The first full-time woman referee in the NFL—what a huge story! Writer and photographer Anne Born is delighted at the news but highly critical of the way referee Sarah Thomas’ new job is being reported. This April 2015 essay was published on the blog The Broad Side.
Read it here: Born, "’Mother of Three’ to Ref for the NFL: What’s Being a Mom Got to Do With It?”
- Why does Born object to the inclusion of “mom” information in news articles about women? Summarize her argument briefly. Do you agree? Why or why not?
- Born frequently addresses her audience directly with the pronoun you and by posing questions, such as “Do you care?”, that expect immediate answers. Is her use of direct address an effective rhetorical device in this article? Why or why not? Explain your reasoning.
- Read (or re-read) Ellen Ullman’s essay in Chapter 20 of your text. Although Ullman makes no explicit mention of motherhood, how might she respond to Born’s argument? What advice might Ullman give to NFL ref Sarah Thomas?
- We often hear that being a parent is the most important job that a person can have. Born makes an accurate observation, however, that we seldom hear how many children a newsworthy man has. She asks if you know how many children the male governor of Indiana has, and she asks if you care. Should you care? Should the parenthood status of men be as essential a component of news reports and features as it is of women? Write an essay in which you respond to these questions. Using Born as your They Say, state your position clearly and explain your reasoning
They Say I Blog 
Anne Born, in her “’Mother of Three’ to Ref for the NFL: What’s Being a Mom Got to Do With It?,” praises Sarah Thomas for becoming the first female, full-time NFL referee and denounces the media for handling the situation the way it did. Born asserts that reporters labelling Thomas as a “mother of three” is simply an attempt to degrade Thomas’ accomplishment. She also states that it is unfair because when men make the news they are not addressed as “father of two” or something of the sort. While I agree with Born’s acclaim for Thomas’ marvelous achievement, I do not believe the media attempted to minimize the praise for Thomas by calling her a mother. The NBC article that Borne cites is written with the purpose of applauding the achievements of a groundbreaking, modern woman. Why would an artlice written to honor a person have a title that is meant to belittle them? If anything, the author is attempting to add to the achievements of this woman by respecting her difficult task as a mother of three children and now a full time referee for the NFL. Any woman that chooses to raise children is truly amazing. A woman that can do that and contribute to the progress of women’s position in society is worthy only of high praise and honor.
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It is good that a woman is finally a referee in the NFL, albeit, it is pointless to mention that she is a mother. Like Anne Born mentioned in her article about this, she mentions how is degrades what the woman did, as, before even mentioning the woman’s name, they mention how many children they have. It’s like the fact that they are a mother is the most important thing you need to know about them, even if it is not even close to relevant to the reason that they are being talked about.
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Congratulations Sarah on your achievement. I commend you for being able to balance life as a mother and also your career. Raising kids is definitely a tedious task. This serves as motivation for many I’m sure, myself included.
Seeking positions in a male dominant field can pose as a challenge for many. The title of this article,’ Mother of Three’ definitely caught my attention. What a way for the author to caption header, Anne Born! This article should highlight more of Sarah’s strengths and accomplishments as the first full-time referee within the National Football League and not so much her family life.
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I don’t find the label ” mother of three” at all offensive. However, if the roles were reversed, would Mr. Thomas be referred to as ” father of three”? I doubt it, the media would speak to his character and accomplishments.
Sarah Thomas have been branded by most media reports as the “mother of three”. Although her journey is a testimony to many women with families that we can achieve anything if we work hard, her children does not define who she is as a person.
As a society ,we tend slap a label on a person followed my their accomplishments. Raven Simone the lesbian African American Actress, Grand mother Hillary clinton is running for president. As women,we are driven by our families, but we want to be recognize for our accomplishments.
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Many label females according to their maternal status, such as a “Mother of Two” or a “Mother of Three” over their other titles or achievements. On example is Sarah Thomas, “a woman poised to become the first female NFL referee”, who social media commonly refer to as a “mom” or “Mother of Three.” Despite the minuscule connection between a referee and a mother, individuals in today’s society continues to place the maternal status over any other.
In Born’s article, she brings up an important observation: “Yet, how many of you reading this can tell me, off the top of your head, whether or not the Governor of Indiana has children? Do you care? Is he ever referred to as a “Father-of-Three?” People hardly hear anything about dads. For example, in soccer, mothers are generally called a soccer mom, but rarely refer to dads as a soccer dad. This may be due to the stereotypical higher role of mothers over fathers in children’s development. Mothers usually raise and tend the children, from feeding to comforting the children. Mothers supply emotional support; and thus, this may be why we remember the stronger maternal contributions.
