ABSTRACT
Start with this fact: in our society it is acceptable to blame Mom. Then add the Perfect Mother and Bad Mother images, which lead us to blame Mom for not being perfect when she doesn’t live up to our idealized image, and, when she does something not so terrific, to blame her for being horrible rather than only human. In view of the intense social pressure placed on girls to be “little mothers,” it is troubling that their most salient model is not regarded as a worthy one.
