On today’s episode we will be discussing maternal martyrdom. What exactly is a martyr? According to Merriam Webster, a martyr is: a victim, a great or constant sufferer. Ooof. I think we might have qualms with the victim blaming aspects of that definition, especially considering the gender inequities women are constantly up against, but we do want to key in on this idea that mothers, from a cultural lens, are expected to suffer. The mental load describes the invisible labor that goes into running a family, and even when working outside the home, we know women tend to bear the brunt of household and child rearing duties, all things covid has only intensified. But as Ali Wong says, “I have suffered enough” and today we hope to break down this phenomenon and brainstorm ways to not only reframe this narrative for ourselves and honestly our livelihood, but even more so unravel the necessary work of dismantling the systems that got us here in the first place.

  We are thrilled to have writer and storyteller Jill Krause joining us for this convo.   Jill’s first blog, BabyRabies.com, was started in the summer of 2017 when she decided to get serious about getting pregnant. Eventually it became her full time career and passion. She has been recognized by Vogue Magazine, Time Magazine, and has been published in US Weekly, Refinery29, Buzzfeed, Huffington Post, Cosmopolitan, Today.com, and other online, on-air, and print media outlets. She has a degree in journalism from the University of Missouri and has been a storyteller for as long as she can remember. She has also published two books on pregnancy and breastfeeding and two e-books on photography. Jill is mom to 4 children, two dogs, and lives in the Austin, TX area. Now that Jill is mentally and physically done having babies, you can find her on JillKrause.com and on social media platforms.  

Resources:

• Women in the Workplace | McKinsey

• Mothers Don’t Have to Be Martyrs - The New York Times (nytimes.com) 

• Uber toxic post submitted by a reader

• JillKrause.com

• Jill on Instagram

• Jill on Twitter