Despite the stronger maternal connection to children, paternal care is just as significant. Fathers provide physical and monetary support for the family, including supply money, physical labor such as fixing the car, cleaning the roof, and acts like the strong anchor for the family. Maybe we do not remember the paternal contributions, but they always support us behind the scenes.
We should care about the paternal status, and perhaps should place more emphasis on it. The parenthood status of men should be as essential a component of news reports and features as it is of women. However, the trend of the emphasis on the maternal status have continued for centuries, and much time is needed for such a transformation.
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Anne Born’s “Mother of Three” to Ref for the NFL: What’s being a mom got to do with it?, she blames the media for how they portray women. Born says the media labels women according to their maternal status. For example, Sarah Thomas is the first permanent female referee in the NFL, but she was identified as the “mother of three” and the “mom” that will make history. Though knowing a women’s maternal status is great, I don’t need to know that. As well as unnecessary information, knowing maternal status shouldn’t increase their significance. If the female referee were single, that should make just the same greatness to history. I think that the media labels women according to their maternal status because they thinking being a mom and being successful is harder to do than being single with the same amount of success. With this said, many women with the title “mother of three” and “mom” might not find this as offensive because their burden of being a mom is carried with their success. Despite this factor, society is built around exalting women by their maternal status.
Born also mentions how men are seen through the medias eyes. She asks the audience if media has praised men through their paternal status:”Yet, how many of you reading this can tell me, off the top of your head, whether or not the Governor of Indiana has children? Do you care? Is he ever referred to as a “Father-of-Three?” It’s sad that men can be shown as successful without a paternal status but women can’t. Born also mentions labels such as “mom” and “mother of three” can tell readers and the world a different idea just using that title. Society sees “mother of three killed..” more significant than “women killed..” because of this maternal status. I don’t think there should be a gap in this labeling. Women don’t need to be praised depending on their maternal status, women can accomplish what ever they desire without this label and society should emphasize on what they accomplished.
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Many women in the news are referred to a mothers. Being a mother implies a sense of maturity and responsibility, but is this information necessary? In sports, Sarah Thomas is going to become the first female NFL referee, yet in a new article about her, she is referred to as a mother. Being a mother has nothing to do with being a NFL referee, so why include this?
Being a mother can be an accomplishment, but by referring to women as mothers in articles ,that have nothing to do with motherhood, they are reduced to female stereotypes. Referring to women as mothers shows that women should be defined by the amount of children they have. This brings modern news back to times when women were believed to be lesser than men and only able to produce offspring. By referring to women as mothers in inappropriate situations, women are reduced to housewives and housekeepers. This can also be seen in the fact that men are not plagued by the same stereotypes and therefore are not referred to as father. If you would not call a man a father in an article, why call a women a mother?
Motherhood is amazing, but not a defining factor of women. By referring to women, and not men, by the number of children they produce, women are considered less than men and considered only a housewife. Women like Sarah Thomas should not be called mothers in articles that are not about motherhood, because they are not defined by the amount of children they have or the status of their family.
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Anne Born writes that national and sports newscasts, articles and websites are all buzzing with the news that female referee Sarah Thomas is being named as the first female referee in the NFL. The stories being written and the interviews of Sarah herself focus mainly on Sarah, a female, being given this high honor. The question really is what does being female have to do with her ability to do the job? For decades the American people have fought for the civil rights of all people. Whether we are abolishing slavery or fighting for women’s rights, we the American people want equal rights for all people. Yet here we are in 2015 surprised that a woman has been hired as a referee… for football none the less. Sarah herself was an athlete while growing up. In high school she played softball, letting five times, and in college competed in basketball. She has learned the rules and regulations of football, attended training camps, and even been sought out and recruited by several officials looking to promote her. Her ability to do the job accurately and fairly is not questioned. In fact, this has helped her stand out as a quality candidate for the job. So it is not her skills or ability that is the surprise. She has served as a football referee for over 19 years, working up the ranks of responsibility. She has refereed college games, Bowl games and Big Ten games. NFL is a logical next step in her career path. So advancing up the ranks of important games is not what is the surprise of this award. Indeed, the surprise is merely that she is a female NFL referee, that she is receiving such notoriety. I for one am proud of her. Whether more people in general start watching football because of Sarah Thomas remains to be seen. But she was hired for the job because she is fully capable of doing the job. Football has been a male dominated sport, yet it shouldn’t be a surprise that a woman is a referee. There are male cheerleaders, cheering on the male athletes, in what used to be a female dominated position There are football teams that are staffed solely with female players. Instead of being shocked that a female is promoted to NFL referee, we should instead be in a world where this is not big news, but instead just a normal achievement. But until we reach that level of gender equality, to quote Sarah’s own words, it doesn’t matter what your race or gender is,”keep doing what you love.”
