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America is failing moms.
美國正在辜負母親這一群體
Let's start over.
那就讓我們從頭開始吧
By Lyz Lenz
文/麗茲·倫茨
In 1974, humorist Erma Bombeck published a syndicated newspaper column
1974年，幽默作家艾爾瑪·邦貝克在報紙上發表了一篇一稿多投的專欄文章，
that looms over the lives of American mothers whether they’ve read it or not.
這篇文章堪稱概括了所有美國母親的生活面貌，無論她們看過這篇文章與否。
In "When God Created Mothers," Bombeck describes God making a mother with the help of an angel.
邦貝克在這篇題為“上帝創造母親時”的文章中寫到，上帝在天使的幫助下創造了一位母親。
"She has to be completely washable, but not plastic.
“她必須完全可以水洗，但不能是塑料材質的。
Have 180 movable parts...all replaceable," God tells the angel.
要有180個可移動的組建——還都要是可更換的組建，”上帝對天使說道。
"Run on black coffee and leftovers.
“用清咖啡和剩菜就能養活。
Have a lap that disappears when she stands up.
有站起身來就會消失的游泳圈。
A kiss that can cure anything from a broken leg to a disappointed love affair.
從腿骨折到失戀，一切傷痛都只需一個吻就能治愈。
And six pairs of hands."
還要有三頭六臂。”
My mother, who homeschooled eight children, saw that column as a mark of her valor.
我的母親，一個獨自教養了8個孩子的女人，她就將這篇專欄文章視為了自己英勇的標記。
Not only did it hang on our wall at home,
這篇文章不僅被張貼在了我們家的墻上，
I grew up hearing it quoted in church sermons on Mother's Day.
從小到大，我還能經常在教堂母親節當天的布道中聽到大家引用這句話。
But once I became a mother, I came to hate that column.
然而，自從我自己也為人母之后，我就開始討厭這篇專欄了。
I think Erma Bombeck did us dirty.
我覺得艾爾瑪·邦貝克給我們潑了臟水。
As the pandemic forces us to rethink almost every aspect of our society,
因為疫情，我們不得不開始重新思考社會的方方面面，
from why we go into an office to how we set up a kindergarten classroom,
從我們為什么要走進辦公室，到如何設立幼兒園教室，
allow me to suggest that we reassess the very foundation of our society: motherhood.
在此，請允許我提一個建議：我們對社會的基石——母親——也應該重新審視一番了。
Motherhood is valorized in American culture because we don't want to admit the truth:
就美國文化而言，母親這一身份之所有會受到贊揚其實是因為我們不愿面對現實：
we have built an entire economy on the backs of unpaid and poorly paid women.
我們把整個經濟的負擔都壓在了酬勞很低，甚至是沒有酬勞的女性肩上。
Even as gender roles have shifted in the U.S.,
雖然美國的性別角色已經發生了一定的轉變，
the expectation that the mother will be the parent primarily responsible for maintaining the household and taking care of the children,
但社會對母親應當是父母雙方中承擔操持家庭和照顧孩子的主要責任的一方的期待，
no matter what else she has on her plate,
無論她還有多少其他的事情要做，
is still as true today as when Bombeck wrote her column.
至今仍和邦貝克寫那篇專欄時一樣嚴重。
譯文由可可原創，僅供學習交流使用，未經許可請勿轉載。
