Feminists don't like some of our choices

In The American Prospect, Linda Hirshman takes issue with the choice of women to opt out of the workforce and stay at home to take care of their homes and families. (She, by the way, is on Bernard Goldberg's list of "100 People Who Are Screwing Up America.")

In her opinion women shouldn't make this choice and that women still consider it a valid choice means that feminism wasn't radical enough. She doesn't believe they are really choosing.

She says:

They don'’t know that feminism, in collusion with traditional society, just passed the gendered family on to them to choose.

--and--

Here'’s the feminist moral analysis that choice avoided: The family -- with its repetitious, socially invisible, physical tasks -- is a necessary part of life, but it allows fewer opportunities for full human flourishing than public spheres like the market or the government. This less-flourishing sphere is not the natural or moral responsibility only of women. Therefore, assigning it to women is unjust. Women assigning it to themselves is equally unjust. To paraphrase, as Mark Twain said, " man who chooses not to read is just as ignorant as a man who cannot read."”

She goes to say later that women who stay home are in some way cheating society. I would argue that women who are raising morally healthy, educated, civilized human beings are making a tremendous contribution to society. Although there are sometimes repetitive physical tasks that need to be done, they are not the totality or the essence of family life, nor are they usually borne only by women.

Hirshman suggests a series of "rules" for women, including "marrying down" and having only one child if you have any. I would guess that as a college honors graduate and the product of a two-career marriage, I am probably the sort of woman Ms. Hirshman can't stand. I think I've broken all of her rules.

I married a smart, ambitious man with the full knowledge that he would have a successful career in his chosen profession, and I'm sure she would be horrified that I waited tables to pay for him to get his masters degree, giving him even more of an edge in the game of money and power that seems to be her measure of worth. My degree was in the distinctly impractical field of history, with minors in the equally unmarketable English and political science. I have four kids and have opted to be a stay-at-home mom with a home business, something that I'm sure horrifies Ms. Hirshman.

I'm glad to know that enough women are choosing to stay home with their children to agitate the likes of Ms. Hirshman. And I'm really glad I'm one of them.

HT: Cranach

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feminism

Another reason I love my kids....

Bethany's post on March 9 illustrates perfectly some of the things I love to see happening with my kids. They like each other most of the time. And most of the time they even like me.

Our neighbors think we're the weirdest family they know.

Homeschool Guru?

I got an email today that made me chuckle.

I am speaking at a homeschool conference this weekend on homeschooling through high school. A lady who is on an email list that I help manage emailed me and said that she's looking forward to meeting a "homeschooling guru" like me.

If she could see my kids and my house right now she would probably give a a title other than guru!

Technorati tags:


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speaking

Wow! Twenty Years!

Today it is twenty years since Colin and I were married at St. Mark Lutheran Church in Pendleton, Indiana. Eight towns, four kids, three degrees, and14 houses or apartments later, I would do it all over again.
In celebration I've added some new pictures to my flickr photostream. If you watch you'll catch a wedding picture, a prom picture, Colin running high school cross country, and some older family shots including a very small Bethany grabbing the legs of a tall skinny Colin.

Oscars!

Yes, we watched the Oscars. Bethany and I are just too addicted to pop culture--not to mention fashion--to miss them. I've been crazy-busy today and haven't read any reviews of them, so this is my take without any media input.

There seemed to be something missing. The show lacked a certain je ne sais quois. I think that part of it was the less-than-thrilling movies that were being recognized. There was also quite a bit of star power missing, and many who were there were ignored for the endless camera shots of Heath Ledger and George Clooney.

We enjoyed John Stewart's hosting job, but were fairly certain Hollywood would not appreciate him.He skewered them pretty good a few times.

We were pleased that Crash won best picture and that Reese Witherspoon--in her lovely dess--won best actress. We agreed that the guy who played Capote deserved his Oscar. We were glad that King Kong got at least some recognition. But as usual, we can only take Hollywood in small doses before the stars start to annoy us.

In a year like this when we don't really care about the awards, the dresses are why we watch and we definitely had some favorites. Reese was lovely. We loved Keira Knightley's aubergine dress. Jessica Alba had a beautiful dress. Michelle Williams dress was gorgeous, except for the color. And George Clooney was definitely the winner among the men. The biggest yuck of the night was Naomi Watts dress that looked as if it had been put through a shredder.



