The *What* Test?

Warning: This post contains an F-Bomb (but not until the end).

I see subtle sexism everywhere, which almost bothers me more than overt sexism because it’s the kind of thing that is shrugged off as a cultural norm or remnant of the 1950’s family structure, but it’s pervasive, and it perpetuates stereotypes and false ideals. I came across a blaring (to me) example of this in a presentation on policy evaluation given by the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. To be fair, I think the offender is merely contracted by the federal government as a consultant, but still; if the government is hiring consultants who say idiotic things, then it needs to hear about it.

So this guy is talking about how to report the results your policy evaluation, and he makes a couple of recommendations such as keeping the message simple and using the “Mom Test.” The “Mom Test” involves presenting your message in a way that “your mom could understand it.” Now, I’m not a mother myself, but I can think of plenty of moms who might have been a teensy bit offended by this statement: Hillary Clinton, for example. But this shit is not acceptable even if he just meant his cute little old lady mother who is a very sweet, but simple woman. His mother should smack him for being such a condescending dolt.

Firstly, and most obviously, mothers, as a rule, are not a bunch of doe-eyed women, sitting around the house, waiting for someone (hopefully a man!) to tell them what to do next (hopefully using small enough words so their mushy brains can comprehend)*. Most mothers are out in the workplace, understanding all kinds of complicated things in order to do their jobs. My brain is reeling at the fact that I just had to say that.

Secondly, even mothers who do stay at home, often make the decision to do so, not because they are too dull for the workplace, but because they view childrearing as a valid and important job (yes, a real job). Society does not value this type of work because it does not increase our GDP, but it is valuable work that takes careful planning and, frankly, policy evaluation. Moms have been evaluating their policies and programs for years. In fact, they could give this guy a run for his money.

Maybe on its own, this is not that big a deal, but the “Mom Test” is just one example of insidious sexism that’s played out daily in our culture. Pay attention to gender roles in movies and TV shows. Commercials are the worst. And like I’ve said before, gender is just the tip of the iceberg. Heteronormativity is rampant. Racial stereotypes abound. And transgendered folks can’t get a break to save their lives.

I wish I had been at the training where this presentation was used, so I could have explained that my mom can understand highly complex, technical information regarding policy evaluation and asked if the “Mom Test” is really the best standard to use if the purpose is to keep the report simple. Fucker.

*I tried to contain all of my sarcasm in parentheses, but it might have (accidentally) seeped out in some places.