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In “‘Mother of Three’ to Ref for the NFL: What’s Being a Mom Got to Do With It?”, Anne Born argues that women should not be referred to as mothers in situations that do not relate to their parenting. When Sarah Thomas was announced as the first permanent female referee in the NFL, media sources, such as NBC Nightly News, referred to her as “Mother of Three”. This information is not necessary in this context. The article does not report on Thomas’s three children or her parenting; it reports on her upcoming occupation. Therefore, her professional life, not her private life, should be discussed. In Born’s article, she questions the reader’s knowledge on the Governor of Indiana: “how many of you reading this can tell me, off the top of your head, whether or not the Governor of Indiana has children? Do you care? Is he ever referred to as a ‘Father-of-Three?'” The media does define men by their family status or parenting. Women, on the other hand, are constantly referred to in context of their family and status as a mother. Children, or lack thereof, do not define women.
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In this society women are usually defined and described by their association to other people. It is a way of diminishing them and their achievements, or making them seem dependent on others. In the case of identifying Thomas first and foremost as a mother, it is about implying the utmost importance of a woman being a mother, like that is the best thing she can do with her life. I think it’s all about keeping women down. This is just another example of the male-dominated culture we live in.
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Anne Born argues that women should not be defined by their children or by their parenthood. I agree with this argument; in news stories, only information relating to the topic should be included. If being a mother does not pertain to the topic,then that bit of information should not be given.
It is quite condescending to include the fact that a woman had children when reporting on a great feat. It shows that society does not expect mothers to have time for anything other than their children, an opinion I do not agree with. First off, it is not solely the mother’s job to raise her children; the father should do an equal amount of work if both parents work full-time. Also this mentality shows that society still has not moved past pre-World War 1 values that women should not work.
There is no point in stating whether a woman has children or not. Children are not a hindrance and they should not be perceived as one. Mothers can still accomplish great things.
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I completely agree with Born’s argument. In the media, women are always referred to by the number of children they have. This is a sexist remnant of the past, referring to the notion that all women are good for is having kids. This also refers to the stereotype that a woman’s only job is to have kids, and that kids hold a woman back and make having a successful job impossible, when this is simply not true.
While having a kids may cause a setback in a mother’s career, this setback will be short-term, and most mothers are back on their feet in no time. Like Born mentioned, when have men ever been referred to as a “father of three” or the like? As I mentioned before, this is a sexist stereotype that permeates our culture and is overdue to be eliminated. Women should not be defined by how many children they have, for they can still be very successful with children.
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Being a parent is not the most important job that any person can have. Some people just simply dislike parenthood and choose not to follow that path. I do not believe that stating the amount of children that a women has is needed in something that does not have anything to do with parenthood. While being able to balance this job and balance three children is a huge accomplishment, including her children is almost saying that it is surprising that a mother has a job aside from her children. If she wants to bring up her children then it is her right to do so, but not ours. Males are not held to the same standard. When Hillary Clinton first started campaigning for president, the media asked her how she would be able to handle the job with all her grandchildren. Mitt Romney has way more children and he was never asked how he would handle his job with all of them because it was assumed to not be his responsibility.
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It seems strange that after all the progress and gender equality we claimed to have achieved that one of the most defining traits of a woman should be her children. Were the same true of men, it would be an understandable label. Children do take up a lot of time. However, why should this affect men and women differently? We live in an age where there are working mothers and stay-at-home dads. The mentality of women taking care of the house and men making income should not be affecting modern views. However, while the media may be biased, they most likely did not mean any harm. Rather, they were attempting to present what they viewed as an achievement. Perhaps, we ought to pity fathers who receive no credit in raising their children.