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I am Kermit

I was tagged by Lora, so I took this quiz to find out what Muppet I am.
It's not easy being green.


You are Kermit the Frog.
You are reliable, responsible and caring. And you

have a habit of waving your arms about

maniacally.

FAVORITE EXPRESSIONS:
"Hi ho!" "Yaaay!" and

"Sheesh!"
FAVORITE MOVIE:
"How Green Was My Mother"

LAST BOOK READ:
"Surfin' the Webfoot: A Frog's Guide to the

Internet"

HOBBIES:
Sitting in the swamp playing banjo.

QUOTE:
"Hmm, my banjo is wet."


What Muppet are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

I tag anyone under 21 who reads this blog. : )

Reality TV

The (un)reality tv shows are back in full force. The Apprentice, unfortunately, debuted opposite 24, so I had to make a choice and picked Jack Bauer over The Donald. The Amazing Race was off to South America this week. (I love that show!) I'm with Mutti, though, about why I could never be an amazing racer. Project Runway, on Bravo, is winding up and we're afraid Santino may beat out Daniel & Chloe, because his final collection just looks superior, but anything can happen. Survivor, of course is moving along, but since it's opposite the American Idol results show, it too has been relegated to the back burner. (And once we stop watching for a couple of weeks the interest dies quickly.)

Of course, if it weren't for the DVR I wouldn't be able to watch any of them, because I'm never home in the evenings. But with the DVR I can watch them in the vast TV wasteland that is Sunday night.

Technorati tags:

[tagname]
American Idol
Survivor
The Apprntice
television
Project Runway

Yes, I'm Still Alive

Yes, I haven't posted in over a week.
Yes, I am still here.
Yes, I will be posting regularly from now on.

I got knocked off track planning for and attending a scrapbooking day last Saturday. Those of us who attended had a lot of fun, and I completed 12 pages in the six hours i was actually scrapping. Not bad.

I think I managed to get my mom hooked, too.

Great Review

Over at Luther Library--which you must check out if you haven't yet--my friend Polly has reviewed Every Young Man's Battle. This is the kind of review which is very helpful to those of us who are moms of boys & young men.

There are other great reviews at Luther Library, including a comparison of the 1953 and 2003 Luther movies.

Keeping My Balance

I am having a really hard time keeping all of the demands of my life in balance right now. It's amazing how it all piles up and how one thing impacts another. I've always liked to keep busy, but it's beyond that now and I need to figure out what needs to go.

I'm trying to look at things through the lens of my vocations as wife and mother and evaluate what supports those and what detracts from them. Homeschooling my kids supports them, but I'm not sure that the level of my involvement in the homeschool community does. (So maybe I need to reevaluate the time I'm spending on that.)

I have a business that often gets neglected and pushed aside, but it, too, is important because the income serves our family and also allows us to give more generously to our church and community. I am fortunate that it is very flexible and very forgiving of my busy-ness elsewhere, but my husband and I both agree that I need to put more time into it. But from where will the time come?

It can't come from cleaning my house, 'cause it's not getting done!

Taking ballroom dance lessons with my husband seems like it should be something expendable, but it is probably one of the best things that has ever happened to our marriage. As for my other hobbies--scrapbooking, genealogy--I spend less than two hours a month on those when I average it out. So those aren't the problem.

I think I know where the problem is, but it's the hardest for me to cure. I volunteer too much. I haven't gotten to the critical point with this for a long time because we've moved so often, but now that we've been here four years I've had plenty of time to find things to do. And they're all worthwhile. But added together they often take as much time in a week as a full time job.

So I need to decide what to weed out, but I'm not sure where to start.

Beggar's All has a link to a hilarious commercial.

HT: The Burr in the Burgh

Ablazing Nonsense

Mutti has an excellent post from Friday the 17th on Ablaze. If you haven't read it check it out.

I think this is my favorite line from the article she's quoting:

Working with a dozen LCMS districts in a pilot project last summer, Altenberger helped develop and train leaders for a six-week Bible study called "Motivation for Mission" that's designed to "shift a congregation's spiritual paradigm."


