The Value of Motherhood
In shopping malls, the assistants try to push you into buying "a gift to thank her for her unselfish love". When you log onto(登录到) website, a small pop-up(弹出式菜单) invites you to book a bouquet(花束) for her. 1
The American version of Mother’s Day was thought up as early as 1905, by Anna Jarvis, as a way of recognizing the real value of motherhood. The popularity of Mother’s Day around the world suggests that Jarvis got all she wanted. In fact, she got more—enough to make her horrified.
2 They buy, among other things, 132 million cards. Mother’s Day is the No. 1 holiday for flower purchases. Then there are the various commodities, ranging from jewelry and clothes to cosmetics and washing powder, that take advantage of the promotion opportunities. Because of this, Jarvis spent the last 40 years of her life trying to stop Mother’s Day. One protest against the commercialization(商品化) Mother’s Day even got her arrested for disturbing the peace, interestingly.
3 As Ralph Fevre, a reporter at the UK newspaper The Guardian, observes, traditionally "motherhood is something that we do because we think it’s right". But in the logic of commercialism, people need something in exchange for their time and energy. A career serves this purpose better.
In addition, women are being encouraged to pursue any career they desire. So they work hard and play hard. 4
5 According to The Guardian, there are twice as many child-free young women as there were a generation ago. Or, they put off the responsibility of parenting until later in their lives.
So, Fevre writes that the meaning of celebrating Mother’s Day needs to be updated: "It is to persuade people that parenting is a good idea and to honor people for their attempt to be good people."
A. Commercial warmth and gratitude are the atmosphere being spread around for this special Sunday in May.
B. But what’s more, commercialism changes young people’s attitude towards motherhood.
C. Obviously, the best gift will be a phone call or a visit.
D. According to a research by the US card company Hallmark, 96 percent of American consumers celebrate the holiday.
E. As a result, motherhood has suffered a huge drop in status since the 1950s.
F. Becoming a mother, however, inevitably handicaps career anticipation. The Value of Motherhood