Heresy of the Maternal Instinct

Men's News Daily ^ | April 15, 2004 | Carey Roberts

[presidio9]

News flash: Women are leaving the workplace in droves to become full-time mothers. Two years ago Karen Hughes resigned as counselor to President Bush to go back to Texas and spend time with her family. In response, New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd ridiculed Karen Hughes’ exercise of free choice: “Women will never get anywhere in this boys’ administration, or this boys’ town, or this boys’ world, if they’re going to sacrifice prime West Wing real estate every time their husbands and kids kvetch.”

Not to ruin your day, Ms. Dowd, but Karen Hughes is not an aberration.

According to the recent March 22 cover story in Time magazine, the percentage of married mothers with children under one who are in the workforce fell from 59% in 1997 to 53% in 2000. And among women with graduate or professional degrees, 22% are staying at home with their kids. At PricewaterhouseCoopers, 10% of the firm’s female partners work part-time.

This trend was confirmed in an article last October in the NY Times Magazine which reported that only 38% of middle-aged female graduates from Harvard Business School are now working full-time. Overall, one-fourth to one-third of professionally-educated women are out of the workforce.

Most people would explain this trend with the common-sense response that the women’s maternal instinct kicked in. As Joan Williams of American University put it, women don’t reach the top of the corporate ladder because ''they are stopped long before by the maternal wall.''

But to radical feminists, that statement is heresy. To them, “maternal instinct” is repugnant to everything they stand for.

Because to feminists, “equality” is not about equal opportunity or equal choices. Instead, feminists believe that 50% (at least) of all elected officials, 50% of all corporate CEOs, 50% of all Nobel prize winners, 50% of everything must be female. Anything short of that should be blamed on patriarchal oppression.

To achieve that goal, feminists must pretend that there are no biological or psychological differences between the sexes.

Think about it: If the Sisterhood admitted to the possibility of the maternal instinct, then it would have to agree that women might want to leave the workforce to nurture their offspring.

Then feminists would have to admit that women will never compose 50% of the workforce. Next they would have to concede that the reason why women’s wages fall short of men’s is because women drop out of the labor market for years at a time. And when they do return, these women seldom seek out the high-paying, pressure-cooker jobs that men as primary breadwinners may feel compelled to take on.

And as you can see, the entire feminist ideology would soon unravel. So why does the Sisterhood demand this unattainable notion of statistical equality?

The answer is Marxism.

The Marxist creed preaches the utopian goal of absolute economic and social equality. But human nature rebels against enforced sameness. Which is why socialist governments inevitably resort to totalitarian measures.

Go to the Women and Marxism website, and you can easily trace the unbroken line that begins with Karl Marx, Frederick Engels, and Karl’s youngest daughter Eleanor. Then read the proto-feminist speeches and writings of Vladimir Lenin and his wife Nadezhada, of Joseph Stalin, and Mao Tse Tung.

Scan Shulamith Firestone’s 1972 book, The Dialectic of Sex, and see how she took the Marxist theories and translated them into the shrill rhetoric that permeates modern-day feminism.

Examine the writings of Simone de Beauvoir and Kate Millett, and see how these feminist icons freely and openly advocate socialist concepts. Then peruse David Horowitz’s expose about Betty Friedan’s secret Communist past.

The fem-socialist attempt to impose absolute statistical equality on the sexes is doomed to failure. In any contest that pits human nature against social ideology, it’s women’s maternal instinct that will always win out.

[big'ol_freeper]

*ping*

[grassroot]

Like the laws of gravity, or supply & demand: They can fight it all they want, but nature (as designed by God) wins out in the end.

[presidio9]

Karen Hughes is merely a convenient substitute for the real source of Maureen's frustration.

[Sabatier]

Work in an environment like in the movie "Office Space" or guide your kid through childhood? With friends like feminists women don't need enemies.

[colorado tanker]

My kids love me and we get along great. But if they skin a knee or cut a finger, they want their Mommy and they want her now.

