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Liberating Motherhood on Substack

In an abusive patriarchal society, mothers bear the brunt of many forms of oppression. The mainstream feminist movement has largely ignored mothers’ issues. Society stereotypes mothers as uninteresting, our issues as “mommy wars,” and pretends that if we want to talk about motherhood we’re being selfish and entitled. In a world where mothers are cringeworthy and ignored, it’s no wonder so many mothers feel so alone.

This sexist approach to mothers serves another purpose, too: it divides mothers and non-mothers. Childless people pay little attention to mothers’ issues. And young women who eventually want to become mothers have no idea what motherhood is actually like. So they don’t know how to prepare, and they end up with bad men who abuse them and their children.

Feminism is the movement best equipped to address mothers’ issues, because the challenges of being a mother are all about patriarchy. Yet mainstream feminism has historically neglected mothers—the largest demographic of women, and the demographic of women who stands to lose the most from men.

Liberating Motherhood is a newsletter about feminism in its many forms. It centers mothers’ experiences, but it is for non-mothers, aspiring mothers, bereaved mothers, child-free folks by choice, and men. Liberating of anyone requires liberation of everyone—and mothers are a big segment of everyone.