‘Happy You Day’: Mother’s Day Cards Go Gender-Neutral in UK
Chrissy Clark /
A grocery chain in the United Kingdom has drawn media attention for selling gender-neutral Mother’s Day cards to make the day more “transgender inclusive.”
Waitrose, an upscale grocery, stocked transgender-friendly cards among its selection for Mother’s Day, which was March 11 in the U.K.
Some examples of gender-inclusive card slogans and greetings include:
- “Happy You Day.”
- “Two Mums Are Better Than One.”
- “Dad, thanks for being the most amazing mum.”
After The Times of London published an article March 9 on this news, Waitrose removed the cards from its website.
Transgender rights campaigner Karen Pollock is credited with the push for such cards.
Pollock says she is looking for ways to make Mother’s Day more gender-inclusive. She also suggests the name of the holiday be changed to “Mothering Sunday.”
“Anyone could be considered as mothering,” Pollock told the Daily Mail.
Toronto Star columnist Emma Teitel suggested “Guardians Day” as another inclusive name for Mother’s Day.
Waitrose’s online and in-store section for the greeting cards continued to be called “Mother’s Day Cards.”
The Daily Mail reported that schools in the United Kingdom adopted gender-inclusive names for the celebration as well.
For example, Consett Junior School in County Durham and High Bank School in Liversedge, West Yorkshire, advertised Mother’s Day on their websites as “Special Person’s Day” or “Mother’s and Special Person’s Day.”
The move by Waitrose had some U.K. citizens tweeting up a storm:
'Gender neutral Mother's Day.' The moment those words are uttered ought to be the death knell of any retailer. Incidentally, why stop at mother? Why is 'day' privileged over night? #MothersDay #genderneutral #AntiNight #HateCrime https://t.co/B8xZforpBR
— Frank Haviland ?? (@Frankhaviland) March 11, 2018
What is Waitrose thinking? The up-market UK supermarket chain is now stocking gender-neutral Mother's Day cards, wishing people a "Happy You Day." I kid you not! What meaningless nonsense. Will this inclusive-language rubbish ever end?
— Michael McLaren (@mclaren2gb) March 11, 2018
The world (or Waitrose) is going mad. It’s Mother’s Day. Not Any Persons Day. Or Waitrose just want to sell as many cards to as many people as possible… commercialisation. I say, stick to what it’s meant to be, the clue is in the world Mother @waitrosehttps://t.co/FGV9soj3mZ
— Richard J. Oldfield (@rich_j_oldfield) March 11, 2018