So I lied, I didn't update yesterday because I just didn't. So cartwheels are fab and feminism is a necessary evil. See the difference? Oh that I could explain...
I thought of feminism because of a comment from my Mom. When I mentioned that I wanted to sew an apron, she said snarkily, "Aren't you the little homemaker?" This was very unlike my Mom who is never snarky or sarcastic. She's a lovely woman who was a stay at home Mom until I was 13 and then she got a job shelving books at the local library. She then worked for a government subcontractor and now works for the federal government and makes more money then my Dad, who now works at the same job she does. :) I'm in such awe that they can work on the same floor and commute to work together and still love each other. But we're talking feminism and not marital love.
Mom is of another generation, she was growing up while the feminist movement was gaining momentum. Not to stereotype(but I will) the women of that generation looked down on traditional women's work. I remember a friend of my Mom who took me aside my senior year of high school and told me I could be anything. You see I've wanted to be a librarian since I was 14 and everyone knew it. Anyway, she asked me why I'd want to be a librarian when I could be a doctor or scientist. I told her that I loved libraries and that was where I wanted to work.
She didn't understand.I knew exactly what I could be. Yes, I could have studied another subject, I wasn't going into librarianship because I had no other options. I chose librarianship because it made me happy to imagine helping people find books all day and getting paid for it.
Most women of my generation know what we can be. We can do just about anything and not doing something because of gender just doesn't occur to us. Perhaps it frustrates the older generation when younger women choose to work in traditional occupations or be stay at home moms. They feel that they fought and sacraficed for us so we could do anything we wanted to and we're using that hard won freedom to be a teacher, or a stay at home mom. I see their point, but I also see that women should not feel obligated to become a high-powered professional just because others feel she should become one. Many women want this and that is their choice. I'm happy with mine and with my 'homemaker' tendancies.
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2 comments:
If something is fun, and makes you feel happy (and of course it's not illegal or actively hurting someone else) then I say go for it. I work in a professional environment, and lots of people don't understand that I like to spend my free time sewing and cooking and knitting and generally making house. I have to say that I tend to only tell a select few I feel I can trust. I've been burned by nasty, unfeeling comments before. But men also do so called 'traditional' things in their spare time - eg. go fishing, drink beer, etc. Noone gives them a second thought, and i think our pass-times are far more productive. But again, if it makes them happy - why not?
So true, if it makes you happy and doesn't hurt anyone...
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