Feminists Are Moms

You Can Stay At Home — And Totally Still Stay A Feminist

Because being a feminist and being a Stay-At-Home Mom are not exclusive.

Rachel Breault
Rachel Breault May 8, 2019
293
views

I've been noticing that there are a lot of people who feel like feminism is making it so that women can no longer be the traditional stay at home mom. While feminism obviously encourages women to break from that norm because it for so long was the only role available to women, I'm here to remind everyone that it is not telling women that they cannot be stay-at-home moms.

You can be a feminist and want to be a stay-at-home mom.

The most basic definition of feminism (not trying to get into the various kinds at this point in time) is "the advocacy of women's rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes." A big part of this is women's liberation and thus feminism has made it a point to let women know they are not bound to their homes and to create a space for women out there in the world in careers, leadership positions, etc. Feminism simply wants all opportunities to be available for women but it doesn't mean you have to step up to that if you don't want to.

To those who feel that feminism is attacking their desire to be a home-maker, we support you.

If your family is blessed enough to be able to do well on a single salary and you want to focus on being a mom, power to you! It's hard to let someone else raise your kids and I can understand why you would want to be there to raise them yourself. My mom didn't go back to work until I was 10 and I loved having her around. And if you ever do decide you want to make your way back into the workforce we support you in that too! There is no reason that this should be a point that divides women.

You are entitled to make that decision for yourself.

Just remember, not everyone is in your shoes. Some people feel that we no longer need feminism because we "already have equality" (even though let's be real the wage gap still exists and there's still plenty of other issues out there for women in the world) and that we should "stop protesting, fighting, etc." partly because it hurts the stay-at-home mom. To you, I would say this. Again, you can lead your life the way you choose.

However, not everyone can or wants to be a stay-at-home mom and feminism is still needed. There are single-moms struggling to support their children. These women need better assistance with child-care and more. They need feminism. Women in some other countries are not even be ALLOWED to do most work but want to. They need feminism. Proven rapists still only get 6 months in jail while people go away for years on drug charges. This is why feminists still fight.

There are a lot more reasons we need feminism but whether or not you choose to be one, let's just make an agreement here.

We won't tell you not to be a stay-at-home mom or shame you for that. In return don't tell us to stop fighting for equality because even though things may be alright for you it doesn't mean they are for everyone and it doesn't mean there isn't work left to do. You're always welcome to join us. Again, you can be a feminist and a stay-at-home mom.

Rachel Breault
Rachel Breault May 8, 2019
At University of Connecticut

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Austin Alexander Burridge, Volunteer Advocate, Shares 3 Great Reasons to Volunteer and Help Others

Austin Alexander Burridge is an avid academic who studies Environmental Science at Winona State University and believes that work in the service of others is a key pillar to personal development.

Pauljohnson7782
Pauljohnson7782 Feb 11, 2019
11055
views

Sometimes it's easy for someone to adopt a "me, me, me" attitude. While focusing on oneself, a person may feel nice in the moment, but serving and helping others will bring lasting benefits. While there are many great reasons to serve and help others, there are three universal truths that resonate with volunteers around the globe.

Austin Alexander Burridge's 3 Reasons to Volunteer:

1. Accomplishment

Often, people fall into a trap of focusing on themselves when they are feeling down. Maybe someone did not get a job they wanted. Or perhaps a person gets dumped by an expected lifelong companion. Maybe someone feels they have underachieved after looking at Facebook and seeing great things a high school classmate has accomplished. When feeling down, helping others is a proven way to improve one's mood and attitude, and it can provide a sense of pride and accomplishment. The act of giving to those in need is an inherently good action and leaves people with a wonderful feeling of joy.

2. Gratitude

One can become more appreciative of life by serving others that have less. Whether volunteering at a soup kitchen, visiting the elderly at an assisted living center, or helping families after a natural disaster, service enables people to be grateful for what they have. Seeing people who have fewer advantages, especially those who are spirited and thankful for small things, allows one to realize just how fortunate he/she is in life.

3. Friendships

Volunteering is a great way to build meaningful friendships, not only with other volunteers but also with those who are served. One of the most profound and fascinating aspects of these relationships is how volunteers will learn from those served and vice versa. As these special bonds are built, they lead to impactful connections that last for years to come.

