Week 11: Gladwell's Revolution

 

Gladwell’s Revolution

In one of the blog posts by Intermountain Moms written by Allison Bell she speaks against mom-shaming. Bell, asks people to refrain from the urge to tell mothers what to do. Mom shaming happens when other people criticize a mother’s choices for their kids. For instance, mothers who do not breastfeed their children for the first months of their lives shamed even without understanding the reason behind a choice. The author argues that mom shaming not only causes anxiety but it is also damaging for the parents.

Mothers juggle between a lot of working, doing chores and taking care of their babies. Despite these duties, each mother seeks to give her children the best they can. Therefore, shaming mothers makes them feel inadequate and unappreciated while in real sense they are putting their best foot forward. Bell asks people that change their thinking, avoid judging others, support mothers and use disarming statement when talking to mothers. There is no one-fit-all strategy of bringing up children or being a mother because of the difference between children and their mothers. Some mothers may prefer to give their children formula because of the mother’s health condition while some may stop breastfeeding early because they have to work. None of these mothers should be shamed for their decisions.

Bell uses emotional appeal to persuade people who shame mothers. The author uses emotional appeal because she has selectively used words to evoke pity from the readers. She has focused on the difficult side of motherhood such as the overdependence of children, emotional burden ad financial impacts. This way, people who shame mothers will feel pity for moms and avoid judging them. This strategy was effective because after reading the blog, I had a different view of motherhood.