After the dust-up from the Sunday, talking-heads news shows about Ann Romney, where Obamanista Hillary Rosen declared that Ann Romney was unfit to comment as a spokesperson for American women because “she never had a real job,” it would seem that the Right and the Left are falling into two camps: those that think that Motherhood IS a real job, and worthy of the same “real” status as any other, and those that feel as though you can’t be “fulfilled” or a “real woman” unless you have a day job in addition to raising kids. And Rosen’s statement seems to have lit a fuse on a powder keg. So that leaves the question hanging out there – is motherhood a real job?
I grew up in a nuclear family, with a mom who worked with/for my dad. During my younger years, she was a full-time mom/part-time office manager/bookkeeper/den mother to my dad’s music studio. She never made us feel as though we came second to her “career.” And if you’d asked her what her “job” was, she would have replied “I’m a mom” or “I’m a housewife.” She had no great burning desire to “make a name for herself” in the business world. Before she married, she’d worked for what was then the First National Bank. She’d risen to the position of head bookkeeper. In those days, that was as high as a woman could expect to go at a bank. The next job up a notch was a VP, and women just didn’t get to play in that ballpark in the 1950s. But also in those days, being a housewife and a mom was considered to be a “career goal” by most women. And lemme tell you, keeping a house, raising kids, and taking care of a husband WAS a full-time gig. And I dare say that if it was a job that earned a salary, most moms would be commanding C-level salaries for what they do.
The real purpose behind Rosen’s remark was to try to discredit Ann Romney and make Mitt look out-of-touch with the reality of most Americans’ lives. Trouble is, what Rosen doesn’t realize is that there are women out there – a LOT of women out there – that would love to be able to be stay-at-home moms, at the very least while their kids are young. Most wives didn’t stay in the workforce out of a desire to work. They did so because the families needed the money. Here’s a newsflash for you: I know a bunch of dads who, if their wives had better jobs than they did and they could make it on one salary, would be happy to stay home and take care of the house and kids.
The fundamental problem here is not Ann Romney. It’s the perspective from Hillary Rosen that is shared by so many women on the Left, that being a full-time wife and mother makes you somehow less of a woman. Why would that be, exactly? Well, if you dig deeper into the psychology of it, you’ll see that the whole “women have to work” meme is based on something surprisingly sexist. Why? Because what feminists are really saying is “a woman is not as “good as” a man, unless she can do everything a man can do.”
I’m a guy. Unlike that Miss Canada contestant, I always have been. And I always will be. But let me tell you, I have NEVER thought of a woman as my equal. Why would I want to pull them down to my level? Women are awesome. They are amazing. It’s why we guys put them on pedestals. Because they are goddesses. Why in the world would we want to treat them like mere mortal men? That’s silly. And wrong. And stupid. The fundamental flaw in feminism springs from an inferiority complex from women like Andrea Dworkin and Bela Abzug. (Of course, looking at those two, and you kinda get where their inferiority complex thing started. Sheesh.) But seriously, feminine worth does not stem from external beauty. I’ve known many women who don’t look like supermodels that are better people than I am. Beauty is fleeting. Character is not. Women are a treasure. And they don’t need day jobs to prove their worth. Remember Ginger Rogers? I saw her on stage once, in a bus and truck company of Hello Dolly! She was great. The saying goes that “Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, but did it going backwards, wearing heels.” It’s true. So why some women think their value has to be pegged to a paycheck is beyond me. (On the other hand, I’m all for the equal pay for equal work thing. Wouldn’t it be nice if the hypocrites in the Obama Administration walked the walk on that one.)
Of course, Progressives live their lives in an insular bubble, surrounding themselves with like-minded individuals, listening exclusively to the lamestream media tell them that the reason their lives are unfulfilled and their kids misbehave is due to the residual effects of a male-dominated, phallic-centric society. Bull. The reason they’re miserable is because they’re trying to have their cake and eat their cake at the same time. Won’t work. Sorry. So when Rosen comes out spouting this drivel, they think everyone’s going to agree with them. I’m sure that Rosen thought that this would cement this women’s vote for Obama. Whoops. The firestorm of criticism from women in the blogosphere and on Twitter tells a different story. If anything, this will do more to erode women’s support for Obama than the wretched excess that is the First Ladyship of Michelle Obama. (Hey, Rosen – keep at it, will ya?)
Bottom line, if you think we should put teachers, physicians, and shamans in a revered place in our society, then you might wanna make room in the ring of honor for moms and housewives. For they are all that and more. Is motherhood a “real job”? Of course it is. The better question would be “is there any job more real – or more rewarding and important – than being a mom?
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