Article on Motherhood in Guardian

[Blackduck]

www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/mar/26/modern-mother-equality-illusion

Have only skim read, but usual comments!

How have I said feminism can pack up and go home. I am talking about women rising up, ALL women and changing things themselves. Mass power works, if everyone does something it has to change sort of thing.

I know there are men that are cocks out there. (Some of my friends choose to associate themselves with them . I just want a world where women think they are worth it and dont stand for it cause they are scared of not having a man. The best way I think to do that is just to say I refuse to be treated like this.

swalloedafly - I do look after my own child 24/7 and work at same time. She comes to work with me

I love the way you've failed to notice that what I said is like what noodle said. I was highly specific about what my husband does. Doesn't that make any ding in your rhetoric? Dittany, btw, is associated with the God Zeus...

My husband looks takes time off when our daughter is sick, does the ironing, cooks a lot at weekends especially (which is also good as he actually cooks for real not like me), he tidies up and cares for our daughter on a friday when I at work as its his day off, he then takes her out places in the afternoon. On the Friday night I go clubbing so he looks after her which is easy now but she used to wake up a lot until she was 2.8 and we were co sleeping). He does all food shop as I have no car and dont want to walk with it.

He takes her at weekends when I go away drinking with my mates as well. I go out every weekend. I also go down the pub for the afternoon sesh.

like all the women swanning around having a laugh with the childcare you mean? like the tear stained woman in the article?

childcare is such fun.

if childcare were such fun, more men would be lined up to do it.

Sorry that last bit was I go away for the weekends with my mates and he looks after her.

Yeah I meant I work and look after her at same time.

I do housework such as tidying, cleaning around the place, I do finances stuff and take care of all admin and I look after a child and work with kids. Thats enough isnt it? yeah he goes out with mates to but I just like to go out as well. He does the rest and I think its fair

'i refuse to be treated like this. i'm going to get paid to be a childcarer'.

well, it is a start, to be fair. as far as puching the boundaries of equality goes, it's not much, but it's a start.

i did try being an lsa once what with all the experience i had raising a child with a disability. i was very good at it (must have been all the training - oh, no, wait, it was only caring/ teaching. didn't get any actual training...)

madwomanintheattic - I realise it must be ver hard looking after a child with additional needs but in normal circumstandces I dont think childcare is the hard bit but I like working with kids so I realise not everyones the same. I just dont like all the other boring bits lol so thats why I dont do them.

Oh and also I didnt realise you are both in military. I would never be a military wife cause they do get it shit but that is unfortunately part of the job. Thats why I left!

sieglinde - the bit where your dh was a sahd?

i think that's great. what sort of reaction did he get from his ex-workmates? was it 'eeeeaaaaasy life!' or 'get your pinny on, love'?

really loads more men need to do the same - it's the only real way to get rid of the ridiculous notions that women have some sort of god-given magical powers in the domestic department. how many other sahd's did he manage to find?

we had one here in the village of 200 or so families. he caused a bit of a stir. didn't really start a trend though. he was definitely seen as the odd one out - it must be quite hard.

What's smug about saying you've got a good arrangement, so a good arrangement is possible, though neither common nor inevitable? The point about dittany was meant to be ironic, but let's just let it go. :)

nah we get paid the same. I always ROFL at this type of thing. We have swalled saying i am lazy, dittany saying I am stepford wife. Also whether you like it or not YOU have the power to change things and not accept it. If everyone changed their way of thinking then men would be FORCED to comply as they have no other option. It would change things a whole lot quicker than whining to the Guardian.

no, you left because you were crap at it, and you missed home, and you went back to your extended family. (i think that was the reason earlier...)

to become a mother and a childcarer.

because you are equal.

anyway, i have to go to work. (not military).

I was admin and very good but crap at training. I left cause I missed home and my husband didnt want to be away from any kids we had as he has a close family member who did it and missed 6 months of his babies first year