Patriarchy & a Feminist Motherhood

I hope you are buckled in...

I want to chat about the patriarchy - a concept that I wasn't aware of much before I started deep diving into motherhood.

How does society shape our motherhood, and where this comes from?

How did this become the picture of what a good mother is.... or the perfect mother myth?

Why do we stay there as a society? 

So these are big questions. And I want to just touch on the subjects a little (we do dive deeply into this in the 6 Week Mama Reset). 

Patriarchy is defined as "a system of society or government in which the father or eldest male is head of the family and descent is reckoned through the male line - a system of society or government in which men hold the power and women are largely excluded from it."

Just reading this makes my heart skip a little, like who decided the men rule the roost? Who decides that they could hold the power.

I was reminded of this acutely in the motherhood sphere, in the role that an expat mum experienced the Australian Governments approval of her visa that leads up to permanent residency. And when I shared her story (with permission) on instagram - well it clearly touched a chord. You can go and have a listen here.

The outrage and clear objection to a woman's worth being dictated by the size of her partners pay packet, and that there would be nothing she would love to do more than be a SAHM is clear.

For some mums - staying home all the time is perfect for them.

For some mums - working part time outside of the home is perfect for them.

For some mums - working full time outside of the home is perfect for them.

For some mums - working full or part time from home is perfect for them. 

Regardless of what works for you, the important thing to remember is that IT WORKS FOR YOU!

My hope is that we can bring up our daughters and sons in a way that emboldens them to choose themselves first. To understand inherently that they matter, and that they are important in the way that the world around them works.

Over the years, I've successfully seen this navigated when a mum knows how to show up for her kids this way.

Identifying the priority of herself.

Knowing what matters to her and going for it.

Showing that caring for herself is important (in whatever context this is).

Aligning herself with her deeper sense of power and knowledge to allow her inner being to shine through.

This is how we fuck the patriarchy. We throw back in their faces what they are telling us we should be doing as a 'good mother', and we design it individually for ourselves!