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Transforming Mother Daughter Relationships To Define The Course Of The Future. They say change is the only constant in the state of nature. Life in the 21st Century bears testament to this age-old piece of wisdom. Gone are the times when daughters were largely considered liabilities, raised only to be married and given away with dowries. Daughters today achieve glory and bring pride to their families just as well as sons do.
Traditional roles dictated mother daughter relationship dynamics, setting them up as co-sufferers coping with difficult, predefined lives. In the name of tradition, mothers would pass on burdensome restraints to daughters, generation after generation. After centuries of unhealthy mother-daughter relationships, the first wave of feminism in the 1850s sparked off gradual, incredible transformation.
The dynamic between mothers and daughters is defined by what daughters are expected to do as adults. Today, adult women leave expectations behind to pursue careers and live life on their own terms. A generation of mothers who struggled through their conservative environments now looks with hopes and great expectations to their daughters. They are no longer co-sufferers; they’re equals on a journey to empowerment and freedom at long last.
In the face of inter-generational equality among women, mothers and daughters face a whole new challenge today. The role of a parent as a guardian and caregiver transforms as the child grows older, but nobody’s quite sure where it goes from there. Mothers today have difficulties in dealing with teenage daughters on issues that never existed before. As generations of women seek solutions to entirely new problems, an opportunity for collaboration presents itself like never before.
Mother daughter relationships in today’s world are increasingly beginning to mirror the age-old and unhealthy father-son dynamic. The central issue now is the assertion of autonomy, giving rise to unhealthy mother-daughter competition even on inconsequential issues. Rising uncertainty in the absence of precedents creates toxic mother daughter relationships, threatening the achievements of feminism over the centuries. Modern mother-daughter duos must now rise to the challenge and cement the foundation of feminine unity and equality.
When placed as equals, people can approach each other either as rivals or as friends. There is no third way to it. Mothers and daughters today face each other as powerful equals for the first time in contemporary history. The path the majority chooses will set the standard for the next couple of centuries of mother-daughter relationships. As a mother today, you can make a choice that will define the future. The choice to fight the stereotype of women fighting each other and become your daughter’s best friend.
It’s easy to dismiss this opportunity as overly dramatic. That’s the mistake women all over the world have been making for a long time now. We stand at the precipice of the future of mother-daughter dynamics for at least a few centuries. It’s more important than ever to set aside stereotypical impressions of women as their own worst enemies. There’s adequate space for jealousy in mother-daughter relationships today, but we mustn’t let it seep in. If it does, generations of mothers and daughters may fall prey to a corrosive stereotype that could undo almost everything.
Mothers today can find their best friends in their own daughters by taking little steps to bridge the generation gap. Travelling together, for example, is an excellent way for mothers and daughters to bond. As little girls begin growing into women, mothers must transform from authoritative protectors to supportive friends. It’s only when this mother-daughter relationship is strengthened across the board that female peers can develop interpersonal relationships based on compassion rather than competition.