This is not a one way issue, this is a pervading stereotype that negatively affects both genders. Rather than viewing the problem as a blow against women, it should be taken as an outdated perception of gender roles that hurts all genders.
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In her article “”Mother of Three” to Ref for the NFL: What’s Being a Mom Got to Do With It?” author Ann Born applauds Sarah Thomas for becoming the first permanent female referee in the NFL and criticizes the coverage by the media of her accomplishment. Born talks about how those writing headlines in the media have overemphasized her role as a mother, where it is just plain irrelevant and unnecessary, and I agree with her position. In her piece, Born cites an NBC News interview in which the headline described Thomas as “the ‘mom’ who was about to make NFL history.” While I believe the media surely had no intention of demeaning Sarah Thomas on the basis of her status as a mother, the heightened prominence of this title in media coverage of her is questionable. Does being a mother put you at a disadvantage? Does it make you less of a referee? Does being a mom keep you from doing anything else? Of course not, and while the media should still laud her groundbreaking achievement as a woman and a mother, it should reduce its excessive emphasis on gender and treat Sarah Thomas equally with her male counterparts.
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In the article “Mother of Three”, Anne Born praises Sarah Thomas for being the first permanent female referee in the NFL. However, in news headlines Thomas was known as “The Mother of Three”. Born argues that women should not be defined by their parenthood or number of children. I completely agree with Born because the amount of children a woman has no relation to having achieved something.
Mentioning the amount of children a woman has while reporting an accomplishment places a stereotype that the woman’s job is to stay at home with the kids while the men go out and work which is no longer true in today’s society. As stated in the article, there are many stay home fathers and working mothers. Also, children could be perceived as a restriction or a limitation which is not true, as well. Some people may begin to question, “Does having children keep someone from performing their best?” To prevent these questions from appearing, media should not broadcast an achievement by emphasizing children or their mother-hood because whether they have kids or not should not matter.
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I fully agree with Born’s argument that society needs to end diminishing a woman’s achievements by counting how many children she has. Although we claim to have come far in sexual equality, we still believe that a woman’s purpose in life is to take care of the children. Children should not be perceived as a set back in a mother’s life, but as an encouragement to do more. But the truth is, there are many men who have taken up the traditional woman’s role of a house mom. This cancels out the sexist stereotype of a woman’s role in society. The judgement of women is bringing our society down because women are blocked from doing many thing, when they have the ability to achieve so much more.
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In the article “Mother of Three”, Anne Borne writes of Sarah Thomas, the first permanent female referee in the NFL. Borne tries to argue that a person should not be defined by their gender, or parental status but by their merit and what they have achieved.
I completely agree with this. In our day and age why should it matter whether or not a woman has one kid or ten, when she is being evaluated because of her profession. This relation between professional achievements and maternity is completely irrelevant. Would the fact that a man had been the father of two while breaking records even come into conversation other than to say that he did this for his children. Of course not, and just as this is irrelevant for a man, so should it be for a women. Because of the media creating a standard like this for women, it makes the general public unable to overlook such trivial facts, and the truth of the matter is it is wrong.
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This article sparked my interest because, are women really progressing in their search for equality? In this argument by Anne Borne, we are compelled to think, why mention “mother of three”? As we have seen in the NFL as of now, no referee has been known in such a way. Being a mother has no connection to Sarah Thomas’ job as a referee. We should pay close attention to the fact that Thomas has both a professional and personal life. Nurturing and taking care of children have always been attributes given to the female gender. It is a generalization to title the first female referee as a mother. In all the male referees we have seen, not one has ever been addressed as a father to the public. People take on such jobs to fully engage in the professional area, it is not the job of the public to make Thomas feel as though it is one of her jobs as a woman to be a mother. This “mother-figure” stereotype fails to leave the minds of people in todays society. These are the kinds of things that women continue to fight for in their life.
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Anne Bourne discusses an important topic in society today. The public looks at women the same traditional way as before. Sarah Thomas, being a mother, does not relate to her job as an NFL referee. A person should be measured by her hard work, not her gender. Male referees aren’t referred to fathers, so why should women be? The parental status of a person should not affect people’s judgments on the person. Society has claimed to reach an equality between men and women. Their actions and views should prove the claim true. Both men and women deserve to receive equal opportunities.
