Headlines offering strategies to 'survive' mothers-in-law proliferate before Thanksgiving, implying mothers-in-law are problematic. A mother of four sons and a mother-in-law feels othered and stereotyped as 'the worst.' Mothers-in-law are depicted as uncool, unfun, unwelcome, and excluded from feminist sisterhood. The origin of the stereotype and the exclusion of mother-in-laws from the sisterhood of feminism are questioned. The mother-in-law embraces the role, welcomes partners into a loved life, appreciates their choices, and learns new things from them.
"The headlines are always there in the background, but really start coming in fast and furious right before Thanksgiving. "10 Ways to Set Boundaries with Your Mother-in-Law," or "How To Tell Your Mother-in-Law To Mind Her Own Business" or "Your Mother-in-Law Survival Plan for the Holidays." They feel like a punch in the stomach every time. Already the world is deciding they need a complicated plan to survive women like me for the holidays."
"I am a mother of four sons. I am also a mother-in-law. Someone to be tolerated, survived, pushed away, talked about, othered. Or at least that's what the world has decided for all mothers-in-law. That we are the worst. And I guess we were always the worst. I guess we must be stopped before we start doing whatever it is that mothers-in-law do that drive everyone crazy."
Read at Scary Mommy
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