No thanks, I'm quite happy with our congregation's "spiritual paradigm."

Feeling Blocked

You know, I think I finally figured out today why I've been having trouble finding anything to write. First, most of my blog time has been spent on the seemingly endless job of switching things over. I haven't even been getting to read much. Often my posting is caused by the things that I read bouncing around in my brain.

The other big problem is that the news is driving me nuts. The whole Cheney hunting thing, which was STILL a lead story on a newcast I saw this morning is a perfect example of the media making a huge effort to give a story legs.

I'm not brave enough to post what I think about the cartoons.

And then there's the idea of turning over the management of six major ports to a state-owned company from the United Arab Emirates.

The Olympics are boring. You know when the main thing people are talking about is a fall taken by a Candian ice dancer it is a slow Olympics!

I'm hoping this has cleared the logjam. A little sunshine wouldn't hurt any. Wish I was in Palm Springs with my husband!

More Blogroll Additions

I have finally added some of my favorite homeschooling blogs to this blogroll.


I was pleased to find Sandra Dodd's blog because she was a huge influence on me when we started homeschooling. She's also a very interesting person. A new favorite blog is Dragon Writing Prompts. This isn't just for homeschoolers. It's a great resource for anyone who wants great creative writing ideas.

So check them out, even if you don't homeschool.

Another Blogger Makes the Move

Another of my blogging friends has moved her blog. You want to be sure to change your blogrolls! The Rebellious Pastor's Wife can now be found here.

Okay, Now I'm Really Back

I've hardly blogged for a couple of weeks but my house is no cleaner, my waist is no smaller, my kids are no smarter, and I've missed it. I guess that means that not blogging isn't the answer to all of (my) life's problems.


As I'm getting things moved over I'm happy to announce that the demise of Polly's blog was short lived. As a fellow lover of aprons I'm happy to introduce you to Favorite Apron.

Making the Switch

I'm celebrating my return to blogging by posting over here.

I'm still in the process of getting links moved over. It's time consuming and time has been extremely tight lately. Each month I think, "Next month I'll have more time." But that month never comes. It's February and I already know that July, August, and October are pretty much shot!


So my blogroll is being moved. It'll get here.

The Truth Behind the Lies

Okay, so everyone guessed which was true. But now it's time for the truth behind the lies.

1. When I was 17 I backed my 10-year-old Oldsmobile into my boyfriend's parents new Oldsmobile.
The truth: I was 18 and my boyfriend, aka Colin, backed his parents car into his track coach's car. (But I did drive a really *sweet* 1973 Cutlass Supreme.)

2. I threw up while bungee jumping at Deer Creek Music Center (now the Verizon Wireless Music Center) in May of 1999.
I saw someone else do this.

3. I locked myself out of my running minivan with 18-month-old Andrew inside in his car seat.
One of many less-than-stellar mommy moments.

4. When I was taking trampoline lessons in seventh grade I missed the tramp and broke my wrist.
I *did* take trampoline lessons in seventh grade.

5. I spilled a tray of drinks in Gene Keady's lap when I was waiting on him at Damon's in Lafayette, Indiana.
This is my personal favorite. I *wanted* to! I waited on Mr. Keady many times. He took up the best table in my section all night. His food was comped but he barely tipped. (I did however spill a whole tray of drinks on another guy once and it was not an accident.)

Four Lies

I was tagged by my friend Jennifer, who got this from a page of writing prompts for kids. (WHich incidentally looks like a really great site!)

Write five things about yourself with only ONE of them being true. The other four are fiction, and everyone else gets to guess which one is not fiction.

1. When I was 17 I backed my 10-year-old Oldsmobile into my boyfriend's parents new Oldsmobile.
2. I threw up while bungee jumping at Deer Creek Music Center (now the Verizon Wireless Music Center) in May of 1999.
3. I locked myself out of my running minivan with 18-month-old Andrew inside in his car seat.
4. When I was taking trampoline lessons in seventh grade I missed the tramp and broke my wrist.
5. I spilled a tray of drinks in Gene Keady's lap when I was waiting on him at Damon's in Lafayette, Indiana.

So which one is true?

If you stumbled across this....

Until I can get my links all copied over and a few other things done I am still blogging here.