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In Anne Born’s article “‘Mother of Three’ to Ref for the NFL: What’s Being a Mom Got to Do With It?” she discusses a part of a very important topic in society; the inferiority of women. Sarah Thomas, the first women to become an NFL referee, was classified in headlines as “mother of three”. Being an NFL referee has nothing to do with being a mother. We don’t see headlines about guys being the “father of four” because the way society views men is different than of woman. We see men as more successful and by categorizing women as just mothers when they’re so much more diminishes their hard work and achievements. Women who achieve success should be treated just as men and instead of classifying them as mothers they should be classified as the strong hardworking women they are.
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“Mother of three:” it seems an innocent enough title. Yet as Anne Born speculates in her article about Sarah Thomas’s recent appointment to the NFL, reducing women to just motherhood, especially when irrelevant to the subject matter, can have misogynistic implications.
Allow me to begin by stating something that should be obvious, but is often used as a bitter retort to feminist claims: there is nothing wrong with being a mother. Raising a child is tough, raising three, I imagine, much tougher. Yet the offense here lies not in calling Ms. Thomas a mother of three, but in assuming that that it is the most important piece of information anyone needs to know.
When you describe someone as a mother, it creates a loving, nurturing image, one not particularly related to the NFL. This often catches viewer’s attention, but at a price: it almost directly implies that motherhood is incompatible with a career, particularly a high-profile, strenuous one. In a world where women are judged repeatedly for choosing to have (or not to have) children, insinuating that this choice also pre-determines a career path is irresponsible and toxic.
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In her article, Born objects to the constant ‘devaluation’ of women by referring to them as mothers when reporting an action. It is human nature to judge things, so no matter what she does this will not change. However, I do agree that more needs to be reported than just ‘mother’. I also think shifting away from including the words “mother” or “mom” in the title would be apropriate. However, I while I agree with her goal, I disagree with her reasoning and her viewpoint. By classifying someone as a mother, it automatically implies that this woman has children. Since having a kid is a life-changing and priority shifting experience, the word mother being included into the title clues us in and therefore emphasizes or devalues the action done, depending upon its nature. For example a title such as ‘mother of three goes on homicidal rant’ has more horrible implications than ‘woman goes on homicidal rant’ because the title and state of motherhood thereby amplifies the already horrific nature of the deed because the perpetrator similarly gave life to another and therefore better understands human and family bonds. Similarly, ‘mother of 3 saves her infant from burning car’ has less heroic implications than ‘woman saves infant from burning car’, because again motherhood implies a connection and woman does not. (Not to diminish the act of saving an infant from a burning car in any way, I mean no disrespect) So, to reiterate, I disagree with Born’s view and reasoning, but I agree with her goals. -just my thoughts
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In our society, women are often referred to with some connection to their “motherly” status, whether by the number of kids they have, or by their personal home life, rather than their accomplishments. Sarah Thomas, the first permanent female referee in the NFL, was noted as a “mother of three” in the title of an article written about her career. This example reflects a culture still tied to traditional, backwards gender roles and stereotypes that not only hold the individual woman down, but hold society back from achieving its potential. Society’s limited views on women hold them back from truly being free to be anything they want and have the media and society recognize them as such. The media constantly places women in places it subconsciously believes they should be, rather than where they actually are in life. Women are referred to as mothers and wives rather than the business owners and coaches that they are, while men generally receive their proper job titles instead of “father” and dad”. These limited views hold society’s progress back as well. In part because of the stereotypes that America’s culture has, men have more advantages when it comes to jobs, and work in more “sophisticated” and “powerful” positions than women do. This means society is missing a whole part of its population that could be producing innovative new ideas and furthering American success. If people worked on widening their minds and being aware of the little hints of stereotyping, society could take full advantage of all the wonderful women it has and work more towards its potential.
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The fact that women can’t do something without the news mentioning that they have kids is very sexist I think. Women should be able to achieve different things without having their motherhood mentioned in the article. I think women can multitask very well and do great at balancing their schedules. The fact that this mother of 3 is trying to do something that she loves is great. If she can balance spending time with her kids and working it shouldn’t matter if she has kids or not. When men with kids do things and it makes the news the fact that they have kids is not mentioned in the article. It should be the same way for women. It’s not fair to women to be categorized as a mother whenever they do something.
