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Mumsnet full of inane females according to Petronella Wyatt

212 replies

scaryteacher · 02/03/2012 10:22

www.telegraph.co.uk/lifestyle/9115575/The-state-penalises-women-who-are-childless-and-unmarried-I-might-be-single-but-Im-not-a-failure.html

Methinks she protests too much and should get out more. Isn't she the one that had a thing with Boris?

OP posts:
Lionelblairs · 02/03/2012 16:24

Frankly I fon't think having three children has improved my economic or social status one bit

Warmwoollenmittens · 02/03/2012 16:27

Petronella - you sound like a real bundle of fun!! What a lazy excuse for journalism - trotting out the same old, same old. I have married, single, parents, childless, child free , male, female, gay friends and we have all moved on from this so long ago. I couldn't actually be arsed to read the whole load of predictable, bitter drivel - just made me realise why I don't read the Telegraph.

Warmwoollenmittens · 02/03/2012 16:30

Oops - hit the send key as I was trying to correct my appalling grammar. Still - should give her something else to yap on about.

Lionelblairs · 02/03/2012 16:31

I boggle at the capacity for wealthy, educated, metropolitan types to align themselves with the struggle for civil rights, persecution of Jews, homophobia just because they haven't got quite everything they want.

She is not part of a persecuted minority. She has advantages beyond the capacity of most people in this country.

Kenobi · 02/03/2012 16:39

KateMiddleton if I could like your first post about what it actually means to have kids, plus the fact that THEY are the future taxpayers, I wouldn't. I'd actually cover it in honey, love it and rub myself ALL over it.

Why do journos like PW and mad Liz Jones persist in the belief that the child benefit and stat mat leave is for mums not kids? (and not dads ether, clearly). It's a sodding down-payment on a future tax payer.

Also £500 plus a week for two unemployed people and one kid - that's bullshit, right? I don't know the maths but that seems highly unlikely. That's about £25,000 a year.

DilysPrice · 02/03/2012 16:47

Shagged Boris, while he was married to some other madwoman, without adequate contraceptive (where adequate = using someone else's fanjo).

Hence her judgement is not to be relied upon.

WannabeEarthMomma · 02/03/2012 16:49

I do feel that some parts of female society treat childless people as second class citizens. Sometimes I feel this pity vibe coming from people who have families, some have even pestered me rudely asking when I'm going to get on with ttc!! It seems strange that while my partner and I are holding off from starting a family until we are financially stable, there are plenty of mums that just get on with it and live off benefits. And I am the one to be pitied?? Shouldn't I be patted on the back for being sensible? I just know that if I am lucky enough to have kids, several of my friends/family members will suddenly start speaking to me more often... Angry

On the other hand being childless does have its advantages. Yeah you wouldn't get as much benefits if you went begging for money from the state. But you have got so much more freedom than someone with kids. You can save up for holidays and shopping and hobbies! You don't have to worry about childminders, organising things for all the family to do, budgeting to allow for school uniforms and a huge groceries bill! You can just swan off on a day out, at the drop of a hat. And if you're single too you don't even have to tell anyone where you're going!

DP and I don't have a lot of money to play with but we do have some hobbies that we spend a lot of time on and although we are looking forward to the future, we are also making the most of the pre-kids lifestyle by doing a lot of laid-back chilling! Smile

I think this woman is obviously bitter about more than just the way she is treated, she doesn't state clearly whether she is ok with being single and childless or not ok with it. I would guess the latter. She has picked on MN as an example of typical mum-centric discussions, but actually I have been welcomed here and as a non-maternal type I am not actually a rarity here.

jjkm · 02/03/2012 16:56

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

jjkm · 02/03/2012 17:06

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

JugglingWithTangentialOranges · 02/03/2012 17:06

Did anyone else notice how it was all a thinly disguised attempt to get Julie Burchill back for her comments about Petronella ? Hmm

This sort of journalism is so maddening with it's completely illogical meanderings and completely random and spurious use of both statistics and anecdotes. Arghhhh !

