the very society. The fact is that even some of the women who allow their children to work to supplement family income do it unwillingly because they still feel the need to take care of them. The women are fathered either with irresponsible men or with the people around them who see the need at hand but fail to give them support. Once we embrace the fact that once children born, they seize being a personal issue but the issue of the society.
Instead of the likes of Rollin discouraging women from giving birth by despising motherhood, they should come up with support groups where they teach and train mothers on responsible motherhood. Brubaker states in his article that this can be done by making them aware of the family planning methods tactics, how to balance their family lives and careers and sharing ideas on how to handle the pressure that comes with the responsibility (Loveday 54). Motherhood is as natural as the generations and despising motherhood will not prevent women from giving birth, it will instead breed women who have children but have no attachment with them because they feel raising children is for the less fortunate.
It is unfortunate that most women currently feel that being a homemaker is for those who are desperate because of their educational level. Modern women aspire to build their careers rather than build their inborn trait of motherhood. The feeling that children only technically belong to them and they should ensure that they are rich enough to be able to pay their nannies has changed the motherhood attitude. This has become so dangerous that even some women who are well able to carry children are hiring surrogate mothers to carry them children. Therefore, this issue should raise concern rather than celebrated. Women liberation was not meant to replace the feminine nature of women but instead to make them better in their feminine nature.
Works cited
Works Cited
Brubaker, Timothy H. “Families in Later Life: A Burgeoning Research Area.” Journal of Marriage and the Family 52. 4 (1990). JSTOR.James Madison U. Carrier Lib., Harrisonburg, VA. 6 April 2008 <www.jstor.org>.
Chodorow, Nancy. The Reproduction of Mothering: Psychoanalysis and the Psychology of Gender. Berkeley: U of California P, 1978.
Loveday, Veronica. “Feminism and the Women‟s Rights Movement.” 2005. MAS Ultra –School Edition. EBSCO. James Madison U. Carrier Lib.,Harrisonburg, VA. 6 April 2008 <http://web.ebscohost.com/>.
Nilson, Linda Burzotta. “The Social Standing of a Housewife.” Journal of Marriage and the Family 40.3 (Aug. 1978): 541-548.
Rollin, Betty. “Motherhood: Who Needs It?” Look(22 Sept. 1970). The Norton Reader. Ed. Linda H. Peterson and John C. Brereton. New York: Norton, 2008. 369-377
