The Mother's Day post

Cathy Resmer has a great column in Seven Days this week entitled, “The Other Mother.” In it, she explains why, in her family, even though they are two women raising a son, only one will be honored on Mother’s Day.

It was really interesting to read about the effect of motherhood on her partner. Equally interesting was reading how some women, such as Cathy, do not feel like a “mom” just because she is a woman raising a child.

Mother’s Day is a time when we think about our mothers, the mothers we know, and what it means to be a mother. Being a mother means different things to different people, but there is no doubt that motherhood is a powerful thing - probably the only thing powerful enough to transform a “formerly radical lesbian feminist” into someone who actually enjoys filling the traditional mom role of childcare and household chores.

I know that is not a necessary criterion for being a mom, but as one who also experienced a dramatic change produced by motherhood, I could relate (not that I was ever a radical feminist lesbian).

So check it out, if you haven’t already. It is certainly worth the read. If for no other reason, for the human face it brings to the same-sex parenting issue and for the reminder that a radical feminist lesbian can actually have something in common with a right-wing conservative like me – a love of motherhood.