Art Department Weekly | Issue 90 Vol. 12

MAYBE THIS MOTHER’S DAY, DON’T GIVE MOMS A HARD TIME Don’t give anyone a hard time, but seriously back off on moms BY A MOM

When I saw Sara Blakely’s post on LinkedIn about all the plans she had for herself in quarantine, it resonated with me—and apparently more than 30,000 other people. She needed to make her regular post in good lighting with eyeliner and a funny prop—and four kids. She needed to motivate the masses while also managing her own expectations of herself for herself. I just wouldn’t limit the “hang in there” sentiment to only people with small children. Moms of grown children and animals get a hard time, too. In the March 24 issue, Carly said she needs to write a positive Yelp review for her mom for the all meals she made for Carly in quarantine. Now we have a video of Tori’s mom cleaning her room while she’s working. I hope these moms know we’re laughing with them and have mad respect for the way they maintain order in their houses. Every minute of motherhood can be criticized—especially if it doesn’t seem to be coming as naturally as spectators expect. As I was looking for ideas for the issue, I saw this video of a horse struggling to deliver her foal. I have no idea how this was fed to me, but I saw the caption about “so many want to criticize the fact that we helped our mare” and thought, Yup. Natural birth, breast milk, how much to let babies fuss... Moms have the potential to be doing something wrong all the time forever. The next video I saw focused on laughing instead. I’ve only seen one episode of Momsplaining with Kristen Bell (ellentube.com), but she was in quarantine so it’s kind of the only episode I needed to see. She talks to Ashley Graham who gave birth in January. Ashley says she’s so proud of her breasts, describing them as talented and multifaceted. “They’re the star of the show,” Kristen says. But it’s not for everyone and that’s okay. Bottomline: Moms endure some crazy shit physically and mentally. Be nicer.

The author, identifying with the mare and Ashely Graham

May 5, 2020 • Art

Department Weekly

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