I feel that so many people look down upon being a stay-at-home mom, but if one chooses that route is it really so bad? A piece of feminism is standing up for what we want as women and doing it. If a woman wants to stay at home and has that option available to her, I don't think that it should be frowned upon. For example, my mom is a stay at home mom, but she was really never even home because she always had so much going on. Many stay at home moms have college degrees and have worked previously, but when life gets hectic and children enter the picture, they choose to be at the house. My mom has done and still does so much for me and all of my siblings. It is not as if her days are unproductive.. She exercises, goes to the store (very often because there are 4 kids in my house), takes my siblings to appointments or practices, volunteers at places such as the women's center or Big brother/ Big sister, and honestly so much more.
So many stay at home mothers that I know are some of the most involved women in volunteer groups and I know that they have such a positive impact on peoples' lives.
As how Trigg and Balliet said in "Learning Across Boundaries", "Women students today can utilize women's history to reflect on ways, both positive and negative, in which their voluntarism might impact the lives of those they serve in the community. They can gain a growing recognition of themselves as women and as citizen leaders from community service" (pg. 4). My grandmother Sue also does not get paid for the work that she does and technically does not have a "paid job", but she is one of the strongest and most amazing women that I know. She was named a "Great Woman of Texas" in 2013. My entire family is all heavily involved at The Women's Center in Fort Worth. I am not at all trying to come off as boastful, but I think that this is a truly great and personal example of how a woman does not NEED to have a job in order to have a profound impact. Having been around some of the families and heard the stories of the people who have come to The Women's Center when in times of extreme struggle or abuse, it has brought me to realize how much hope, strength, and aid the center gives them. I do not think that it depends necessarily on how big of a job you have (as a woman or a man) or total lack of a job thereof, to make an impact and rise up in society, it is the legacy that one leaves behind that matters the most.
That said, I absolutely agree that women should fight for an equal place in society and should not let men push us around, but I also believe that many women need to realize that a "stay-at-home mom" is not necessarily someone who chooses to stick to old traditions, these women can be some of the most powerful women of all.
http://www.blogher.com/i-would-love-be-housewife-there-ive-said-it
After reading what Lauren said about being a stay at home mom, I would have to agree with her on her opinions. I personally know plenty of stay at home moms. My mom is not one, but she works from home. So she is still around all the time and helps out my family with our needs first before hers. According to the article, I agree with the author, because she gives points of what stay at home moms do besides the typical stereotype of what people think a stay at home mom. In the article, she admits to loving being a "housewife". She says that she wasn't mad when she put her husbands needs before hers or when she had to pick up around the house. She was commented from her father-in-law about how she was "very self-sufficient". Overall, I do not have anything against stay at home moms and think they work just as had as other women that have jobs but in a different way.
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