Happy Mother's Day To All Marginalized Moms

"It is absurd to consider the possibility of women sharing with men the 'privilege' of owning a family. Even though 5.2 million families are headed by females in this country, they gain no prestige from doing so. In fact, the family without a male head or support is considered an inferior family. A woman supporting her family actually degrades the family in terms of social status."
Roxanne Dunbar, 1970, Sisterhood is Powerful

Today, the numbers have risen dramatically, but the status of female-headed families has not.

Despite the fact that only 26% of U.S. households are comprised of married couples with dependent children, U.S. law continues to favor those 26% of families, even to the point of discriminating in both rhetoric and legislation on the basis of marital status.

Mother and child families continue to be cast by policy makers and the law they construct as inferior families. While the majority of single mother families are heterosexual, lesbian mothers constitute a growing number of “unwed” mothers. Estimates range between 1.5 and 5 million.

A very sober happy Mother's Day to all us marginalized mothers.