Mother’s day is just around the corner and many of us are probably planning a surprise of some kind or looking for the perfect gift that our mothers’ would want. It’s a great chance for us to express gratitude to all the sacrifices, patience and care they’ve given.
Motherhood is the epitome of a Filipino woman’s existence. All daughters are expected to fill this duty at some point in their lives whether they intend to pursue careers or decide to be full time home bodies. The station itself is put up on a pedestal within our culture through the form of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In Mary, beauty and the ideal female image is given an impossible standard that no woman can ever achieve since she is the “only” woman to conceive without losing her “virginity.”
I am not belittling the role of child rearing or domestic life since it is very important essential to a family. Although very rare, there are now men who fill these roles while their wives are the ones who fill the breadwinner role. Though women are blessed with maternal instincts, it is only natural all matters of the home were originally assigned to the female sex. Since that is no longer the case because we now know facts and have knowledge that better explain reproduction and how our bodies and minds function, the roles can be interchangeable and both noble. Animals have to evolve to specialized functions which divide the sexes but humans are social. The more information we know about ourselves, the more flexible the roles are between the sexes.
The fact is, motherhood is a state that any woman can reach if she chooses to. Unfortunately, there are those who simply fill the role because it is their “duty.” It was prescribed and preached to them all their lives but they don’t even understand why they’re unhappy nor want to admit that they are unhappy with motherhood. After all, next to religion, it is blasphemy to speak ill of motherhood itself. An award should be given to those who genuinely are affectionate towards their children and not because it was written on a book, or commanded of them. Many mothers should be celebrated because they did more than their stereotypical caretaking role. Many mothers go on to fill the role of a teacher, a friend and a nurse.
It isn’t for the sake of having the ability to have children that we should stop to praise mothers. It’s to the mothers who willfully decided to bear a child for love and to raise it accordingly that the honors should go to.
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