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le_chat_rose

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Wednesday, May 14, 2008 11:28 AM

Women have needs that men don't have

"Women have needs that men don't have that sideline them from their career. Whether it be maternity leave, or unevenly distributed parental responsibilities." -- CitizenRob

I don't mean to be accusatory but part of the problem you're asking about is assumptions such as the one you make in the quote above. Raising children isn't a need that women have, it's a need that society has, and which women are, as we see in this quote, not just expected to do out of duty but out of some biological destiny. Men are just as capable of checking homework, making lunches, laying out clothes, drawing baths, changing diapers and rocking babies to sleep as women are. Indeed I think part of the solution is to begin thinking of childcare as the responsibility of the father as well as the mother, who should ideally distribute the labor however they see fit. And the woman whose husband stays home with the kids ideally shouldn't be thought of as someone who has abandoned her child in a forest.. I do work with women like that and I can assure you they didn't choose a mate based on his ability to be aggressive and take risks or whatever the stupid alpha male stereotype supposedly does that makes him incapable of child and homecare.

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