Ohhh, I just read something that has got me sooo

Fired UP!!!! Whew, here is what I read!

Fast Chat: Managing Mommies Newsweek June 19, 2006 issue -

In "Get to Work: A Manifesto for Women of the World," Linda Hirshman, a retired philosophy professor, argues that women should stop wasting their expensive degrees in the nursery. She spoke with Peg Tyre.

Peg Tyre: What's wrong with a woman quitting if she wants to and can afford it? Don't you think it's a little weird that it's only women who make this choice? What exactly do they see as their range of choice? And is this a good choice? The fact they chose it doesn't make it right. Why not?

Linda Hirshman: Well, if you have two or three children, you're out of the work force for 13 years. And you should have work that brings you influence, honor, compensation, a way of being political and a hand in shaping the world around you.

Peg Tyre: You really think stay-at-home moms can't lead honorable, risk-taking, intellectual lives?

Linda Hirshman: Right. And don't hit me with those fantastical volunteer jobs. They don't exist. You lay out rules for women who want careers. Yes. Don't study art—take your education seriously to prepare for a life of work. Never quit your job until you have another one. Bargain relentlessly for a just household. Consider a reproductive strike.

Peg Tyre: You suggest that women have one child, but you have three.

Linda Hirshman: I have a biological child and two stepchildren. I'm not basing that recommendation on my experience. Social scientists tell us women are more likely to leave the work force after the birth of a second child.

Peg Tyre: What do you think of female law-school grads who make the decision to take time off to have kids?

Linda Hirshman: I think they have not treated themselves fairly. If they have spent years in a very difficult technical education and it is not empowering them to have a better life as a result, then maybe they should have studied something else. The work of child rearing is not so great that you should take it all on yourself.

Peg Tyre: Don't you think it's wrong to impose your standards on all women and call it feminism?

Linda Hirshman: These are not just my standards; they are based on studying history. Who changes history? What contributions get remembered most? Women are human beings. They are entitled to be analyzed as full members of the human species.



Okay, I am going to let everyone chew on that piece of journalism and I will be back to write my thoughts after I am done not living up to my full potential by making dinner for my family. AYIYIYIYI!!! Whew, I am so fired up!!