In an Era of Unrealistic Expectations on Moms, Product Safety Is a Feminist Issue

In the midst of the holiday season, the pressure on parents to select the perfect gift for every member of their family can feel overwhelming. What’s harder is when companies have developed a tendency of blaming accidents of shocking children’s deaths on parents, even if their unsafe products are the real culprits.

This is a feminist issue. The more the government encourages industry self-monitoring and consumer educational campaigns over regulation and federal oversight, the more the management of risk is transferred to individual families, and the gendered labor of mothers in particular.