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| Image credits: Jane Manning |
Being a Feminist
Mama: How did that happen?
There is a photograph
of my daughter when she was aged two, which I took and particularly cherish.
She is looking into the camera and there is a touching transparency of total
trust and belief in me as her mother. I can pinpoint that moment as being the
pivotal one when I became a Feminist Mama. It dawned on me that I had to become
an empowered mother if I was going to raise a daughter to realise her potential
in a patriarchal society that still trips females up. Feminist Mamas challenge
gender stereotyping in every facet of life thereby helping to create a society
in which they and their children can thrive. My daughter started a political blog at the
age of 10 and is the youngest political blogger in the UK which has attracted
some attention. People are constantly amazed at a girl being involved in
politics.
What does the term "Feminism" mean
to you? One hears of so many different interpretations, and of the war of words
that challenge each interpretation...
Feminist mothering does cause some controversy
because it challenges the traditional picture of a mother who enjoys staying at
home tending to everyone’s needs excepting her own. To me, Feminism is a multidisciplinary
approach in pushing forward the female agenda for equality. Feminist Mothering
takes the concept of Feminism further - mothers who wish to extend their
feminism to child-rearing.
Bringing up a daughter at any age is possibly
not easy - back then, things happened covertly, and now, things still happen
covertly - albeit with a little more dialogue and awareness. What do you see as
the most significant issues in the process of bringing up your daughter?
Violence against women and the normalisation
of the sexualisation of childhood are the two most worrying things for me.
Betty Friedan, author of ‘The Feminist Mystique’ published in 1963 wrote about
how clothing manufacturers were making adult style underwear for girls and how
girls were not prioritising their education because their only expectation for
themselves was to conform by getting married soon after leaving school. Have
things moved on a lot since then? Yes and no, is my answer. It was not that
long ago that girls’ were aspiring to be a footballer’s wife or girlfriend.
‘WAG’ (wives and girlfriends) was the acronym used in the Britain. Many young
women are still conditioned by a desire to attract male attention and, more
worryingly, feel validated by it. While there are no formal barriers to female
education one wonders why more women are not going into politics or the science
fields which are still seen as male arenas. I want my daughter to have a strong
sense of worth and self-esteem that is shaped by her own actions and decisions
and to gain a good education. It is the latter that allows women to have
economic independence.
As a feminist, do you hope for your daughter
to be one, too? What is your most important piece of advice to her?
My daughter who is now 14 spoke
at an international Feminist Mothering hosted conference by the Motherhood
Institute for Research and Community Involvement two years ago. She said that Feminist Mothering had helped
her “…reach her potential” and had given her confidence and a sense of security.
She also spoke about the positive messages of gendered education (where the
mother teachers her children to recognise and overcome boundaries that face
girls). My most important advice to her is to always retain her religious
Christian faith and Feminist values. The anti-religious feminist movement
blames organised religions for the oppression of women and they are right in
some ways. However, interpretations of religious texts are often constructed by
the patriarchy and it is possible to practice a faith without compromising on
one’s gender.
What does being a woman mean to you?
Feminist Mothering in the third wave has
to be the most exciting period in feminist mothering history so far. When the
feminist mothering scholar Adrienne Rich wrote her book ‘Of Woman Born’ in 1976
women were still trying to figure out ways to push back against the traditional
construction of a mother. In fact, Adrienne Rich did not offer a solution in
her book and many feminist scholars have since come up with answers. Also, the advancements
in social policy, technology and the birth of protest movements have allowed me
to develop a progressive maternal identity. I was involved with Occupy London
which opened my eyes to the way the capitalist system affects mothers; being a
blogger brings me into contact with the feminist online world; and enlightened
social policy takes into account the many intersections and dimensions of womanhood
e.g., mother, woman of colour, single, married.
To find out more about Feminist Mothering from Jane, do check out: