I am extremely bothered by a statement someone made to me on facebook yesterday. They said "women’s lib ruined motherhood". Now, I can understand someone feeling upset that they have to work instead of being able to stay home with their kids when they are young. (But I should add that this individual is a fan of the Taxed Enough Already movement, but does not work. In fact, said individual relies on welfare in the form of food stamps, social security disability, and Medicaid. Which confuses the shit out of me in and of itself....but I digress.)
Saying that our liberation ruined motherhood shows a lack of knowledge of the past.
Before our liberation, women were seen as objects, things to posses. A woman needed a man in her life to make money because the good jobs were not available to women. Women were seen as less than men; less intelligent, less capable, less important. Their role was to serve their men. Through women’s liberation, we were able to prove ourselves capable, intelligent, and able to do good work. Before our liberation, many women couldn’t get good jobs; now we can.
There is no rule in women’s liberation that says you have to work; any woman is free to stay home if that is her choice. The difference is in having the choice. I can choose whether to stay home or get a job. I have the freedom to decide for myself what I want to do with my time, and this is how it should be. I do not have to rely on a man who is no good for me just to survive. I can kick a guy like that to the curb and say, "I do not need you. You don’t treat me with respect: I can take care of myself and I am leaving." Single mothers don’t have to rely on welfare to care for their children; they have the option to be productive members of the workforce and earn a living.
No, it was not women’s liberation that ruined motherhood. It is lazy women who aren’t willing to be responsible that ruin motherhood. Their children are the undisciplined ones who become a problem for society. Don’t blame it on daycare or mothers working, blame it on individual women who don’t take their roles as mothers seriously. This would happen whether we were liberated or not. I cannot imagine living in those times. I have two children, and while I definitely grumble about having to go to work everyday, I would rather it be this way than the alternative. If I were stuck in an unhappy marriage because societal rules said I had to stay, I would not be a better mother. I would feel like it was something I had to do, a role forced upon me simply because I have a vagina. I’d probably end up one of those 1950s housewives with a drink and pill problem. If one can’t truly escape the situation, at least she can escape in her mind.
I just don’t think this person was thinking clearly to make such a statement. Can they truly believe that motherhood was ruined by our having equal freedom and rights? Seriously?!?
If you are so inclined, check out this website to learn more about Women’s Liberation.
Women's Lib Documents
To be fair, click here for the other side of the argument. I guess this is what said individual thinks too. Both are hypocrites in my opinion. The lady who wrote this article says this:
I have my own home-based commercial art business with an international clientele. I work with my husband and sons in the ministry. I write and do creative design work, all with the wholehearted support, help, and encouragement of my family. Yet, as I have stated, my greatest desire and joy is taking care of my husband and my sons, and devoting myself to seeing that they are happy and comfortable. I am indeed a very fulfilled woman and proud of it, and I am dead set against women's liberation and it’s credos.
Huh? How would you be able to a) work in the ministry especially if it is in the pulpit, b) have your own business, and c) be taken seriously in said business without women’s liberation? It is sadly true that such demented ideas are common. I am beginning to think we are in a nation of spoiled fools who do not appreciate our freedoms because they cannot logically understand how the world works. Was there some sort of secret lobotomy performed on such people? They clearly cannot think straight.
Opinions? Thoughts? Let me know how you feel about this.