I'm not sure I even know what constitutes feminism or if I am a feminist or not. I was raised in a traditional family (father worked outside the home, mother maintained the home). My father thought it was important that I live independently before I got married, so I would never feel trapped (which, for his generation, was probably very forward thinking), but there were only two occupations really appropriate for women. (My sister is a nurse; I am a teacher.) (So illryria2001, I agree with you... I think women who work are much less likely to be gold-diggers than women who don't.)
In the not so distant past, women could be teachers, but only until they were married. In the even more recent past, it was difficult for women to have bank accounts in their name (without a male co-signer). If thinking that women should be allowed to work and have a bank account makes me a feminist, then I am definitely a feminist.
But saying that women want men for sperm is akin to saying that men want women for breeding (and their are cultures today that treat their women like chattel). There might be some women like that, but to lump all women (or all "feminists") into that description is intellectually lazy.
FWIW, growing up in a traditional family and then working as a teacher and seeing children who were being raised by traditional families (and children who were not), I came to the conclusion that if I were to have children, there would be a full-time stay-at-home parent. And when my husband and I had a child, that is what we did. But my career, though lower-paying than his, was much more conducive to the type of family life we wanted (pretty-much set schedule, time off for holidays, etc), so I worked outside the home and he was the homemaker. It worked well for us, but I agree with jrussell, people should have the option to choose what will work for them.
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branchandroot
(no subject)
Date: 2022-07-10 01:06 pm (UTC)In the not so distant past, women could be teachers, but only until they were married. In the even more recent past, it was difficult for women to have bank accounts in their name (without a male co-signer). If thinking that women should be allowed to work and have a bank account makes me a feminist, then I am definitely a feminist.
But saying that women want men for sperm is akin to saying that men want women for breeding (and their are cultures today that treat their women like chattel). There might be some women like that, but to lump all women (or all "feminists") into that description is intellectually lazy.
FWIW, growing up in a traditional family and then working as a teacher and seeing children who were being raised by traditional families (and children who were not), I came to the conclusion that if I were to have children, there would be a full-time stay-at-home parent. And when my husband and I had a child, that is what we did. But my career, though lower-paying than his, was much more conducive to the type of family life we wanted (pretty-much set schedule, time off for holidays, etc), so I worked outside the home and he was the homemaker. It worked well for us, but I agree with jrussell, people should have the option to choose what will work for them.