Tara Schmittling
1-29-02
 

            According to my moral belief, I feel it is acceptable for women to choose to have and raise children out of wedlock.  This belief is directly related to my family and the spiritual way in which I grew up.  I was raised to believe that single women had all of the rights and capabilities, as those whom were married, to become mothers. The idea of single mothers was sometimes frowned upon only years ago.  Women who found themselves pregnant and unmarried were sent away to have their child in what was referred to as a group home, which fostered unwed, pregnant women.  This banishment, in a sense, has helped to create my moral belief of the acceptance and unwanted cruel treatment of unwed, pregnant women.
         I am someone who respects the rights and choices of my family and others.  I have accepted the decisions women have made to become single mothers and I feel that they, as well as those women who are married, try to develop and raise respectful, goal –orientated individuals. It is only natural, in my belief, for women to invite motherhood, married or not.  There are many single mothers who have contributed greatly to raising their children.
         One stereotype that bothers me is the idea that single women are not as capable of raising children as those whom are married.  I find this idea appalling simply because I have witnessed, throughout my lifetime, many single mothers who, as a whole, have helped to develop their children in many positive ways.  I am a woman who chose to have my child while I was unwed, and I did so knowing that I had all of the capabilities of a woman who was married.  The idea of unwed mothers is something that should no longer be an issue of who is better or more capable, but simply about an individual’s right as a human being and the rights of mothers.  Women should no longer be frowned upon for their choice of motherhood before marriage.
          The changes that women have made in decades past are apparent in how women are treated today.  Women are achieving status in careers, and many are supporting families on their own.  My moral belief of accepting single mothers is directly related to the society that I have grown up in and have witnessed evolve into what it is today.  Sociologically speaking, we live in a society that stresses individualism and success, and many women today have achieved that, thus making it easier, in a sense, to become single mothers able to raise a family on their own.   For example, a woman who chooses to prolong her education, stressing her individualism and freedom, will acquire a profession that will enable her to produce the income necessary to raise her children as a single parent. This is a concept which society has helped to create.  Women were once valued only in domestic work, while today, many women choose both, domestic work when raising a family, and possessing a career both.
         In addition, my belief is derived from the idea that society, as a whole, is more accepting of single mothers.  We have become a more liberal society that is slowly accepting change.  For example, censorship is slowly becoming extinct in many of our entertainment industries such as movies, TV, and the radio.  With society now showing many sexual situations on daytime TV, for example, and many of the “pop” rock bands showing sex as something that is now the norm, many women have begun to experiment with sex at an earlier age, creating more single mothers.  These liberal characteristics portrayed by society, have created an acceptance of single mothers.  Another example could be the way that teen pop stars portray themselves.  Teens like Britney Spears and other young stars have helped establish this pop culture, but their image is mainly portrayed by their physical appearance.  Their appearance, and the sexual innuendos in their music, is extremely mature for the audience at their aim, creating many teens to experiment with sex, resulting in unwed, pregnant women.
         Lastly, race plays an important role in the acceptance of single mothers.  Sociologically speaking, the white race is one which dominates most of society as a whole.  While long ago, many African American women were heading households of children alone, this idea did not become accepted until many white women found themselves unwed and pregnant.   This concludes, sociologically, that our society sees African American women as beneath white women because the acceptance of single mothers was not considered until a large amount of the white race was single and unwed, creating an acceptance based on racial superiority.  It has now become accepted simply because more white women have also become single mothers.
         Over all, as I have grown and changed, and society has evolved and changed, the idea of single women raising children is something that is not so rare today.  Sociologically speaking, there are many things that have changed making single mothers part of the “norm” today.  Whether it be that our society is evolving into a more liberal place allowing women to make more decisions, or this stressed idea of individualism where women choose to create their own destiny, and lastly, this idea of pop culture and the uncensored media, where women are able to experiment with sex more, women are becoming mothers while also committing themselves to a single lifestyle.  I have a strong moral belief of the acceptance of single mothers and it stems directly from the society that I have grown and developed in. Through our changing and evolving society, single mothers are now receiving the credit and reassurance that they have always deserved.