She mentions a couple of light MN threads and then complains they are inane before saying "It's not fair - SACs should have something similar"
Complete madness !

BelleDameSansMerci · 02/03/2012 17:08

I was single (mostly - certainly umarried) for nearly 42 years and had a fucking great time. She's hanging round with the wrong people. Although, frankly, anyone who'd shag Boris is clearly far from discerning...

joanofarchitrave · 02/03/2012 17:10

Funny, until reading this thread (frankly I can't face reading the article) I still felt sad about the imminent demise of printed newspapers. I'm starting to think that they have declined to the point where a quick death would be a relief.

JugglingWithTangentialOranges · 02/03/2012 17:10

Ooh, I think I might Belle Blush

BelleDameSansMerci · 02/03/2012 17:11

Really Juggling? Heavens! It'd probably be funny but, ew, no...

HeartsTrumpDiamonds · 02/03/2012 17:13

Ms Wyatt clearly has no clue about the real Mumsnet. Good. We don't need people like her around here. (And I don't mean because she is childless).

Bluestocking · 02/03/2012 17:15

Joins kenobi in KatieMiddleton love-in. Would also like to remind Patronisella Weird that that all our useless children will grow up to be the doctors and nurses who will look after her when she's old and ill, the taxi drivers who will chauffeur her around when her eyesight is too poor for her to drive, the journalists/editors/producers/writers who will produce newspapers and magazines and radio and TV to keep her amused, the farmers who will grow the food to make her nourishing gruel, etc etc.

JugglingWithTangentialOranges · 02/03/2012 17:15

I just said it for a laugh ... and it has made me chuckle Tee Hee Grin
You can still ask me out though Boris if you like Wink

KatieScarlett2833 · 02/03/2012 17:16

Pet, your friends don't like you.

HTH

solidgoldbrass · 02/03/2012 17:17

Some people do treat single, childless women as though there's something wrong with them. There have been plenty of threads on here about the way some people can't leave a single woman alone and are constantly pestering her to join a dating agency or meet their (smelly, living-with-mummy) single male friend, who won't invite women-without-male-owners to social events, etc.

But if your friends are this type of dumbfuck Noah's-Arkers, you bin them and get some new ones. Not everyone is that mundane. Though if you are as vacuous as Petronella Wyatt, interesting people may not find you interesting.

ILoveDinosaurs · 02/03/2012 18:01

As a childless weirdo I think she has two points.

MN IS full of inane crap.

If you don't think it is, then thats a clue that you probably are the inane poster.

And there ISN'T an alternative for childless women.

And given some of the very nasty comments about childless women on this site and comments directed at childless users that frequently pop up, its a very fair point.

The problem is the rest of the article is drivel and she's not an individual thats going to make people warm to her POV.

GrendelsMum · 02/03/2012 18:24

Do you think there are a lot of attacks on childless women on the site? I've not really noticed them myself (and I am childfree myself). Just reading the threads about the cost of childcare is enough to make me want to have myself permanently sterilised Wink

But goodness, doesn't she have some awful "friends"? That's her problem, not that she's got no kids.

Lionelblairs · 02/03/2012 18:26

I've never seen any nasty comments at childless women. Where are they? Can you link?

Also of course it's inane but mixed in are fascinating threads

ninah · 02/03/2012 18:31

full of inane females? you're wrong there petronella, I'm sure there's room for one more

40notTrendy · 02/03/2012 18:39

Totally agree it was contrived so she could have a pop at Burchill.
And do people really live lives like that? Read like she lives some sort of mythical urban cliche. It's all about choices isn't it? Regret nothing I say. And mumsnet to your heart's content. I like inane crap. But I also like how much fun it can be and how it can lift your day.

JugglingWithTangentialOranges · 02/03/2012 18:40

Classic ninah Liking it Grin

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