I realize this blog is about working women and their children, but since yesterday was the 50th anniversary of the Pill I thought it would be important to think about how it made a change for women's decision to work. This is the article I found on CNN.com...
http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/05/06/pogrebin.pill.roundup/index.html?hpt=Mid
A main point that's mixed into the article is that not only did the Pill give women more sexual freedom, but they also were able to plan their pregnancies in a way that allowed them to pursue their careers after college. Where employers used to be able to deny a women because she was pregnant, women now have more control over their pregnancy and don't need to be discriminated against because of their pregnancy status.
How this effects their kids? Planned preganancies equals wanted children, and women who are satisfied by their career path before they decide to have children.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Monday, May 3, 2010
Just What I Was Looking For..
Of course! Right when I start complaining about the lack of information that combines feminist ideals with realistic experiences, I found a great source in Anne Roiphe's Fruitful. In this memoir, Roiphe discusses the every day contradictions between feminism and motherhood, and how she has worked to manage this clashing of ideas in her own life. While supporting many of the arguments made by feminists in the past and present, she also argues that some aspects of being a mother (guilt, fear, love) are simply undeniable.
She acknowledges the half-century old claims that "working mothers are hurting there children" as ridiculous, but points out the realities of what mothers still are responsible for. For instance, she notes examples of phobias, shyness, temper tantrums, food disorders - all aspects of emotional development with which mothers can be blamed. In this regard she questions how much the guilt faced by working women has really changed over the years. While the women in the article I posted last week sugar-coated the emotional side of their time working with children, Roiphe points out the real-life examples of how this guilt still persists.
"Despite the feminist call to leave the home, despite the economic necessities that shape our decisions, a mother feels guilty when she leaves her children" (99). In this regard, how much can feminism provide a sound solution? You feel guilty when you work, leaving your children behind, and you feel guilty when you stay at home, leaving your "sense of self" behind. Where's the middle ground?
She cites many studies similar to those that I researched, having to do with the effect of maternal employment on children. After reading much of the information I already know ("there's no negative effect found in the long run...") I realized that a big aspect of my research was missing: the psychological viewpoint. Roiphe cites many of these studies as well and concludes, "the social scientists tell us that it's all right to go back to work but the psychiatrists remind us how important attachment is" (110). How are women supposed to deal with this contradiction in advice when maybe there really is also an innate sense of guilt and protection?
She acknowledges the half-century old claims that "working mothers are hurting there children" as ridiculous, but points out the realities of what mothers still are responsible for. For instance, she notes examples of phobias, shyness, temper tantrums, food disorders - all aspects of emotional development with which mothers can be blamed. In this regard she questions how much the guilt faced by working women has really changed over the years. While the women in the article I posted last week sugar-coated the emotional side of their time working with children, Roiphe points out the real-life examples of how this guilt still persists.
"Despite the feminist call to leave the home, despite the economic necessities that shape our decisions, a mother feels guilty when she leaves her children" (99). In this regard, how much can feminism provide a sound solution? You feel guilty when you work, leaving your children behind, and you feel guilty when you stay at home, leaving your "sense of self" behind. Where's the middle ground?
She cites many studies similar to those that I researched, having to do with the effect of maternal employment on children. After reading much of the information I already know ("there's no negative effect found in the long run...") I realized that a big aspect of my research was missing: the psychological viewpoint. Roiphe cites many of these studies as well and concludes, "the social scientists tell us that it's all right to go back to work but the psychiatrists remind us how important attachment is" (110). How are women supposed to deal with this contradiction in advice when maybe there really is also an innate sense of guilt and protection?
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Working Mothers Guilt
So I stumbled across this article on a website and it made me start to wonder more about how women are/aren't encouraged to pursue a career while raising children.
http://www.workingmother.com/web?service=direct/1/ViewAdvancedPortalPage/PortalBlocks/dlinkArticle&sp=S3131&sp=120
The article basically summarized the stories of guilt, struggle, and joy that has come from the lives of six different working mothers. What I found most interesting about all of these stories, is that each one of them ends with a "happily ever after" conclusion. For some reason or another, every story sang the song of "my children didn't like that I worked full-time when they were growing up, but now that they're older they appreciate and respect all that I've done."
While I've obviously touched on some of the positive effects of maternal employment, and support it thoroughly, I still wonder whether these stories are an accurate depiction of what working with children is really like. Maybe this source is biased, since it's been created to help support working mothers, but even so, why do they feel the need to tell women that everything will be okay in the end?
Raising children while you work must be a struggle and take a lot of time to figured out. So while I definitely don't agree with the idea that women should be advised to stay at home, I'm not sure I feel comfortable with the wishy-washy advice that everything will be fine in the end. I would just like to see that somewhere out there there is realistic advice that falls in between these two poles.
http://www.workingmother.com/web?service=direct/1/ViewAdvancedPortalPage/PortalBlocks/dlinkArticle&sp=S3131&sp=120
The article basically summarized the stories of guilt, struggle, and joy that has come from the lives of six different working mothers. What I found most interesting about all of these stories, is that each one of them ends with a "happily ever after" conclusion. For some reason or another, every story sang the song of "my children didn't like that I worked full-time when they were growing up, but now that they're older they appreciate and respect all that I've done."
While I've obviously touched on some of the positive effects of maternal employment, and support it thoroughly, I still wonder whether these stories are an accurate depiction of what working with children is really like. Maybe this source is biased, since it's been created to help support working mothers, but even so, why do they feel the need to tell women that everything will be okay in the end?
Raising children while you work must be a struggle and take a lot of time to figured out. So while I definitely don't agree with the idea that women should be advised to stay at home, I'm not sure I feel comfortable with the wishy-washy advice that everything will be fine in the end. I would just like to see that somewhere out there there is realistic advice that falls in between these two poles.
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