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Ullman might respond to Born’s argument by agreeing with her statements made in the article. Ullmann might state that Born is right about questioning the fact that being a mother is always emphasized when recieving an achievement. In Born’s arguement she wonders why being a mother is a big deal to bring up when also being involved in other things, but being a father isn’t abig deal while doing other things. Born continoiusly repeats “Mother of two” and “mother of three” as she says its emphasized in media and in interviews. She was asking society to just “focus on the work.and that its wrong o diminish her achievements by counting the number of children”,which is her main point in this article. Advice Ullmann may give to Sarah is to not worry about what the media and society says because women are leading men more than they were before and women are becoming more advanced than men. As I read the comments made on this article I see bloggers agreeing with what Born was saying, more specifically the blogger Benjamin Brandt states his agreement with Born stating “”mother of three” is simply an attempt to degrade Thomas’ accomplishment”, althought he does not state what the author is argueing, he does make a valid point.
In my opinion I agree with Born. She makes valid points on how ridiculous women can only be recognized for achievement by bringing up they are mothers. Mothers should be known more for their achievement rather than the ability to raise a child and tackle something else. I agree with the that “its wrong to diminish her achievements” because she worked hard to get to that point.It matters because women should recieve equal treatment because men are not recognized as fathers more then what they achieved. Like Born said we should focus on achievemnts more than how many children you have.
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I think it is sexist that people think that because someone is a mom they cannot do anything.
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I think that if she can balance both working as a NFL referee and as a mom of her three kids then she should go for it but if she starts to favor one more than the other then she could run into some difficulty in her life.
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I don´t understand the connection between being a mother of however many children and whatever profession you are working in. Now that it´s brought to my attention that most women are known for both, where as fathers do not ever seem to get the title after their profession ¨father of …¨. This seems very sexist and is not fair to the women who have no children but have dedicated just as much or more of their time to their jobs in order to get to the top. There are also fathers who have just as many children who don´t get the credit of having a high ranking position and still being the father of however many children. I think we as a society have become better at not being so gender biased, but I have a hard time believing we will ever live in a world where gender does not cause controversy between people. If we ever do I think it will be a very long time before that happens.
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I feel that for women being labeled as a mother is usually a respectable compliment. And I hope that Sarah Thomas succeeds in her referee career but at the same time I wonder she gets offended when labeled as a ¨mother¨
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This is wrong I would never think of calling my own mom a mother of two
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i agree with this article women should be known for being more than just mothers.
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In Anne Born article,” ‘Mother of Three’ to Ref for the NFL: What’s Being a Mom Got to Do With It?” she talks about how women are seen as inferior. She talks about Sarah Thomas, the first women NFL referee and how headlines classify her as “Mother of Three”. I think it’s kind of sad to know that people are more focused on how she is mom, than on her accomplishments! Who cares if she’s a mom, that doesn’t mean she won’t be a good referee or bad mother, people assume that she can’t have the best of both worlds, she has to pick one. What Born says during her article is what about men, do people know how many children a successful governor has. Men and women are not seen as equal and that is not fair. A women should not be questioned of her capability to be a mom and work at the same time; women should be admired that they can take both roles and be successful.
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Why does the news or media always state a women being a mother in the news head lines? What does you being a mother have to do with what you have accomplished or done. Maybe they are stating it because it takes a lot of work to be a mother. I know this from personal experience. I have a 3 year old daughter. I could not imagine three children. But that’s me and every body is different. You can still be a mother and have a job.
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I guess because I have children myself, I do not understand what the big deal. So is, she has a career that she loves to do. She can mix her love for sport and work at the same time. That is how she pays her bill. If she was a mom on welfare and stayed at home, people would not like that either. She really would be a bad mother yet, because she went back to work so soon after having a child so people did not like that either. I have never been one of those type of people to gauge someone because of them being a man or women or even if they have children. Most people now days do have children.
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Anne Born makes a great point in this article I personally agree with the idea that more often than not a woman in the news is first defined by her marital and maternal statuses then her accomplishments. I think this is very detrimental to women and young girls as a whole. People like to say gender inequality no longer exists, that we as a society have irradiated the idea that people can or can not do something just because they are a man or a woman, and while this is largely true women have mad leaps and bounds as a whole there is still a lot of room for improvement. Many instances of gender discrimination still exist from the dress codes that apply a multitude of unfair and problematic regulations to women and girls while leaving very few applicable to men, or the ever persistent pay gap, or as Born points out the idea that motherhood trumps all. This attitude and practice in the media is nothing more than a subtle and sad reminder that a woman is nothing before she is a mother. In my opinion this is just a thin guise for the everlasting idea that women have no business doing anything after having children but raising said children. The phrase Mother of… does … is nothing but a scornful glare disguised as a smile and a pat on the back, because how could a mother want to do anything but tend to her children. In this way we as a society have a long way to go.