[antiRepublicrat]

Let's see, they could take it easy at a nice desk job or go home to the much more demanding job of raising kids and taking care of a household. My wife does it, although she could be earning quite a bit outside.

Let's hear it for the stay at home moms!

[netmilsmom]

We have 10 year old cars, we shop at Salvation Army, we eat burgers and Hot Dogs all summer.
My kids will probably never visit Disney World or travel to Europe.
When I left my job I was earning a fair wage. If I had continued, we would be in much better finacial shape.
However, I would have never seen my daughters' first steps, heard their first words or watched the wonder as each saw snow for the first time out our windows. (I did see that with two other children I watched).
I guess you can call me selfish for wanting these things...

[pettifogger]

Bless you for what you do. Your children are indeed, fortunate.

[Gabz]

I can just see the green (as of envy) pouring out of these women.............The only reason these people don't make me ill, is because I know how much I aggravate the bejeezuz out of them..........


The condescending digs and barbs I received about being full time mommy and only part-time professional were hilarious.

[Gabz]

I guess you can call me selfish for wanting these things...

And I'm just as selfish!!!!!!

[netmilsmom]

Well thank you, my FRiend.
I pray everyday that those women who rationalize away working (of course not those who are forced) will wake up to what they are missing.

Actually, there is a huge untapped workforce in SAHMs. If someone would come with a virtual business that was not a rip off, many of us would work it. I know I would work for pennies on the dollar if I could do it with my kids.

[grellis]

In response, New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd ridiculed Karen Hughes’ exercise of free choice: “Women will never get anywhere in this boys’ administration, or this boys’ town, or this boys’ world, if they’re going to sacrifice prime West Wing real estate every time their husbands and kids kvetch.”

What Dowd fails completely to realize is that Hughes, like all other moms who make this choice, are not just giving into an instinct; its also a career change.

I used to work in retail part-time, now I stay at home full time. So far today has been typical: Got up with the kids at 7am, fed the fish, started breakfast, put the flag out, got oldest boy off to school (with brownies for a fundraising bake sale), made the coffee, let the dog out, played with the kids, sorted laundry, started dinner, played with the kids, paid bills and balanced the checkbook, continued laundry, played with the kids until lunchtime, ran the dishwasher...that brings me to this moment. I'm now off to do more laundry so I can go to the park with the kids in a while. And I gotta let that poor dog back in!!!

My point being, BTW, that I never hear Dowd kvetching about women who leave government positions to become corporate vice presidents.

[netmilsmom]

Hi Lady!

[Gabz]

Hi there FRiend!!!

I agree with you about legitimate work for SAHMs.

I still do a few odds and ends here and there, but not living in the state capitol anymore, well my services are not quite as marketable........

However, not living in the state capitol is what we felt best for our daughter. We are rolling along just on hubby's salary.

I've got most of my seeds started for this year's garden.....but it's been so wet because of all the rain we have yet to get it tilled up. That will keep me occupied all summer because we are looking at tilling up more than half an acre. I'm thinking of a roadside produce stand to deal with the surplus!!!

How be things with you????

[Atomic Vomit]

My lovely wife, who home-schools our lovely daughter, left a job as an ICU nurse with nary a glance in the rear-view mirror.

As it should be. I am the provider for my family, and my wife takes care of our child and makes a warm,comfortable home.

Life is good.

[hopespringseternal]

My wife was making more than me when she quit her job to come home. She wasn't even pregnant. A month later she was.

But we never relied on having both incomes, so there was never any sacrifice involved. And we have never even considered her going back to work.

Bottom line is that neither of us trust small children to people who have to be paid to look after them. I think that is just too much responsibility for a hired hand.

[MrB]

The problem is that they have they have to destroy the traditional family in order to achieve their goals.

And they are, at every turn, pushing to do just that.

[Guillermo]

The ones the feminists hate the most, are the women who CHOOSE to be mothers and wives.

Typical for leftists though..."we're all for choice, but only if you choose what we think is best."

[armed_in_sydney]

I guess you can call me selfish for wanting these things...

I'd call you a real,and increasingly rare,woman.