Before I make it clear just how selfishly ignorant you’re being, I’m going to say that you are what is wrong with men who believe themselves to be feminist allies. You focus on yourself rather than all the other people who we hope will one day be equal when it comes to the gender gap.
But that’s a lesson for another day, professor.
Let me tell you exactly why Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are about much more than mass-produced greeting cards that you are oh so fond of – good parents matter. Not every good parent gets told that they matter. What kind of good parents aren’t always told they matter? I’ll make a list.
Parents who work more than one job
Parents of military service members
Parents of terminally ill children
Parents of autistic children
Parents of children with behavioral or development disorders
Parents of children who can’t communicate
Parents of comatose children
Parents of deceased children
Parents in school districts where macaroni and glue isn’t funded
Kids who must become parents because there is no parent around
Kids who must become their own parent because they are disowned
Kids who are left by their parents to live on their own
Guardians who take in children
Guardians who mentor children
Volunteers who care for children
Clergy who care for children
Nannies who care for children
Teachers who are more of parent than the parent
Family members who must become the parent
Guarantors who pay for children’s necessities
There are many parents out there that don’t get considered and who don’t get macaroni pages. So, yes, they deserve a day, no matter what their gender happens to be or what your ignorance thinks. Be happy that your child is well and able to tell you every day that they love you. Not everyone is that lucky.
You wanna do this? Okay, how about the fact that Anna Jarvis spent her life and fortune crusading against Mother’s Day. The founder of the holiday hated what it became. History of it is that the love of a mother would help unite people. Jarvis wanted the holiday to be one of contemplation and honor, not commercialism.
Sticking with your feminist theme, let’s compare Mother’s Day and Father’s Day ads. Mother’s Day sticks to the gender norms of let’s give mom something shiny and possibly give her time off from the housework. Father’s Day? How about some power tools and a barbecue? You want to see an end to the gender gap, first thing to do would be to abolish the idea of woman and men’s work. Make it work that is of equal value no matter who preforms it.
Moving on to your lovely list. Those people do not need holidays to tell them they matter. Do you think some greeting card will heal the magic hurt of any of those people? Even if they are seen as mother or father figures, it serves to remind them of what they are not always considered. Someone without a mother is reminded of what they do not have on that holiday. Someone who is a guardian knows that they might never be able to give the child the same things that a mother or father can even if they are better for the child. There are plenty of ways for a child to express love both verbally and nonverbal, so go take your soap box somewhere else.