"Best mom" chosen as face of currency
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Karrie, I can understand your decision to stay home before your children were old enough to go off to school. That, I think, is probably a good idea — (not just for mothers to be around more often in the early, formative years, but fathers as well.) But I was very happy to read that you decided not to make being a housewife a job for life. There is nothing wasted in having and raising children as you did, but there is a great deal wasted when a woman dedicates her life to drudge work (as you didn't.) I wish you all the best with your career track!
And to this thread: I wonder, do they ever put men on the face of the currency for being good fathers?
And to this thread: I wonder, do they ever put men on the face of the currency for being good fathers?
That makes a certain amount of sense.... but.... so often a woman choosing a career path means having to hire another woman to do the 'drudge' work you speak of. And not all women mind keeping house and being available to take off with friends/family/hubby whenever the mood strikes or something is needed. It's not all drudgery. It often means you're serving a very vital role in your family and friendships.
my kids are in school right now. And I'm working on math equations and typing up summaries of reading assignments for psych. lol.
Interesting question there. I suspect not, since that's not what men are traditionally honoured for.
I've been reading your posts since you got here and you sure do have a talent with words.
I have a laptop... so I'm moving around a lot... typing while I'm cooking, studying, watching tv.
When I'm not sick, I'm out more and my evenings and weekends are usually busy with family and stuff. When I'm ill, I'm on here and slugging away slowly at house stuff.
BTW I loved your essay, and good for you to stick to your guns. Too many people in this world have become so materialistic and unfortunately the family suffers. I spend every moment I can with my children, they mean the world to me. I just wish sometimes that I was strong enough to stick to my guns and be a stay at home mom too. But you definitely need an outside interest or you'd go crazy!
Good for you Karrie- you should be very proud of your choices, though they might not be a good choice for someone else.
Good for you Karrie- you should be very proud of your choices, though they might not be a good choice for someone else.
Ah, that is a good point that it often does mean that you are hiring another woman to do the drudge work. But I think the difference is that for these cleaning ladies, the drudge work ends with the work day. That is most often not the case for lifelong housewives, whose husbands tend to expect them to continue doing house- and family-related work (tending to the kids, cooking the food, helping with hwk etc.) even after the work day ends and they get home. Drudge work is definitely not playing with your children and teaching them — I want to make sure you understand what I mean. I consider drudge work to be cleaning the house, doing the dishes, etc. These aren't called chores for no good reason and these chores should be divided equally between equals. I don't mean to set you on edge! I just want to congratulate you on finding a career you love and having a wonderful family to boot. Too many people haven't figured out how to have both at the same time.
Hah! I don't know how to take that... thank you?hermanntrude said:
I think you're right that they've never put men on the money for being good fathers. In that sense, the feminist groups are correct; it enforces negative gender stereotypes that a man's virtue lies in his career and power and a woman's virtue lies in having children, which is damaging to both men and women as it impedes human progress and happiness. Until we can move away from the notion that men's and women's spheres are mutually exclusive, we will never have true equality.
That is a good question. Like Karrie, I also posted an essay related to this topic. Social constructs are hard to overcome, and the constructs of masculinity and femininity are no exception. What makes a man a good father? That differs from one society to another. When I wrote the essay, there were many anthropological studies on feminist issues, but very few to choose form for masculine issues.
http://forums.canadiancontent.net/o...-social-constructs.html?highlight=Masculinity
Lol, shameless plug :roll:
They're putting Anna Nicole Smith on the currency?
8O8O
What do you mean "wasted?"
My wife was a professional who won national awards in marketing before she gave birth to our son. She had planned to go back to work when he was born, but once he was born, she did a 180 and decided she wanted to stay home. Now, there is no way she'd go back and thanks me fairly regularly for "allowing" her to stay home. (Whatever she wanted was fine by me.)
I don't begrudge anyone for whatever choices they make, but to say that someone is wasting their life by choosing to stay at home is not only insulting, it completely demeans the single most important task most people will ever have in their life.
8O8O
What do you mean "wasted?"
My wife was a professional who won national awards in marketing before she gave birth to our son. She had planned to go back to work when he was born, but once he was born, she did a 180 and decided she wanted to stay home. Now, there is no way she'd go back and thanks me fairly regularly for "allowing" her to stay home. (Whatever she wanted was fine by me.)
I don't begrudge anyone for whatever choices they make, but to say that someone is wasting their life by choosing to stay at home is not only insulting, it completely demeans the single most important task most people will ever have in their life.
I was a stay at home dad for 8 years .Its a tough job thats for sure.I got a lot of repect for stay at home parents the pay sucks . Theres still days when i miss being at home with the kids .;-)
That's interesting karrie. You and I had a parallel experience except I was at the opposite end of the spectrum.
I decided quite early that I did not want to have children. Wow, talk about bring on the opinion of everyone who thought they knew better because they were a tad older. People got angry. "What the hell does that mean, you don't want to be a mum. You don't know what you are talking about. Motherhood is the most important thing in the universe. Family is all that matters."
Good lord I grew to lie, and placate, and smile, and then I finally just learnt to shut up and go my own way.
There is nothing honourable about having a family and a miserable life because society endorses it. Just like there is nothing honourable about going to work daily when one would rather be home with their kids.
People should STFU about what another decides. Status quo either way is just wrong in so many ways.
It is about finding oneself and doing what is right for ourself that makes for a healthy, and good society. And less beaten and abused kids.
Good on you Karrie.
Since embarking on the marriage/kids/homemaking track, I see it all the time Sal.
People feel they need to make others follow their path in order to feel justified in their choices.
It's so backwards to the way we should be doing things... supporting everyone in finding their bliss, not shoe horning them into the roles we enjoy or think they'll like. The world would be a better place for it.
People feel they need to make others follow their path in order to feel justified in their choices.
It's so backwards to the way we should be doing things... supporting everyone in finding their bliss, not shoe horning them into the roles we enjoy or think they'll like. The world would be a better place for it.
You are so right about that.
I think most people have a tough time thinking outside of the box. They believe that the choices they make for themselves are the same choices all should make. After all, they chose the RIGHT way. Implying of course, there must be a wrong way. There is a value marker attached to life choices.
That is what I find disappointing about society in general. Their focus is so self absorbed they can not for a moment imagine different from them as being equally valid or right.
And we wonder at war.