Of course, these are just a few reasons to volunteer and serve others. One can never go wrong by helping others as opposed to merely focusing on oneself. Volunteering invariably and inevitably contributes to personal growth, development, and satisfaction.

About Austin Alexander Burridge: Helping others has been of paramount importance to Austin, and as a part of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), Austin gave back to the community around him. He also has participated in annual peanut butter drives, The Minnesota Sandwich Project for the Homeless and collected canned goods for local food shelters. Additionally, Austin has a passion for the environment, which he pursued when visiting the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, and the Amazon Rain Forest while studying at the School of Environment Studies, which investigates ecological systems and their sustainability

Pauljohnson7782
Pauljohnson7782 Feb 11, 2019

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Supporting Late-Term Abortion Is Actually The Opposite Of Feminism

Feminism is about gender equality and women supporting women- so shouldn't we support the unborn women of tomorrow?

Monica Marzec
Monica Marzec Jun 18, 2019
23
views

Before you read this, if you are someone who feels strongly that abortions are the "right" choice and that supporting late-term abortions is a step for woman anywhere, I do not suggest you read this article. However, I do want to write that I support conditional abortions- situations where the birth can kill the mother or where conception occurred because of rape. If someone rapes you, that is not okay by any means, and a baby conceived of rape can be terminated by the mother to avoid PTSD, anxiety, depression, panic attacks, and any other mental health diagnoses. Of course, if a woman can bring a baby into the world to keep or give up for adoption, even if it was the product of rape, she should seek life for the innocent child rather than death. And what a rape victim chooses to do is neither here nor there- and it damn well is not anyone else's business.

So why should it be my business (or anyone's) if women have late-term abortions? Agreeing to murder out of convenience should not be societally accepted as okay. When the law passed in New York for late-term abortions, I did not picture 39-week pregnant women rushing to Planned Parenthood to abort their child because they got cold feet. I highly doubt that is the exact scenario for which the law went into effect for, and that was more so intended for women who did not realize they were pregnant and missed the time period to get a legal abortion.

Not that I support early-term abortion, because all abortion is the same regardless of when it happens during the pregnancy. Killing someone sooner rather than later does not make it less worse.

Excuses about how women are not ready to be mothers, do not have the financial means, would ruin their futures, they would get kicked out, lose their bodies, etc. are just that- excuses. Carrying a child for nine months might be an inconvenience, but killing someone will be on your conscience forever. If murders pleaded their motives to police as a way to justify what they did (excluding self-defense), what difference is it if a woman kills her unborn child?

Planned Parenthood might be taboo and have a stigma attached to it, but it does so much more than kill babies. Planned Parenthood is a place where girls can go to see OB/GYNO, get birth control, and learn about safe sex, protection, STDs, etc. Instead of stigmatizing it, young women should be encouraged to go to this institution for woman and feminism. Let high school health classes plan field trips there so that everyone becomes more educated on female health (boys included!). Female health education is very limited, especially in school, and many women feel that an abortion is their only way out, however, it's not. By becoming more educated, the rate of teen pregnancies can go down, as well as the need for abortions. Women educating other women should be the goal of Planned Parenthood, and abortions should be reserved for those who got raped or whose pregnancy cause death, health complications, etc.

Abortion might be giving women a choice- but who is giving the unborn babies a choice?

And of course the only way to 100% prevent pregnancy is abstinence, and if that is your choice then good for you, and if you choose to have sexual intercourse, good for you too. Be safe. No slut shaming here. Women need to continue supporting other women, regardless of their sex life. Women who have abortions are not "whores" and should not be labeled as such- they are just people whose biology reacted to another person's biology.

If you truly do not want to have a baby, please please please give it up for adoption and do not kill it. It did nothing wrong, and yeah, it might be a little inconvenient to be pregnant, especially if you are in school, but there are hundreds of thousands of people that would love nothing more than to raise your baby. Be a woman supporting other woman and give the gift of motherhood.

If you take away anything from this article it's this:



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Monica Marzec
Monica Marzec Jun 18, 2019
At University of Central Florida

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