MomsRising

While MoveOn.org cofounder Joan Blades and feminist author Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner initiated a truly successful movement with their creation of MomsRising--the language still chokes me up.

Two years and 150,000 members later, MomsRising is at it harder than ever--even winning paid sick leave in New Jersey, and organizing constituent meetings with members of Congress in over 44 states regarding the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. The list of national campaigns continues.

The strategy behind the organization is compelling: reframe progressive policies through the lens of motherhood, and unite women across cultures, economic brackets, and political orientations. This potential has been long-sought throughout feminist discourse, and with the correct framing, perhaps it is more realistic.

Despite all of these successes, I still cannot get over re-enforcing family issues as mothers' issues. Do we really want to drive home the fact that women are responsible for children? What about fathers?

Perhaps this is the cultural climate in which we live, but it still kills me every time. The real discussion is ignored when we continue to explore issues of women and poverty by rooting them in the family un-friendliness of the workforce.

No. The real problem here is that women are given the burden of motherhood. Strangely, it takes two people to make a baby, but only one is expected to deal with it on the day-to-day. As long as we fail to distribute parenting equally, women will always be disadvantaged.

Clearly, the distribution has somewhat improved, but when we keep calling family issues mom issues--that is evidence enough for me.