My So-Called Midlife with Reshma Saujani One Bad Mother with EJ Dickson
Feb 4, 2026
EJ Dickson, journalist and cultural critic who wrote One Bad Mother, joins to unpack motherhood, cultural shame, and the invention of the “good mother.” She traces historical shifts, examines who benefits from keeping women feeling inadequate, and talks about guilt, policing, midlife sexuality, mental health, and why mothers should stop self-policing.
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Who Benefits From Mothering Standards?
- EJ Dickson asks who benefits from impossible standards for mothers and reframes guilt as a cultural tool.
- She links modern parenting shame to systems that profit from and enforce female self-policing.
Stroller Moment Of Public Judgement
- EJ recounts being judged pushing a large stroller into a narrow coffee shop while on maternity leave.
- She describes the instant feeling of being unwelcome and occupying too much public space as a new mother.
The 'Good Mother' Is A Recent Invention
- EJ reveals the 'good mother' concept is only about a century old in the U.S.
- Historically, communities judged women on work ethic, not child-rearing expertise.
