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Don't know how she does it?
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I Don't Know How She Does It, the film starring Sarah Jessica Parker in which a woman struggles to balance motherhood with a high-flying career, has reignited the 'can women have it all?' debate. Noticeably lacking from many discussions, though, is the question of where the fathers are in all this.
David Cox in The Guardian wrote a scathing piece about why women who try to 'have it all' are selfish because motherhood is a choice and so women must make the necessary sacrifices.
Well, yes, except many women have no choice but to work; in fact, it was a 1950s propaganda myth that has led so many women to think they should be at home full-time with their children - For the vast majority of people, women have always had to work to provide for their families.
And where are the men? Why is it the woman's responsibility to take a sick child to hospital, as Cox implies in his article?
There is still an underlying assumption that the woman is the primary carer for the child and must take on the burden of childcare responsibilities - Not amongst the men who actually do a lot to help their children, but among the commentators who want to slam women for wanting to have a career as well as be mothers.
This is just yet more sexism and reinforces the damaging notions that fathers are disposible (as long as they're bringing in the money, who cares if they never see their child?). Such attitudes do a disservice to women who want more than to solely look after children and to men who would like to actually see their kids instead of just paying for them.
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