Comments for The Forgotten Feminists

Comment on I’ll See Your Selfless and Raise You an Altruistic by Katy

Katy — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:49:11 +0000

Hey, thanks for the link!

Comment on Why Women Can’t Have It All by Misha

Misha — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 19:05:43 +0000

A-mothafuckin’-men!

Comment on Why Women Can’t Have It All by ubuntucat

ubuntucat — Fri, 23 May 2008 21:06:28 +0000

Now, given this knowledge, is it any wonder that employers would prefer to hire men and women who don’t have children? I don’t understand who could possibly blame an employer for wanting to hire the most qualified AND the most reliable employees. It seems like a no-brainer to me. I agree with this in theory. I think it makes sense that employers would want to hire employees with no children, but I think that may actually be against some kind of discrimination law. Of course, married employees can also have children (and take *aternity leaves) at any time. Following this logic, it'd be better to hire employees who are single and have no chance of getting married or getting someone knocked up. Now, here’s where I get really pissed off at other women: Why are women marrying and/or having children with men who are not willing to take on half of the childcare responsibilities? Because if they did partner with men willing to do their fair share, then perhaps the difference in reliability between men with children and women with children wouldn’t be nearly as glaring. Are these men stashed in a secret cave? I haven't met too many men who are willing to take on truly half of childcare and housekeeping responsibilities.

Comment on My Kind of Feminism by mishajah

mishajah — Tue, 06 May 2008 00:13:37 +0000

Great read.
I’m still learning about feminism; the history and where it is now. I was happy to believe in it without calling myself one as a teen, not for fear of being labeled a combat-boot-wearing man-hater so much as because I detested labels in general.
I wish I had been more involved in women’s studies and groups in college; I feel like I’m playing catch-up to my peers. But then, feminism, like any other label for a large-ish subset of the population, doesn’t seem to have a single definition anymore. I think that’s a hallmark way of thinking for people under thirty. In so many of my debate and general discussion groups online, I see people bucking general stereotypes more and more–not just out of the need to “feel special,” but because they honestly believe that broad brush strokes just don’t work anymore. And they’re discussing it in regards to groups they’re not in personally.
Feminism, in particular, seems to have such a wide range of beliefs that sometimes, I’m not sure what to think of it. I certainly don’t know the current state of it.

Comment on Choice by emmasteinfeld

emmasteinfeld — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 13:40:58 +0000

Great post and it’s given me a lot to think about. There are a few separate issues here and I’m going to try to add my thoughts on most of them, so this may be a long-winded comment.

First, with regard to “choice” as it refers to abortion…this is a sticky topic for me. I believe abortion should be an available option, but I’m not sure how you make the distinction in the “why” behind the abortion. Is a woman having an abortion because she was raped or is she having an abortion because she wants a son instead of a daughter? If abortion is legal, is it my business why she’s having an abortion? As a member of society, I could argue that it is my business because if women are aborting mostly female fetuses, then this affects society as a whole. If she’s having an abortion because she was raped…not so much and I believe wholeheartedly that she is certainly entitled to make that decision for herself. I don’t see this as a black-and-white issue, which is one of the reasons I’m not a die-hard, staunch supporter of abortion. This is one area where I agree with Hillary Clinton…abortions should be safe, legal, and rare. But how to get to the rare part…it’s just not easy…but it’s why I’m such a strong support of education.

The SAHM choice is a little easier for me. I don’t have a problem if a couple decides that, when they have a child, one parent should stay home and raise that child and I don’t care which parent it is. I was raised by a SAHM and I liked it. I liked not having to go to a babysitter or daycare after school and, instead, getting to go to my own home. As a matter of fact, not being able to afford to be a SAHM is one of the (many) reasons I don’t have kids myself.

The child support system works a bit differently here in the U.S. It can be complicated but, in most cases, women can’t just choose NOT to find gainful employment and live off their ex’s child support and/or the welfare system for an extended period of time. Of course, there are exceptions, but, as a general rule, most women have to go out and get a job to be able to survive.

Again, I think the answer is education. The more education people have, the less likely they are going to be to get themselves into a situation where they will depend upon someone else or the government for financial assistance. And the more education they have, the less likely they are going to be to end up in such a situation due to an “accident” or ignorance.

I’m a huge proponent of having an educated population…whether we’re talking about sex education so that people know how to avoid getting pregnant or whether we’re talking about an advanced degree…I can’t think of a downside to education. And that’s what I think the feminist movement should be stressing. Educating people empowers them to take charge of their lives and the more educated people are, the better choices I think they will make.