Mum, you are one in a million,

But you’re still a bitch

Happy Mother's day.

Not the saccharine Mother’s Day message you might be expecting in your card. 

However, a third of men admit they have called a woman a bitch before, yet 8 out of 10 said they would never call their own mum the same thing. Criticising someone’s mum is considered the height of rudeness. Yet while society affords respect to the ‘role’ of mother in relation to others, what about women in general?

This is the question that sits at the heart of the ‘Mother’s Day Cards from Misogynists’ campaign from CPB London and Thortful. 

There are few celebrations which spark such an avalanche of sugar-sweet sentiments than Mother’s Day, but this campaign turns that sweetness on its head to expose misogyny. What if you took the traditional sugar-sweet Mother’s Day card and reimagined it as a card from a woman hater?

The project has been led by WMN, the female-led studio from creative agency, CPB London.

Using real phrases uttered by some of today’s most recognisable misogynists, the cards aim to get people thinking about the dangers of ‘small’ or ‘casual’ instances of misogyny. 

Available for sale on the website Thortful, all profits from the card sales will go to support Hysterical, the annual charity exhibition of subversive art by women and marginalised genders, co-curated by Cheer Up Luv activist Eliza Hatch.

Cheer Up Luv is an internationally recognised photo series and platform which shines a light on public sexual harassment. Survivors are photographed in public places related to their experience. 

The cards will also be on sale between the 15th and 25th of March at the 2023 Hysterical exhibition taking place at the Bermondsey Project Space Gallery, London.

A special edition card, with content curated by Hatch from her community’s submissions, is also available, entitled: ‘You Belong Behind the Kitchen Sink. Happy Mother’s Day!’ 

Helen James, Co-founder of WMN and CEO of CPB London, commented, “These cards won’t melt many hearts, but they’ll certainly get the blood boiling. We advise people to think of them less as actual Mother’s Day cards (!) and more as miniature-sized pieces of subversive art designed to make us all stop, think and, importantly, challenge.”

Pip Heywood, Managing Director at thortful added: "Too many of us are familiar with the effects of misogyny, so being able to support such an important campaign is vital. Whilst these little cards won't be given to anyone’s real mum, we know they will encourage reflection on the impact of words and behaviours.  We're delighted to work with CPB to bring this crucial conversation to life."

Last week CPB London launched an impactful campaign to highlight the sharp edges of sexist language. In a sea of International Women’s Day campaigns the ‘Double Standards’ campaign was widely praised for powerfully bringing to life the thousand little paper cuts of everyday sexist language.