Comments on: Feminism redux http://www.rationalcontemporary.com/archives/60 Personal webpage of Joshuah Stolaroff Sun, 17 May 2009 01:05:37 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: allison http://www.rationalcontemporary.com/archives/60/comment-page-1#comment-39 allison Thu, 16 Feb 2006 17:26:36 +0000 http://www.rationalcontemporary.com/?p=60#comment-39 whoa. I just clicked the comment box specifically to suggest raising children collectively. Great minds! great minds.... Has anyone seen actual proof that children raised in homes without a stay-at-home parent are less successful? Or is that just an urban legend? In any case, my visceral reaction to women chosing to be a housewife over having a career is wanting to scream "the womyn's movement happened! It did! You can have it all!" But ultimately I think the New Feminism will be supporting womyn in whatever choices they (we) make. Finally, I think it's worth mentioning that this (also the main cirticism of Friedan's work) is a debate for the wealthy and upper middle class. How many families truly get to choose whether or not a parent can stay at home regardless of gender? Especially with the economy going the way it is and all of the social program cuts in the new budget. Which only proves my point that George Bush does hate babies. whoa. I just clicked the comment box specifically to suggest raising children collectively. Great minds! great minds….

Has anyone seen actual proof that children raised in homes without a stay-at-home parent are less successful? Or is that just an urban legend?

In any case, my visceral reaction to women chosing to be a housewife over having a career is wanting to scream “the womyn’s movement happened! It did! You can have it all!” But ultimately I think the New Feminism will be supporting womyn in whatever choices they (we) make.

Finally, I think it’s worth mentioning that this (also the main cirticism of Friedan’s work) is a debate for the wealthy and upper middle class. How many families truly get to choose whether or not a parent can stay at home regardless of gender? Especially with the economy going the way it is and all of the social program cuts in the new budget. Which only proves my point that George Bush does hate babies.

]]> By: joshuah http://www.rationalcontemporary.com/archives/60/comment-page-1#comment-38 joshuah Thu, 16 Feb 2006 16:53:31 +0000 http://www.rationalcontemporary.com/?p=60#comment-38 You know, we have talked about collective child-rearing before, and I basically think it's a good idea for practical reasons, but I hadn't thought about it playing a part in gender equality. I might be a kind of "third way" in the who-takes-responsibility-for-the-kids dilem. I wish I knew how to get people to act more collectively in general. We might have to get them to stop living in the suburbs first. You know, we have talked about collective child-rearing before, and I basically think it’s a good idea for practical reasons, but I hadn’t thought about it playing a part in gender equality. I might be a kind of “third way” in the who-takes-responsibility-for-the-kids dilem.

I wish I knew how to get people to act more collectively in general. We might have to get them to stop living in the suburbs first.

]]> By: pepperedjane http://www.rationalcontemporary.com/archives/60/comment-page-1#comment-37 pepperedjane Thu, 16 Feb 2006 13:34:17 +0000 http://www.rationalcontemporary.com/?p=60#comment-37 I was reading this article, <a href="http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060227/pollitt" rel="nofollow">Betty Friedan</a>, in the The Nation yesterday and was really struck by what the columnist shared. Friedan envisioned world of equality, where women were given the same kind of opportunities for human expression and development as men. I agree whole-heartedly, and I question socialization that still, after 30 years, seems to make child-rearing the only real job for a woman to have. I like this point, "Or maybe the mystique is gone but the structural obstacles it obscured are still there: job discrimination, the old boys' network, workaholic job cultures, lack of childcare. " I hope there is a new society to come. I wonder how gender differences play out in other countries? In my limited interaction with Europeans in a work setting, I find they seem to be more willing to treat me as an equal. But if folks want to pair off and raise a family, I think there is a need for equal sharing of child-rearing (something my male friends seem keen on). Even more revolutionary (and, gasp, socialist) would be collective rearing of children. Perhaps not kibbutz style, but a system that takes a step away from the nuclear family model and helps everyone share the load. It also opens up child-rearing to those who can't conceive on their own, and allows children to see different models of love beyond the man-woman pairing. I was reading this article, Betty Friedan, in the The Nation yesterday and was really struck by what the columnist shared. Friedan envisioned world of equality, where women were given the same kind of opportunities for human expression and development as men. I agree whole-heartedly, and I question socialization that still, after 30 years, seems to make child-rearing the only real job for a woman to have.
I like this point,
“Or maybe the mystique is gone but the structural obstacles it obscured are still there: job discrimination, the old boys’ network, workaholic job cultures, lack of childcare. ”

I hope there is a new society to come. I wonder how gender differences play out in other countries? In my limited interaction with Europeans in a work setting, I find they seem to be more willing to treat me as an equal.

But if folks want to pair off and raise a family, I think there is a need for equal sharing of child-rearing (something my male friends seem keen on). Even more revolutionary (and, gasp, socialist) would be collective rearing of children. Perhaps not kibbutz style, but a system that takes a step away from the nuclear family model and helps everyone share the load. It also opens up child-rearing to those who can’t conceive on their own, and allows children to see different models of love beyond the man-woman pairing.

]]>