In the last two days, angry progressive MD Twitter came at me, using the same line of attack: my motherhood. They thought it would be the most hurtful and belittling thing they could say, that I’m “just” a mom. 
Over the course of my part-time writing career, I’ve made a very conscious effort to identify myself as a stay-at-home and now, homeschooling mother first and foremost. I’m proud of all of my work, but mothering is what I spend the majority of my time doing.
Stay-at-home motherhood has a stigma in part because of misogynists like these two. I always thought that I was doing my tiny part in trying to combat that with my byline being what it is.
There’s a lot to be said for where this stigma comes from. That being a mother is viewed as an avenue to dismiss a woman and her words. It’s unsurprising coming from an abortionist, but it’s an increasingly common view; that women are “only” mothers and that’s a bad thing.
I write a great deal about declining birth rates and the negative public perception of motherhood, IMO, plays an outsized role in women wanting to put it off for years or in total.
If I could tell every young woman one thing, it would be that motherhood is transcendent, powerful and so deeply meaningful. But you will never be “only” a mom. There is no such thing. You’re still you, but better.
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