I have never been more proud of a Fox News anchor. I know. Believe me, I never thought I would say that. But when Megan Kelly confronted blatant sexism, she provided evidence from multiple studies that children from families in which women were the primary breadwinners were no less successful than those from traditional "male-dominant" families.
You can watch the video here.
The Fox Newsmen lay sweeping generalizations that women are more nurturing, and that men cannot take on the role of stay-at-home-parent. While that's sexism at its highest, Kelly does a pretty stellar job refuting that logic.
What I want to talk about is that there is this expectation that one parent can work full time and the other's "job" can be to stay at home and watch the kids.
Obviously, because every man in the world can become filthy rich news anchors who spew out impressive sounding rhetoric while their wives just wait from them to come home, playing Barbies with their daughter.
Hmm.
Let's look at the median household income, shall we? $46,326. And while this is perhaps enough to live modestly with one kid or two, it's not enough to ensure a fulfilling future for the kids--college becomes uncertain. It's not dirt poor, but according to this study, a couple with one child making the average household salary, is spending 47% of their net pay on an average home.
Conversely, those in a dual-earning household make an average of $67,348. While that's enough to live comfortably, not everybody in a dual-earning household may be so lucky. One out of four families make an average of $25,000 a year.
And to those who argue, "don't have kids," or "only take on as much as you can handle," I'd love to get my hands on your crystal ball where you can see every turn in circumstances, every divorce, every layoff.
Since age three, I've lived in two single parent households. And yes, when I was really little, my mom worked part time, for a majority of my life, both my parents have worked full time. And they have always lived by the rule that the kids came first; they spent hours telling bedtime stories, cooking, and watching the imaginative worlds that my brother and I invented.
The Fox news men argue that those in single parent households are more likely to have depression, or be less successful than those in traditional households.
John Lennon's parents disappeared at age five and he ended up living with his aunt. Ever heard of The Beatles?
With divorce rising to an average of 50% of U.S. families, it's become less and less possible to put the role of "breadwinner" on only one parent. But that doesn't make the kids any less loved, or any less successful. If anything, it teaches the children the role of responsibility and how you can't rely on one individual to be the provider.
I'm not disregarding a woman's choice to stay at home. If her dream is to get married and stay with her kids, that's awesome. But if there are families where the parents want or need to both enter the workforce, that doesn't automatically mean a destructive future for the children.
According to the documentary "Happy," the happiest place in the world is Denmark. Here, it's common for multiple families to live in one building and everybody puts in an equal amount of work. With the same amount of work, come the same rewards. The children aren't any less loved; they have a huge community of adults working and caring for them.
A working parent does not equal a less caring parent. And sometimes we seem to underestimate children and their ability to not need their parents every single second of every single day.
I know this was a total rant here. I'll write about pandas or something to make up for it next time.
Namaste.
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