Mouthtrousersafrocknowandthen ·
11/03/2018 07:29
Waitrose is selling gender-neutral Mother’s Day cards as retailers reduce their use of the M-word to make today’s celebration more “transgender inclusive”, write Andrew Gilligan and Vincent Wood.
The supermarket chain is selling a “Happy You Day” card in its Mother’s Day range in which the word “mother” does not appear.
Waitrose said the move was aimed at “broadening out who the cards can go to, whether it’s grandmas or transgender mums”. Traditional cards are still sold.
Waitrose has been joined by other retailers, including Scribbler, whose Mother’s Day offerings include a “Two mums are better than one” card for same-sex couples and a “Dad, thanks for being the most amazing mum” card.
The changes come after calls by some trans activists to rename Mother’s Day. Suggestions include Guardian’s Day and Carer’s Day.
Karen Pollock, a trans campaigner and therapist, said Mothering Sunday, the church’s traditional name for Mother’s Day, “feels more inclusive to me, since anyone can be ‘mothering’”.
Some schools — including Consett Junior School in Co Durham and High Bank School in Liversedge, West Yorkshire — have advertised the festival on their websites as Special Person’s Day or Mother’s and Special Person’s Day.
For some the day signifies sadness, perhaps because their mother has died. Liverpool Cathedral held a service last night for such “Mother’s Day runaways”.