Jessica Valenti at The Nation:
The sentiment may seem innocuous, but there’s a danger in returning to an ideal where women’s most important identity is relational rather than individual. If we want equality, women with children would be better served calling themselves people first, moms second.
I don’t think the implicit choice being offered here is “Mother first, person second”; it’s “mother first, insert job title here second”.
I agree substantially with Valenti’s point, though, and I wonder whether this would even be a problem if men described themselves as “fathers first”—which they probably should (if they’re fathers).