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There’s a cultural tradition of thinking of nature as female: Mother Earth bears and supports her children; Mother Nature is as unpredictable as a teenager with premenstrual hormone swings; Gaia is the universal mother, mother of all the gods and by extension everything else. Carolyn Merchant, along with others, has written about the ways in which thinking about earth mothers may be associated with the exploitation of natural resources. We love our mothers, but we take them for granted. We assume we can always fall back on mom for a handout or a place to stay, and – except for maybe one day a year – we tend not to give too much thought to her needs and desires.
Motherhood is tied to environmental concern in a few ways. For one, women, typically more concerned than men about health issues in general, often express a greater degree of environmental concern than men do. For another, many people were appalled by the fact that environmental toxins have been found in breast milk. The relationship between a woman and her nursing infant seems to be so fundamental, even sacred, that thinking about it as contaminated evokes a visceral response. (Note to pregnant mothers: it’s still worth breastfeeding, whose many benefits for the child apparently include boosting intelligence.) I endorse gender equality without reservation, and fatherhood can be just as important as motherhood. But descriptively, mothers still provide more of the childcare for most children; and when it comes to pregnancy and nursing, they’re still in charge.
Mother’s Day was created in part to harness the sociopolitical power of mothers (in the beginning, to oppose war). The idea was to tap into the maternal focus on their children’s well-being by promoting a healthier society. Such prosocial motives have been overwhelmed by the commercial sweep of cards, flowers, and chocolate, but nevertheless I’ve received a few e-mailed messages in the past few days reminding me that motherhood can be a political force. The motivation to protect your child is strong and universal, and if it is directed it can be powerful.
So, as a parent, what would you do to provide a healthy environment for children? And, as a child, what should you do to protect your most generous parent?
On Mother’s Day, let’s think about how to mother Nature.
