Don't give me any more of that pink ribbon shit

Since when did Mother's Day become Cancer Day? With a lineup of yesterday's celebrities tripping over each others walking frames to get into the limelight in the name of the big "C" makes me cringe just a bit. The real stories of extraordinary bravery and survival from cancer deserve their day in its own right. No more would we want Father's Day to become Prostate Day (and I'm sure there is a ribbon for that too) should the women we love and respect be only associated with serious illness. Womanhood or motherhood does not mean victimhood. We do not need rescuing and if we did we have a mobile phone with a list of contacts under W for white knight if needed. We do not need to wear pink to remind us we have ovaries. If you love your mother and want to show her your appreciation, cook her a meal or buy her a car, your choice. Happy mothers day to the strong, independent, funny, powerful, motivating, intelligent women out there who do it all every day. It takes a bit more than a ribbon to represent all that.

'Ideal Gift for Mum' the advertisement reads with this woman standing proudly behind her new portable, flat folding Handy Line. We're told that it's the original and the best. Perhaps it is but if I was your mother and you gave me a portable clothes line for Mothers Day I would tell you where to jam it because your mother is not your maid, your domestic servant or even slightly concerned about your drying underpants. She deserves better on Mothers Day. By all means buy yourself a clothes line, buy two if you like, but if I had bought this for my mother you would have found me impaled on it in the backyard on the second Sunday in May.