tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6606798.post7967293827686758715..comments2024-03-28T22:32:50.562+00:00Comments on Liberal England: Where are Nick Clegg's weird critics?Jonathan Calderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00730157683743989696noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6606798.post-50799771899851030392012-04-23T17:38:11.928+01:002012-04-23T17:38:11.928+01:00Hi Jonathon, I came across an article I wrote on t...Hi Jonathon, I came across an article I wrote on the issue in 2009! http://disconcertediscursives.blogspot.co.uk/2009/09/insert-anti-feminism-attention-grabbing.htmlKelly-Marie Blundellhttp://politicalparry.co.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6606798.post-24103269291468683482012-04-23T15:16:50.982+01:002012-04-23T15:16:50.982+01:00The big thing missing here is mention of the cost ...The big thing missing here is mention of the cost of childcare. UK has some of the world's most expensive - in many cases totally unaffordable. Couple that with an obsession with the nuclear family over the extended one (the latter being a key source of childcare in societies all over the world) and the cost and time of communting/congestion and you end up with this mess.Artnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6606798.post-3120528646627333802012-04-23T14:59:17.782+01:002012-04-23T14:59:17.782+01:00rmc28 is correct, there is a disjointed approach t...rmc28 is correct, there is a disjointed approach to womens' role in society once they have children. <br /><br />Women's magazines, female "friendly" parts of newspapers that feature fashion etc and mainstream media place an unbelievable amount of pressure on women with children. The amount of spurious research that implies a mother must remain at home at least until her child is five to ensure the child reaches their full potential is ridiculous. (I say spurious as most of it is small scale, localised studies which are not longitudinal, fail to take into account primary care givers of other genders or positions in the family and often only apply to British families). <br /><br />Alongside the "damage" a woman inflicts upon her child if she cannot breastfeed, the battle of mothers and work is one of the great unresolved feminist issues in the UK today.Kelly-Marie Blundellhttp://politicalparry.co.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6606798.post-89906020667659502602012-04-22T20:29:45.395+01:002012-04-22T20:29:45.395+01:00"Far from there being pressure on mothers not...<i>"Far from there being pressure on mothers not to work, the reverse is true."</i><br /><br />Jonathan, my experience as a working mother is that <b>both</b> are true: whatever mothers do, they are criticised. Stay-at-home mothers are sponging off their husbands/the state, working mothers are neglecting their children, mothers who work part-time lack commitment. Dividing mothers against themselves seems to be a favourite pastime of the media, setting up artificial "debates" on the topic. Fathers are usually absent from these discussions, or mentioned as an afterthought "there are some stay-at-home dads of course", and almost all discussion of childcare focuses on mothers.<br /><br />You don't have to go to the Daily Mail to meet people of the opinion that mothers shouldn't work. When I wrote on LibDemVoice last summer about my frustrations moving to the state school system from a privately-run nursery, I got a number of comments along the lines that it was all my fault anyway for wanting a career / more money / a flashy lifestyle. I should have stayed at home with the children and taken the system I was given.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6606798.post-41296768112477600422012-04-22T09:22:33.503+01:002012-04-22T09:22:33.503+01:00I was taught that the pressure on mothers to work ...I was taught that the pressure on mothers to work arose when building societies decided to take second incomes into account when granting mortgages. I think this would have been in the 70s? What was cause and what effect, I'm not sure, but you can see how being a working mother could rapidly have gone from option to obligation .Gawainnoreply@blogger.com