Kiss My Ass! (or, "In Response to that Bitch, Linda Hirshman")

I hate to even give this woman any publicity at all, but Linda’s book, Get to Work: A Manifesto for Women of the World, is highly disturbing. You can read more of her philosophy here: http://www.gettoworkmanifesto.com/

But the gist of her philosophy is that women who MAKE THE CHOICE to stay at home to RAISE THEIR CHILDREN instead of allowing some stranger to do it for them is HARMING society. She says that stay at home moms are harming women, are “destructive and dangerous,” “delusional,” not independent, and doing more social harm than good.

Answer me this one, Linda… Is making the person you chose to bring into this world feel safe, secure, and LOVED destructive? Socially harmful? Dangerous? Harming society? HOW, exactly?

Face it, when the choice is made to have a child, then that innocent child becomes the priority. NOT one’s career. Sadly, people like you perpetuate the myth that a woman needs to have a career in order to be fulfilled and have worth. Who, exactly, are you to tell me what will make me feel worthy and fulfilled? You see, for me, it isn’t some big “win” at work that does it. Nope. It’s the shining hope and smile in my son’s eyes when he asks me to play a game with him or sit and watch a movie with him that really does it. The rest is NOTHING.

I went to daycare at around the age of two. I put my son into daycare when he was 19 months old so that I could go back to work. While I do feel comforted by the fact that my child is in a good and safe environment in which he has made many friends and has learned much, it is NOT the same as me staying at home full time. Those two teachers in his classroom do not have the bandwidth to give my son the number of hugs and kisses that he requires on a daily basis. It is my responsibility to do ALL I CAN to ensure that my child becomes a good member of society and has a moral compass. It is NOT my responsibility to further anyone’s cause but his.

THAT, my dear, is what it is all about. I couldn’t care LESS about my “career.” If I could, I’d leave it in a second to be with my boy.

If you have any children, Linda, I feel more compassion for them than you will ever know.