The Importance in the Role of Motherhood

I recently watched a tik tok that made me experience a change of thought on the stereotypical roles of women (I am so sorry that I can’t link it here, but it’s somewhere out there in the world of tik tok). A girl was explaining how most people believe that the roles that women had centuries ago would be seen as basic or easy. Types of jobs she provided were sewing, cooking, or raising children; these jobs seemingly easy since they were tasks that could be accomplished without leaving your home. The girl then notes how difficult these jobs really are and more importantly, how essential they are to families or households. Having these kinds of skills is very difficult and requires lots of time and effort to become an expert. It is hard to imagine being the center of the household and having to make sure your family is fed three times a day or that they are provided with the essentials. The job that stood out to me the most was raising children to become adults. Life is already difficult enough having to make sure we are healthy and taken care of, let alone having to tend to numerous other humans at the same time. She gave a lot of strength to the idea of stay at home moms and the reality of what their duties call for.

            After watching this tik tok, it made me think of Michelle Obama being featured in the “2 Dope Queens” podcast. Not only is Michelle a mother of two daughters and a first lady of the United States, but she is also a person of color. The image that she must portray to the world of herself is crucial and almost every move she makes is shown to the world. Similarly to her husband, she must keep a certain composure while being in such an important position. This is even more important for a couple of color, as they can be seen as aggressive more easily than somebody who isn’t. Around 23:50, she is asked if she holds the same standards to her daughters, Sasha and Malia. She states “I don’t want, at this young age, to stifle them… I want to fan their flame.” In response to Jessica and Phoebe’s question. I had never thought about how Michelle was to mother her children as a public black female and what messages she decided to give to her young daughters. Her role as a mother seems even more critical in the development of her daughters and shows just how important being a parent is, especially while being so public.