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Anne Born raises a fair point, it does seem strange and irrelevant to mention that someone has kids when their accomplishment has nothing to do with it. I can also understand how that it could be interpreted in the sense that them being a mother makes the accomplishment even more incredible, or hard to believe, based off of the fact that they have children. However, I believe that the news teams who report these articles have no intention of making them sound less than they really are. Everyone understands how difficult it can be to balance children and work/school. If anything, it is a testament to how much dedication these particular mothers had in order to succeed while raising children. In regards to the news coverage for men, it may not always be the headline but more often that not their children are mentioned, even though they are not classified as “Father of two”. Although it is strange to see these women’s accomplishments simplified into whether or not they have children, I believe that it makes the story that much more interesting, knowing exactly what they had to balance to achieve success.
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Now days some people are stuck in the 1960’s women as equal as men in a sense. I believe women should be able to do anything a man can do the only thing a man can’t become pregnant. women used to stay home but, now they work a job just like a man.The news is talking about Anne like its a crime to have children and be a refer for example there are women re fee in basketball and further more what do it matter if a women have children that has nothing to do with a job.if she can handle the two than its ok but if not thin you have to decide what you want . Today women are doing both.
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Why do we give women a label that doesn’t include their accomplishments is beyond me. Being a mother of two myself doesn’t relate to what i an do professionally. Just shows that you can handle many different situations at once. To me it just shows that you can do whatever you put your mind to, mother of three or not.
You should accredit Sarah Thomas by her astounding accomplishments that being the first female to referee in the NFL. It should not matter what her marital status or being a mother has to do with it. Thomas has worked hard to earn that position and sure carry the burdens of man stereotypes to weaken her to the breaking point. She is making tremendous progress for women everywhere in my opinion. I think it’s wonderful she can achieve this goal she has set out for herself and prove that women are just as knowledgeable of football as male counterparts.
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In “Mother of three”, Anne Born praises Sarah Thomas for wanting to be the first female referee in the NFL. Born argues that people should not be judged by the parental or marital status’, but they should be judged by what they have achieved. I completely agree with Borns argument. Yes, becoming the first female to ref a game in the NFL is very important and exciting. Yes, having three kids is a lot of responsibility. No, it is nobody else’s business how she will make time for her kids. That is her life and nobody should be worrying about that, people should be excited for her. Society needs to stop taking down women as soon as we accomplish something big. The fact that a mother of three children is trying to do something that she loves with her life is great. If she is a mother of three, she obviously loves kids. I don’t doubt that she will have troubles managing her time with traveling and late nights but if that is what she wants to pursue then let her. Being an NFL referee has nothing to do with being a mother.
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Gender is something that society has created and gender has nothing to do with what a person can do.I believe female are equal as male so therefore, they can do anything a man can and this ladies are starting to show what others thought a female couldn’t do and it is very nice to know that there are women in many great fields.I feel
proud and good that women have opportunities to do anything now because it wasn’t the same before and it is important for them to have all the rights as men because they are the ones raising the family alone.
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I personally think it is ridiculous to include the fact that a woman has children as a headline in an article about their professional achievements. It would also be silly if the same thing were done to men, but alas, it is not. I feel that this is symptomatic of a much larger problem in our society than “sexist journalism”. To me, it shows that by and large women are still viewed as mothers first and professionals second, while men are viewed as professionals first and fathers second. This is a disservice to both genders. Many fathers are excellent primary caretakers of their children, while many mothers are tremendous breadwinners for their family. Part of this is out of necessity. The days when a family of four or five could be comfortably supported by a single income are long gone for all but the richest of society. Thus, if families need two incomes, both parents must work. If both parents must work, both parents must also take care of home life and raising children. However, because of the way our societies view gender, woman who work are still seen as “mothers in the workforce” while fathers who choose to stay at home are seen as “jobless bums”. While it is completely necessary for us to stop trivializing women’s professional achievements by headlining articles about them with the number of children they have, I don’t believe this will happen until our society fundamentally changes the way we view gender and gender roles. To today’s generation of college students, I implore you, it is one us to be this change we want to see in society, for our own sakes, as well as for the sake of future generations. We can and should begin to make the change, so that hopefully our children and grandchildren will not have to face the same challenges regarding gender stereotyping that we ourselves face every day.
