Ok, I fully believe that households can have two working parents and still be good parents - provided that both parents take part in the child-raising and house-running. And that women should have the right to stay home with their children if they want, or work if that is their choice.
But I was surprised by this article by Maggie Jackson on the Boston Globe's website. One part being : "Yet, however politically strategic and privately compelling, Obama's decision to be foremost the "first mom" potentially sends a wrong message: that high-level paid work and motherhood don't mix, or that women need to be the ones to step down to care for family."
I mean, how many women are faced with raising two young children in the White House while being the wife/confident/friend of the President of the United States? How could the standards for being a 'working mom' in Minnesota even begin to compare to being the working mom in the White House? Never mind the ensuing security issues and such that would arise from Mrs. Obama working - if Obama isn't using email, could she?
Ms. Jackson continued, writing "More than ever, we need female role models as we dig out of this horrendous economic mess. The fate of working mothers is a bottom line issue."
WHAT - the fate of working mothers??? Don't get me wrong, I'm all for closing the gender gap, for women working, for equal pay, for strong male rolemodels at home and strong female role models in business - but give me a break! All that Ms. Jackson's viewpoint shows me is that women are held to a higher standard, expected to do it all, and will be criticized no matter what they choose.
Congrats to Michelle Obama for choosing her family - her daughters and husband.
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