In this rather awful article, two mothers arrested and sentenced for drug trafficking were described as being ‘single’ mothers. I use the word ‘awful’ for two reasons. Firstly, the fact that Class A drugs were involved regardless of the marital status or not of these women. Secondly, the fact that they are ‘single’ is deemed worthy of a mention in a national newspaper.
While I have no sympathy for the two women, I do object to how misogyny plays a part in the reporting, suggesting that a mother without a partner, somehow, has a lesser moral standard.
In 2022, a wedding ring should not be an arbiter of a woman’s moral standards or lifestyle choices. I have no idea why these mothers chose to be drug dealers but how would having a husband have made a difference?
The misogynistic and discriminatory attitude towards single mothers suggests that a man would have kept them in good character. As if it is in a man’s DNA to live completely upright lives as bastions of society.
If so, please explain the fact that most jails house men in larger numbers than women?
There is a well trodden path of discriminatory messages being fed about mothers who bring up children on their own. A report released by Huddersfield University titled, ‘Why do single parents still suffer stigma?’, examines the history and reasons for the prejudice.
Politicians such as Boris Johnson and Margaret Thatcher made comments about mothers who parent on their own. But the historical trail predates them.
According to the report, single mothers were branded as immoral during medieval times. The prejudice has been assimilated in modern times into popular culture as represented by TV shows and other media.
I am not a single mother myself but, as a feminist mother, I object strongly to the stigmatization of single mothers. The reasons why they are single could range from unfortunate circumstances such as widowhood or being former victims of domestic abuse to deciding that being in a relationship just isn’t working out well for whatever reason.
Women have a right to make choices and especially in the 21st century.
