An activist has suggested that Mother’s Day should change its name so reflect the fact that transgender men can also give birth. Norrie May-Welby, who had gender reassignment surgery when they were 28, said “mother” is not a term that only applies to females.
- Mothering is a concept that people of all genders can relate to. As May-Welby told Daily Mail Australia: “It’s not sex-specific. I think mothering is instinctual in all mammals, regardless of biological sex.”
- May-Welby makes a good case for the concept of mothering. “Mother is a verb. One can be mothering without being a biological birther,” they explained. “And Mother’s Day, before Hallmark hijacked it, was Mothering Sunday, when one returned to the church one was baptized in.”
- They’re not offended by the term “Mother’s Day.” However, they do think that it wouldn’t harm for the special day to be renamed as “Nurturer’s Day.” They said: “Of course language shifts with time and place, and it may become Nurturer’s Day, but that’s an extra syllable, and for now, I am happy with ‘Mother’s Day.'”
- May-Welby doesn’t identify with any gender in particular. In 2014, the 60-year-old won a High Court Case that allowed them to identify as belonging to no specific gender in New South Wells. This case meant that May-Welby could have their gender appear on the state’s Registry of Births, Deaths, and Marriages as “non-specific.”
