<p>I think as the older generation dies off, some attitudes may change.
( although I am blown away at how long lived, those born in the 1920’s seem to be.
Of my friends who are 10-15 yrs older than I am, about half of their parents - mostly mothers, are still alive. Not living in nursing homes either although thankfully most of them have given up their cars)</p>
<p>I don’t want this thread to get shut down, but womens rights are tied to political actions. </p>
<p>At least we can all be high and gay married. ( in many states)
;)</p>
<p>“Sex” is the gender you’re born as, basically what you are. “Gender” is what you identify as. So if a born male decided in their mind that they’re a female, their sex is still male, but their gender is female.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>A mother is more than just a mother. Are people better off being French than American provided they are a mother? I’m skeptical, France is a much poorer country than the US. Are the benefits of being a mother in France so overwhelming that it makes up for the difference in wealth and income?</p>
<p>Yes. It is very inexpensive to get high quality highly educated childcare in France. It is seen as a top priority. Also, the tax breaks for parents are much higher than here. Childcare in france is considered a “profession.” It’s very supported by the culture. This is due to the fact that for a long time the french were having trouble with women not wanting to have children. We may have this arise here if the things I hear my daughters and their friends saying turn out to be true. Certainly none of these young women see being a working mother under the current circumstances to be all that great or even desirable, and none of them want to give up work.</p>
<p>Oh dear - So many responses come to mind. If a mother is more than just a mother, what is that more? Is it a job? Because women don’t have guaranteed childcare in this country and thus we have children left in cars and playgrounds while their moms work minimum pay jobs to try to support them. How do minimum wage earning women, with children to support, benefit from living in the US compared to a western European country? The usual response is that those women shouldn’t have kids. Of course, they could elsewhere. Basically mothers and children are the future of the country. Some countries give all financial incentives to women to reproduce. We are limiting a woman’s access to controlling her fertility but then not helping her support her babies. And blaming her for the situation. I would agree the US is a pretty good country for white males.</p>
<p>Agree with poetgrl on France - my niece and nephews spent a month at my house this past summer, complete with their dual French/US passports. They are healthy, happy, well-travelled, multi-lingual, better educated than their US peers, and have no need for things like Health Savings Accounts or college funds.</p>
<p>I do not recall ever having family discussions over feminism or ever wondering if it applied to us. I married an extremely strong woman who has no hesitation over going toe-to-toe with men. She does, however, occasionally get push-back from men who feel women should swallow their BS and capitulate. There are still gender differences in the business world; she notices it is more common when dealing with Texas or Georgia than here in WA state. She has also been sexually harassed at every job she has had up until opening her own business.</p>
<p>Our daughter is feminine but not at all girly. Her kindergarten picture had 13 princesses and one floppy-eared dog. She never played with dolls but her stuffed dragons were building nests and having babies.</p>
<p>Editing to Add: 40% of the people in the US with dental problems cannot afford dental care. A friend had to pull his daughter’s teeth with pliers. </p>
<p>What is the average salary of a woman in the US?
What is the average cost of childcare?</p>
<p>Obviously this isn’t that big a problem for CEOs able to create nurseries next to their offices for baby and nanny. That isn’t many mothers.</p>
<p>adding: and when poetgrl’s daughters who probably can afford to take their babies to work, aren’t enthusiastic about having children - I think the situation is really bad. Though of course I don’t think any woman should be expected to have children. It’s not for everyone, for sure.</p>
<p>Well, too, I think it’s important to remember that in France childcare is considered a profession. People who work in childcare get paid vacations and healthcare and have a special education. It is affordable and subsidized and consistently high quality because the French see the children as a something society “needs.” I suspect we, too, see this, but how we want to manage it so far seems to be to make it the sole responsibility of the woman, and the man if he chooses to stick around and/or contribute. For a woman in France, having a child is seen as beneficial to the country. Here it is seen as something else. I don’t know what. It probably depends on how you see it. </p>
<p>I see this as possibly a racial issue… Though France has found some way to work it out so I don’t know.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Between the US and France, the US still comes ahead. The difference between incomes in the US and France are huge. If you picked two different countries, like US and Germany, then I don’t know.</p>
<p>yes. Well, it seems to me that the people who believe this are also the people who believe that anyone who gets pregnant should be made to carry to term and deliver. Odd.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Interestingly, this is of almost no use to an individual woman when making choices about whether or not to have children. Consider this: The largest demographic living in poverty in the United States is single women with children and…wait for it… yes, their children.</p>
<p>vladenschlutte: The difference is huge for you. Is it huge for the average woman? Taking into account we still have a wage gap in this country? And how does it look for mothers (once you factor in the expense of raising children) compared to child free women? </p>
<p>It’s worthwhile comparing incomes of people in the bottom quartile. Or even in the bottom half. How does US vs France, or US vs Germany, compare then?</p>
<p>Not sure, CF. I’d like to see those numbers, too. </p>
<p>I did a quick search on child poverty. The US, unsurprisingly is the 2nd worst in developed countries behind Romania (nearly 1 in 4 children in poverty here). Germany is at 10% and has been actively trying to change this for a while. France is slightly lower. </p>
<p>I’d rather be poor in Germany than here, that’s for sure. </p>
<p>On the same measure what is the gap in France? Going off this picture <a href=“Gender pay gap - Wikipedia”>Gender pay gap - Wikipedia; then still yes, the average woman in the US makes more than the average woman in France. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Don’t know, do you have data? </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>The gap would be smaller in both those cases than for the population overall. Though why is this comparison relevant? </p>
<p>Right. Odd. My takeaway is that poor women don’t deserve to have sex, which is free entertainment. Either the rich want to keep this entertainment just for themselves or want to impose some sort of morality on those with less power. Either way - kind of sad </p>
<p>And we’re back to feminism. Thank the stars that feminists have been fighting their butts off to ensure that every woman who wants to is able to control her fertility. We’re not there yet, which is why we sure as heck still need feminist activists </p>
<p>Right. But the average woman in France pays nothing for childcare, or a negligible amount. The average woman in the US pays dearly, and for less. </p>
<p>Hence: it is better to be a mother in France than the US. Also, the inconvenience of getting childcare in the US is unbelievable. In France it is de riguer. </p>
</p>
