Don't Call Me Mother

wednesday, june 03, 2009
black rock bar
3614 n. damen
chicago, il
8:00 pm




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Don't Call Me Mother

curated by Ellen Placey Wadey

When Morley Safer interviewed Helen Mirren on 60 Minutes, he asked, “Do you ever regret not having children??” She answered, "No." Did Safer ever ask that question of a male interviewee?

We’ve got the virgin narrative, the thank-god-I-found-a-partner-before-I-got-too-old-to-have-babies narrative, the infertility narrative, the single-by-choice mother narrative, the all-became-right-with-me-and-the-world-when-I-had-my-child narrative and the adoption narrative all firmly established with a spot on our how-to and even literary bookshelves. Why don’t we like to think about women who don’t choose to or didn’t get around to having children and are fine with it? Stats show the numbers are significant and rising, yet try to find more than a couple of books on the subject. As an agent said, “No one wants to hear that you’re not a mother and happy.” Well, we’re happy. We’re not broken. We're not selfish. Don’t call us mother. We’re fine with it.