Children of working mothers are more likely to mug you

[chomalungma]

I know. It was 13 years ago. It's probably out of context. Sometimes you say things that rattle a few cages.

But it all builds a picture of our current Prime Minister, Boris Johnson.

www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/dec/04/boris-johnson-claimed-children-of-working-mothers-more-likely-to-mug-you

"“In the last 30 years an ever-growing proportion of British women have been ‘incentivised’ or socially gestapoed into the workplace, on what seems to me to be the dubious assumption that the harder a woman works the happier she will be, when I am not sure that is true of women or anyone else,” he wrote.

In the book, published before he became mayor of London, Johnson said an increasing number of female graduates tended to pair up with male graduates – a process known by economists as “assortative mating” – and that they then pool their advantages.

“The result is that in families on lower incomes the women have absolutely no choice but to work, often with adverse consequences for family life and society as a whole – in that unloved and undisciplined children are more likely to become hoodies, Neets [not in education, employment or training] and mug you on the street corner."

AIBU to think that his articles from the past reveal much about his views on women, Muslims, LGBT people....

Bloody hell!
Especially the bit about children of working mothers are 'unloved' !

He got sent to boarding school when he was an embryo. Lots of contact with mama there

I'm a SAHM and even I know this is utter bollocks.

Moita I'm sure he has some pretty low views of sahms too.
Let's face it unless you're one of his buddies you're basically scum.

Somewhere underneath his imbecilic way of expressing himself, lies a point I agree with: there is too much pressure on families in the UK for both parents to work. The rest, particularly his assumption that the SAHP should be female, is misogynistic or other bollocks.

Moita I'm sure he has some pretty low views of sahms too.
Let's face it unless you're one of his buddies you're basically scum.

Well quite.

I don't agree with that as such but as a pp said there is too much pressure on families for both parents to work.

I might get flamed and I know I'm probably very old fashioned in my views, but I think the death of the housewife has on the whole been a negative thing for society.

How many posts do we see on these boards from women who are exhausted from working full time and trying to run the house whilst their husband works and does no household chores or childcare.

Well I fit one definitely feel like I have been socially pressured into work. I also think it would be better for my children if either I or their father could be a SAHP. Unfortunately our financial position doesn’t allow it. But it’s hardly going to turn our children into street thugs. The thing that irritates me most about BJ is this tendency to take things too far. It’s obvious to anyone with a brain that he doesn’t mean the completely OTT things he says when he gets bored but many people are to thick to know what it’s like to say these kinds of things out of sheer boredom. The result is that anything that he does say that is worth discussing (even if not necessarily valid or clever etc) is overshadowed by this nonsense. The rest of us have learned to bottle up our frustration or only say this kind of hyperbole to a like minded audience. Why can’t he? He’s either extremely stupid or he just lives in a bubble I guess.

How many posts do we see on these boards from women who are exhausted from working full time and trying to run the house whilst their husband works and does no household chores or childcare.

Probably as many as we do from SAHMs whose husbands do naff all.

I am a single working mother of two children

I think his comments are bang on the money and backed by facts. The vast majority of criminals are from single parent families

He is staying the facts in an eloquent and thought provoking style I think

Ohdearme81

He isn’t talking about single parent families.

Perhaps he should have stayed with the mother of his children so that she could be a SAHM. Oh, wait...that would mean bigamy wouldn't it seeing as there are at least two of them with five children between them I believe.

Yanbu he hates women

So says the man who has had “at least 5” children with several women. Presumably they are now classed as single mums who I’m assuming all work?

How can anyone seriously vote for this dreadful man and his equally dreadful party?

How can anyone seriously vote for this dreadful man and his equally dreadful party?

Well, as many many many Labour supporters on this site say, "you don't have to like Corbyn, it's his party you're voting for", so I assume they would apply the same logic to every other political leader.

How many posts do we see on these boards from women who are exhausted from working full time and trying to run the house whilst their husband works and does no household chores or childcare

I don’t think 2 parents working full time is good particularly for young children. I’ve done it with a 50/50 partner and it is rough. But DH and I have the same degree, I am post grad educated, he isn’t and I earn more than he does. I get really bored of this notion that it should be back to the kitchen for me. No, there are other options, a much shorter working week with parents splitting childcare between them and also splitting life management is a means to offering women more than one single viable option as parents.

also splitting life management is a means to offering women more than one single viable option as parents.

How about offering men more than one single viable option as parents?

The issue is not that there is no stay at home parent.

The issue is that the current economy requires both parents to work, offers little to no flex time, has a culture of presentisim, and, the high paying jobs, generally require a move away from extended family, or grandparents are still working well into their late 60's/70's, with overcrowded and underfunded childcare as the alternative.

The answer isn't stay at home parents, it's a better workplace.

so it's kids of working mums not on to of children of single mums... seems men can do no wrong.

he is such a twat. Just tragic that so many people will vote for this abomination.

The issue is not that there is no stay at home parent.

The issue is that the current economy requires both parents to work, offers little to no flex time, has a culture of presentisim, and, the high paying jobs, generally require a move away from extended family, or grandparents are still working well into their late 60's/70's, with overcrowded and underfunded childcare as the alternative.

The answer isn't stay at home parents, it's a better workplace.

@HulksPurplePanties absolutely - really well put.

I might get flamed and I know I'm probably very old fashioned in my views, but I think the death of the housewife has on the whole been a negative thing for society.
Completely agree.

I'm going to say I agree with the point he's making badly. I'm impressed he knows about assortative mating, I think AM is a good and sensible thing.

First of all I'm not sure about the mugging being associated with working mothers. Is this some correlation like the association with ice cream and drowning?

However, yes, it is assumed that what works well for MC well educated parents, works similarly well for lower WC parents

It doesn't always. And on an aside, I resent a lot of arguments about women and work that completely dismisses low waged women and the reality for poorer women in the economy where work without topups doesn't fiscally pay and hasn't for time. Lyrical sing songs about the benefits of work are often made by women earning 30,000 + incomes, with husbands contributing similar or more.

However, I suspect his party will be making it harder than ever for low waged working women and nothing is being said about men, so ultimately, he can do one.

the death of the housewife has on the whole been a negative thing for society

It has been amazing for society, it's ridiculous to keep half the population out of the workplace.

How many posts do we see on these boards from women who are exhausted from working full time and trying to run the house whilst their husband works and does no household chores or childcare

So if they didn't' work they'd just be exhausted from having to manage the house. The problem is the husband, not the job.

the current economy requires both parents to work

the problem is lack of flexibility and inadequate employment rights. If people could work part-time without being considered lesser beings, we'd have a better society.

As for Boris, his comments did, of course, only apply to poor mothers. Whether he actually believes this tripe is another matter, he was probably writing it for effect. And it worked!

think his comments are bang on the money and backed by facts. The vast majority of criminals are from single parent families

He is talking about children from families where both parents work.

As for assortative mating, you want to marry someone who has similar levels of intelligence to you. But it would be good if people shared around the wealth a bit rather than someone loaded marrying someone else from a loaded background.

his party will be making it harder than ever for low waged working women Yes.