Stupid Things People Say to Stepmoms: Dealing With Askholes (and Other Rude Humans) By Mary T. Kelly, MA
Stepmoms aren’t the only ones who get asked questions which are nobody else’s business. Or who get advice that’d make your head spin. Ask any woman who’s been pregnant how many horror stories she’s heard about labor and delivery—from perfect strangers— which scared the crap out of her. The numbers are astronomical.
And, yet, how many of the following questions or remarks so often hurled at stepmoms sound familiar to you?
⊲ “Didn’t you already know it was a package deal?”
⊲ “When are you two gonna have your own kids?”
⊲ “Do you love his kids like they were yours?”
⊲ “Hey, you’re just like the Brady Bunch!”
⊲ “Don’t you just love being their mom?”
⊲ “Did you meet before the divorce?”
I’m sure you have a few of your own to add to that list. Being a stepmom can make you feel like some kind of magnet for inappropriate questions and statements about both your personhood and stepmom status.
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