We’ve just celebrated Mother’s Day, in the UK at least, with many of us showing admiration towards women who have – for whatever reason – raised children on their own.
Being a father himself, you would expect YouTuber Richard Cooper to show empathy and respect towards single mums.
However, he has instead chosen to ‘warn’ people of the ‘hazards of dating single mothers’ at an event, bunching together what is a significantly large group of people into a nasty stereotype.
As reported by The Sun the ‘Dangers of Dating Single Mothers’ has been viewed over 580,000 times.
The YouTube talk opens with with a slide which depicts a woman holding a baby, with the following caption:
Single mother here: please take care of some other man’s ball of flesh that eats money destroys dreams and shits stress. I offer you my ruined floppy pussy and mental issues!
The talk then proceeded to outline nine reasons why a man should – in his opinion – avoid dating a single mother.
These reasons included, ‘questionable judgement skills’, ‘rarely takes ownership’ and ’emotionally unavailable’.
Cooper – who claims he has previously dated a single mother – argued how dating a single mum results in ‘double or triple the heartbreak’:
When she goes, they go too. You’ll never see them again and even though they might have driven you nuts you have double or triple the heartbreak.
It’s very easy for them to end the relationship because they’ve done it before. It’s easy for them to move along and just slide into the next relationship.
Cooper continued to criticise the ‘distorted body image’ he believes single mothers to have, stating:
All you have to do is go on any dating app, you’ll see single mums on there they think they’re a 10 when they’re like a 6. Everybody has had that experience I’m sure.
Luckily, it doesn’t seem like the single mums of the world are particularly heartbroken by this ‘rejection’.
One woman commented:
On behalf of single mums, we don’t want you either.
A very lovely sounding man – who happens to be in a happy relationship with a single mother – also called Cooper out on his talk:
What a pr*ck! I fell in love with a single mum, stretch marks and all and I owe her my happiness. Her supposed flaws have never registered with me. I fell in love with her heart, her soul, her gentle nature and I thank my lucky stars that I have her in my life everyday.
I’ve met so many wonderful, beautiful single mums, and plenty of amazing men who love them for who they are as individuals. Please don’t let dehumanising nonsense like this stop you from taking people as you find them.
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Jules studied English Literature with Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning her masters in International Relations at Leiden University in The Netherlands (Hoi!). She then trained as a journalist through News Associates in Manchester. Jules has previously worked as a mental health blogger, copywriter and freelancer for various publications.