Push Presents

Today's blog entry is not for those who are put off with opinions. In the Raleigh News & Observer, there was an article on a fad reportedly to be popularized by the yuppie generation. You need to read the whole article to get the gist of this trend, but here is a short explanation.

It seems that birthing mothers are receiving push presents which are gifts of gratitude given by the father after a baby is born for the mother's effort in "pushing" the baby out into the world. It just so happens that there is a status symbol attached to these presents based on how many dollars that the present cost.

I could not help but imagine a great Signe Wilkinson cartoon that she could draw of a mother in the hospital bed and husband sitting beside her. A friend enters her hospital room for congratulations on the birth of the baby, but the mother has her hand outstretched showing the hunk of rock worth $7,000---her push present on her finger. When the friend asks to see the baby, the mother points to the baby displayed on a shelf just as she displays her ring. Everything for show.

I can easily understand a mother receiving a very personal gift after the birth of a child, but for it to have become something to this magnitude IMHO diminishes motherhood and womanhood. It is as if the mother is being "bought". I am all for rituals including the giving of meaningful gifts that contribute to the bonding of family members. In fact throughout history in some countries, a commemorative gift for the birthing mother is common. It seems that if the birth of a child is such an important event, it would be better to put any large sum of money into an education fund for the child, pay off some of that $500,000 mortgage on the house that is a roof over the kid's head, or put it aside for the family to take a much needed vacation after the parents have worked double shifts to live the lifestyle they are accustomed.

I must consider the fact that many people have more money than they can use wisely. So if a father wants to present a high dollar "push present" to the mother, then I suppose it is just good the money is spread out into the economy so it can be used by someone who really needs it.

A few months ago I made a painting where the humans have turned into robots and chasing the $. I adapted the slogan from WWII of "The people and the war are becoming one." and it became "The people and the dollar are becoming one." Here is a photo of the piece. This article on push presents is a perfect example of the message that my artwork was addressing.