Let’s take on motherism, says expert

According to experts, stay-at-home mothers are being subjected to a backlash from those who think they are lazy, stupid and unattractive.

According to experts, stay-at-home mothers are being subjected to a backlash from those who think they are lazy, stupid and unattractive.

Published Oct 21, 2013

Share

London - Many would say that bringing up children is the most important job there is.

But according to experts, stay-at-home mothers are being subjected to a backlash from those who think they are lazy, stupid and unattractive.

A top academic claims they are victims of “motherism” – a prejudice which in many circles is unspoken but highly damaging.

Dr Aric Sigman attacked the clichés which shape derogatory attitudes towards women at home and said they should be treated as seriously as racism and sexism.

The leading child development expert told a conference that the rise of prejudice had helped make it socially unacceptable to argue that children benefit from “full-time” parenting.

He added that evidence from biosciences showed that mothers provided “unrivalled benefits” to young children that other people, including fathers, cannot.

Dr Sigman said: “You should take on ‘motherism’ – the prejudice against stay-at-home mothers – a prejudice that expresses itself in derogatory clichés like: ‘You gain a baby and lose a brain’ and comments that refer to ‘schoolgate mother mentality’, or to being ‘willingly self-lobotomised’.

“The implication is that by being a full-time mother you are ‘subjugated and servile’ and even sexually unattractive once you are a mother – a quality only associated with women who return to work with their high heels and clipboards.”

He added: “Motherhood must not hide its light under a bushel. Greater maternal contact in the early years, especially during infancy, is greatly advantageous to the child. Society must be asked why this could possibly be construed as contentious.”

The event was organised by the Mothers At Home Matter group.

Dr Sigman, a fellow of the Society of Biology and associate fellow of the British Psychological Society, has argued in the past that there may be long-term effects of sending toddlers to full-time day care. The academic, who has four children, said that the derogatory attitudes towards stay-at-home mothers appeared to be the result of a political and economic agenda. - Daily Mail

Related Topics: