M-Day
by rantywoman
http://www.salon.com/2013/05/12/has_mothers_day_outlived_its_purpose/
Today in America, four out of five families fall outside the traditional notion of a mom at home and a dad at work and a bunch of kids in the yard with the picket fence. And while some certainly see this as a cause for concern, arguably a similar majority does not. Just as our idea of America — of race and citizenship and belonging — have expanded, albeit with great struggle, over the centuries to include new communities and identities, our idea of family is always expanding. Whether it’s grandparents raising their grandchildren or single mothers adopting children on their own or families like mine with two parents of the same-sex or families blended by second (or third or fourth) marriages, our ideas and even our ideals about what makes a “family” have stretched to accommodate reality. Today, a majority of Americans support same-sex marriage — just one sign of how our collective definition of family is evolving, for the better.
thebitterbabe 
This article doesn’t make any sense (I read it in full on Salon).
1) Mother’s day is not obligatory – it’s optional. And as mothers are usually the primary caregiver (the vast majority, regardless of family diversity) – a day for children to do something for their mom is a fun day usually for the kids as much as the mom/dad.
2) If the author doesn’t like “cookie cutter” cards from Hallmark (does anyone?) she has the option to be more creative – it’s a free world. Has she never heard of home-made cards and wildflowers?
3) Deciding to not celebrate a holiday (a positive day/ a positive idea) because she feels most families are not 2.5 kids and a white picket fence is illogical.
4) She makes this clear when she goes on to say – that in fact, she does celebrate mother’s day she just buys online cards…which are “created to recognize the diversity of modern American families and fight for all of our basic rights and dignity, has a stunning set of what they’re calling “Mama’s Day” e-cards that are multi-generational, multi-racial, diverse in gender and as political as the origins of the holiday itself. My favorite shows a young woman of color with a baby on her back and her fist in the air fighting for social justice.”
5) The above excerpt shows that the cards she buys, do in fact celebrate moms – which is the point of Mother’s day – which she spends the first half of the article rallying against.
6) Re “Whether it’s grandparents raising their grandchildren or single mothers adopting children on their own or families like mine with two parents of the same-sex or families blended by second (or third or fourth) marriages” – these are still women raising kids – aka moms, mamas, mothers.
7) For single moms or moms in less traditional circumstances, it is likely that Mother’s day is especially special.
8) In Western societies especially – that have increasingly diverse and family dynamics and boundaries, the role of the mother is likely to be more, not less, important.
Honestly – it would appear the Salon article was a cheap way of garnering pointless “controversy” over a point that made no sense. Ugh – I can’t stand bad writing masquerading as social commentary. The entire article was asinine.