They’re Back!!
I’m very pleased that the Ladies Against Feminism are actively posting articles again! Don’t miss this one, especially, which comments on some of the recent debates about feminism, including the infamous Linda Hirshman article (that I wrote about here):
Amazing, isn’t it? Echoes Vivian Gornick, who wrote 24 years ago, “Being a housewife is an illegitimate profession… The choice to serve and be protected and plan towards being a family-maker is a choice that shouldn’t be. The heart of radical feminism is to change that.” Lest we forget, lest we forget. It isn’t about choice…unless you choose what feminism tells you to choose. Ironic, eh? So, it’s okay for others to force me into a decision (”for the good of society”), but it’s not okay for me to freely choose something I believe is best for my marriage, my family, and my culture? Oh, and a tip to Ms. Hirshman and others monitoring this trend: it isn’t just for the “elite” or the wealthy. Believe it or not, there are those of us out here who choose this lifestyle even though society assures us we can’t afford it, and a consumerist culture does its best to make us feel pinched (even when we’re not). It is possible to forego the whole double-income deal, make simpler choices, and have a very happy and full life. It often means sacrifices, but it doesn’t require an Ivy League degree or a rich husband. Get to know some folks outside of the bridal pages of the New York Times, and you’ll discover an entirely different world. I say “brava” to the “elite” brides who are staying home with their babies, but I save my heartiest cheers for the ordinary women who have truly sacrificed and considered it all joy to let go of the things the world insists are so terribly important so that they might serve their husbands and families.
This is worth quoting, too:
The shame of it all is that so many women have been deceived into believing that being Eve means being a pretty doll without a brain who smiles vacantly while her husband watches TV every night. Forget it. You don’t find that model anywhere in the Bible. You find women whose husbands seek their counsel. You find queens who humble themselves in order to save their people. You find wives of fools who placate kings with their bounteous hospitality and grace. You find beautiful women and plain women. You find real women–women who have a calling and know how to fulfill it…and how to pick up the pieces when they fail. I see nothing in today’s dizzying array of “options” for women that can compare to such a meaningful and wonderful existence. Perhaps one day the Maureen Dowds will look around and realize there are hundreds of thousands of us out here who do not feel “trapped” at home and who have intelligence that–surprise–actually flourishes and makes itself useful outside the confines of a 9-5 job.
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