800-FLOWERS Quietly Acknowledges Mr. Mom Stupidity

Posted on 05. May, 2008 by rebel in General

Mother’s Day is right around the corner. This is both a public service announcement and a chance to congratulate Peter Baylies on spearheading a campaign to get 800-FLOWERS to change their Mother’s Day contest, which asked web surfers to vote on their favorite mom archetype. Among the choices: “Mr. Mom.”

This is stupid not only on the usual knee-jerk level around here (men who parent aren’t moms. They’re not “Mr. Moms.” They’re fathers, dammit), but also on the level of common sense: “Mr. Moms” do not celebrate Mother’s Day, and to give involved dads a piece of that holiday is silly and insulting to moms. So Peter’s been posting about this, and 800-FLOWERS has quietly replaced “Mr. Mom” with “Office Mom.” Nice work, Peter.