First, I'd like to start off by saying that I am a huge believer in every individual's right to live the life they want, in exactly the way that they want to live it. I am also a huge advocate for the freedom of speech and I think that Odyssey is an incredible platform for the voicing of one's opinions.

That being said, I am also a huge advocate for gender equality and the belief that men and women are inherently equal. Even if you choose not to abide by that belief in your own home, the language used in last week's article "I Don't Want My Husband To Help Me With Housework" degrades and limits women everywhere who may not hold the same belief system as the author.

Let me elaborate.

I like taking care of people. I work as an after-school nanny. I want a family - a husband, a couple kids, and a lot of pets. And I want to take care of them. I love to cook, and I don't mind cleaning.

But I also want a career.

I want to graduate college, go to law school, and be successful. And that doesn't make me, or any other woman like me, any less "feminine" and it doesn't mean we are wanting to "become the men." Language such as this discourages women everywhere from following their dreams and pursuing their own careers.

Why does it have to be so black and white? Why is it that if women want a career outside of their home, they are trying to "compete with their husbands"? Why can't we create households where men and women are equal partners - both work, both clean, and both take care of the kids?

I believe that women can have both.

And they should have both, if they want to.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not pushing this lifestyle as the ideal structure of a happy home. I simply believe that it's one of them. I believe there are happy homes where the husband works, and the wife stays home - because she wants to. I believe there are happy homes where the wife works and the husband stays home - because he wants to. And I believe there are happy homes where both partners share the work outside and inside the home - because that's the way that works best for them.

But that does not give any one person a right to degrade the way someone else chooses to build their lives, and their homes. Especially when it's discounting such a huge section of the female population who chooses to pursue a career over staying home and taking care of the house and kids.

So live your life the way you want. But if you are "uncomfortable" at the thought of a man cleaning the dishes, please keep that discomfort to yourself and don't use it to perpetuate the constraining gender roles many women are still struggling every day to overcome.

No, just because I want a career outside of the home doesn't mean I want to "become the man."

And I can promise you that the man I choose to spend my life with will support me in my career, just as I'll support him in his - and we'll share responsibilities equally, and happily.