It is said that since God could not be everywhere, he created mother. But the gravitas of the statement seems to be diminishing with ‘Time’.
Just a day before Mother’s Day, TIME magazine came up with a bold move with its cover story this week featuring Jamie Lynne Grumet, an attractive young mother, wearing a fashionable skinny jeans with sleekly muscled bare arms on the lines of a glamorous cover girl of some adult magazine, breast-feeding her 4-year-old son with a headline, "Are You Mom Enough?"
After looking at such a ridiculous cover page of an esteemed magazine the very first thing that struck my mind was, how cheap and publicity crazy can a mother become to have agreed to pose in such a striking fashion on the cover page of a magazine.
The managing editor of TIME, Rick Stengel also acknowledged that the image is ‘provocative’ and said that they are posing an interesting question about a subject that couldn’t be more important – ‘how we raise our children’.
My concern is, either the TIME managing editor is not serious about the topic the magazine wishes to co
ver or he is simply cracking a rude joke on motherhood and wants to gain popularity with this cheap stunt. Believe me, TIME does not need this kind of image to sell. A decent image of a mom and the magazine would have ensured that its readers take the topic seriously enough. May be it is not a big deal for the editor but ask the mothers and they would surely object to this kind of portrayal of motherhood.
Adding to my shock, Jamie Lynne Grumet (the featured lady on the cover) said in an interview to TIME that “people have to realize this is biologically normal, the more people see it, the more it will become normal in our culture. That’s why I am hoping. I want people to see it”.
Listen Ms Grumet, you are horribly wrong. The cover will simply inspire X-rated jokes along with concerns that your own child (featured in the cover) might be teased when he grows up.
The magazine might well remember that with such a provocative image of motherhood the basic topic that they wanted their readers to focus on has been entirely lost. The message on the importance of breastfeeding and the care of an infant has been totally left out in the lurch. The people have been sold an image of a hot looking woman. I believe people will remember this edition more for reasons other than the core issue.
The gift of motherhood is purely divine. It’s one of the world’s most challenging, long-term, permanent job and sometimes thankless, in an often chaotic environment. It is such a huge responsibility to make a child grow into a perfect human being of whom everyone can be proud of. She is thoroughly dedicated to the child and I am sure parents who are really concerned about their children will agree with me that showing such kind of vulgarity will in no way motivate a mother.
If a mother can understand the unspoken words of a newborn, can almost do frequent 24 hour shifts on call and is willing to face all challenges for giving her baby a bright future, does she even need this kind of image to get educated about the importance of being a mom?
I don’t think so…. Only a mom can understand what a child does not even say.
The relation of a mother and a child is considered to be the most sacred on this earth in which there is no expectation at all. The image of a woman feeding her child is considered in India to be an image of sanctity. Even if the woman is feeding her child in an open space people do not tend to ogle at her in a vulgar manner.
Parenting is the only job in the world which is unchanged for years. Parents carry on with what they do, without complaining, with love and constantly sharpening their skills to do the best for their child. The parents want their kids to surpass them in all walks of life. Being a mother is the highest paid job in the world, since all the payment come in the form of love.
According to a famous quote, “When you are a mother you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child.” Just a small smile on those little lips gives oodles of happiness and satisfaction to a mother who actually deserves appreciation for everything she does on a daily basis. So cheers to motherhood!
