We are delighted to introduce M/Others Who Make, a year-long project funded by Arts Council England, enabling us to become more sustainable and inclusive in every way. We will explore what it means to introduce a forward slash to our name to include women and non-binary people who do not identify as mothers but would benefit from our offer. Read on below….

Mothers who Make began in the summer of 2014 - incredibly that makes it now nine years old. And I still get challenged, as I did then, about why it’s for mums. Why exclude the dads?  “They have challenges too!” “Why isn’t it Parents who Make?” “Isn’t it being for mums unhelpful if we are to support fathers to step up and care?” 

The very first blog I wrote for Mothers who Make was in answer to these challenges. Though much has changed in the last nine years, I stand by the position I outlined then. You can read the full thing here, but the gist of it is this: I think it’s important not to confuse ‘equal’ with ‘the same as.’ I want to support and celebrate difference. And there are differences - whether you articulate them as historical, cultural, physical - between those that identify as mothers and those that call themselves fathers. I would love for someone to run a ‘Fathers who Make’ or a ‘Parents who Make’ - and I even hope that, in running MWM, it inspires or invites this possibility - but, for now, because women hold the vast majority of caring roles, and because this labour, and gender, is still undervalued, I want to hold space for and validate the particular experience of mothers.

BUT…