Want to be insulted ladies? No? Well then stop reading now... otherwise continue:
"What do you need to live a good life in the real world? Among other things, a real job--and changing diapers isn't one."
That's a fly-leaf excerpt from:
Get to Work : a Manifesto for Women of the World by Linda R. Hirshman
I'm sorry, did I miss something or didn't she know that being a stay-at-home mom is a personal choice and most certainly a job.
A co-worker read this yesterday and I happen to have the book to finish processing so I thought I'd post it. I'm not really into posting "controversial" topics... not one who likes to argue. But I find it offensive that anyone would down-play how important staying at home with a child and managing a household can truly be. I'm not saying every mother should stay at home, but I am saying it's a decision each family makes individually.
5 comments:
Amen! It's all about choice, not about predefined roles. There is more work in full-time homemaking than in most careers, but it's not for everyone (in that sense, it's like the Marines.) There is also more possiblity for transcendent joy in being there with one's children than in working the stock market. It seems to be a pendulum: either women MUST stay home or they MUST leave the home. Why can't we strike a balance where we truly honor all authentic choices with due dignity and respect?
Obviously, the woman who made that statement would choose an outside career over an inside career. Both are REAL jobs and completely validating.
Yeah, it's frustrating to me when people make statements like that... actually that disgusts me... because if this woman had a stay at home mom (which is possible) then pretty much she just shot down her own mother... how horrible.
Oh yeah and reducing mothers to simply "changing diapers" ignorant
I have done both at different times. It is not an easy thing either way!! There are times when I want nothing more than to be able to stay at home with my children. Now they are all in school I am glad to be working because I think that I would get very bored and lonely being home alone all the time. What a woman and mother chooses to do is HER choice. Neither is wrong if it works for her family. I am truly awed by women who make the choice and are able to stay home. It truly is the hardest job I have ever had!!!
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