I just found this really great post that I wanted to share with you:
It seems like elite women who came of age in the 1970s made much more intentional decisions about their lives with respect to feminist values than women like me who came of age in the 1980s and 1990s. Are these elite families aware of the similarities between them and evangelical families in the way they’ve chosen to arrange their household economies and to allocate the labor of adults? Is the shared value of patriarchal privilege in fact a feature, not a bug, even among so-called “liberal” families?
The women and men I’m writing about are the same demographic that Sheryl Sandberg addressed in her recent book, Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead. What, I wonder, do these elites tell their daughters about the importance of working hard in school and getting a college education? Don’t they ever wonder what kind of example they’re setting? Do they care? A woman at the reunion (no job, 3 kids) told me that a friend (no job, 3 kids) called her recently in tears because her daughter said to her, “Mom, if you went to such a great school, why don’t you have a job?”
I’m not the type to sympathize with a surly tween, but that’s not a bad question. What was the point of that college/M.A./M.S./Ph.D./M.D./J.D. degree if you’re not going to use it somehow? I can’t believe I’ve lived long enough to see my age-peers give credence to that age-old antifeminist claim that it’s pointless to admit women to college/professional school or to hire them “because they’re just going to get pregnant and quit. Why waste it on them, when their spot could go to a man who will use his education/opportunity?”
There is more, so make sure you follow the link and read it. In case you don’t like links, I will quote the most important part of the post:
Here’s a useful tip: if you have a college education and unemployment seems like a good idea, seek treatment. If you are educated for and capable of a decent job, the disinclination to work should be seen as a symptom of an underlying problem, not a lifestyle “choice.”
This is absolutely true. It is also absolutely true if we remove the “if you are educated for and capable of a decent job” part. Fear of being present in the public sphere is definitely unhealthy.
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