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I commend you for being able to manage being a mother and fulfilling your career Anne Borne to become the first NFL referee. However I find it offensive how they label her as a mother with 3 kids in the media , in which does not have anything to do with her career. I believe that the media can be very bias to women. I can relate to this women being that I’m a mother of 3 also. Anything men can do I believe that we can do even better.She should get the credit that she deserves and not be looked down upon because she is a mother.
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I do not see anything wrong with a woman wanting to be involved in sports. Gender should not play a role in this. I know to society football is only meant for men. What amazes me is that this woman is a mother of three kids that is still trying to live a dream that shes always wanted to live. She is not letting the fact that she has three kids or the fact that she just had a baby seven months ago hold her back. Having kids is a full-time job and for her to still chase something that she enjoys is amazing
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In Anne Born, “Mother of Three” to Ref for the NFL: What’s Being a Mom Got to Do With It?, she talks about how Sarah Thomas was the first female referee in the NFL. The reporters are trying to put down Sarah and everything that she has done. Born believes that it is unfair to Sarah because when men are shown on the news for their accomplishments, they are not addressed as “father of two” or anything else that displays the amount of children they have. Most people in America are centered by their families and still want to be recognized for the great things we have accomplished. I believe that it is more of a stereotype that the only thing a women knows how to do is be a mother and that is not true. I do not think it is fair for us females to be put in that category of we can’t do nothing but take of children, when we do something big. Society puts a limit on women and I believe that sometimes it can hold us back from what we are truly capable of. I commend Sarah for her great accomplishments and may others follow her lead at doing great things.
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I understand why this bothers women because I am a woman who is also a mother, but I am so much more than just a mother. It would definitely bother me if I was Sarah Thomas only because, like the article mentioned, the interview had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that she is a mother. I think a lot of people seem to think that above everything else being a mother is a woman’s most important job. Or maybe they just didn’t like the idea of a woman referee in the NFL so they tried to make her seem not as important. I’m not really sure why people do that it just seems like judgment of some kind to me.
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Why should the number of kids a women should be next to the accomplishments a women does. Kids are made by two a men and a women, they should be raised by a women and a men. My point here is that a men also is part in raising a kid so why is the number of kids a men has is not next to the accomplishment they done. I believe that rising a kids is something easy ,but I also believe is that it shouldn’t be just the responsibility of the mom but it should be between the dad and mom and both should receive the credit. However, if is either is a men or a women raising their kids by their own, it should be mention next to their accomplishment but it shouldn’t still the light of their hard work of their accomplishment.
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Gender differentiate by our society, I think women became more responsible and mature, after they become mother. In article Mother of Three, Anne Bourne mention important argument about the professional life with a mother life. Sarah Thomas, the first female referee in the NFL, was noted as a “mother of three”in the title of an article written about her career. Our society have lot of Jealousy people, when one feminism did something great, then other get jealous. One of the reason people have different perspective between women and mother is that mother have responsibility of their child. And our society think mother can’t be successful on their career because they have to take care of their children. Being mother is very hard, you get lot of tasks to do.
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In the article, Anne Born explains how no matter what women do, if they have children, it will be mentioned. As Born mentioned, women nowadays are titled by how many kids they have, and I think that’s wrong. As Born said, “The Maryland “mother of three,” who learned to love football growing up with a football-playing brother was identified by NBC Nightly News as the “mom” who was about to make NFL history.” Yes, Sarah Thomas a.k.a “Mother of Three” has kids, but why should she be identified as that instead of her actual name? I believe that if the article must mention she has kids, it shouldn’t be in the title, instead it should be in the text itself.
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Borne, mother of three, becomes ref for the NFL, but wait, what does being a mom have to do with it? Borne doesn’t like the “mom” attention and finds it offensive. Most women can agree that they want to be recognized for their accomplishments, but if they’re going to be introduced as a mother of however many kids, why shouldn’t men be introduced the same way? It seems that reporters think that mothers can’t achieve things because of their motherhood, and that being able to ref the NFL while having three kids is surprising. Motherhood and kids should not define a woman, and definitely shouldn’t be a factor that’s known to hold a woman back. Women can accomplish just as many things as men, with children or without.
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