Abby Arnold's The Rhetoric Of Motherhood

Motherhood has been viewed as a glorified state throughout decades and mothers have been held to a high standard. Abby Arnold, the author of “The Rhetoric of Motherhood”, explains that these views have “became the justification for political and economic restrictions on women, the foundation for placing on the mother sole responsibility for how her children developed.” Through our language, lack of considering the fathers roles, corporate structure and stereotypes, we are still stuck with these ideologies of motherhood. It is clear that although we have made many advances in our society of accepting working mothers, we still have a way to go. The “myths of motherhood still permeate our culture” and restrict mothers from having a career and from being a mom (Arnold,2003). There are different views of the definition of motherhood and whether …show more content…
Mothers are suppose to be “professional mothers” but this is something that “is impossible for anyone, even a devoted mother, to respond to another person’s every need. Many working moms pursue the ultimate goal of "having it all" — a fulfilling home life, a rewarding professional career and the energy to keep up with the demands of both while still finding time for themselves. In this paper I will be exploring the stereotypes of motherhood, the lack of support within society and the government to support working mothers, and suggest ways we can improve on this.
Women in the workplace are becoming more and more evident. “The proportion of working mothers with children ages 18 and younger at home in the United States has skyrocketed from 47 percent in the mid-1970s to 71 percent last year,” according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor