Women and work

[fundiefan]

I see. So I wonder how poor Anna T. can explain the - ah, oh so terrible - time she had to take that (woe!) horrendously strenuous two day a week job when her husband was out of work. Does she toss and turn at night wracked with guilt because she potentially "took" a job from a guy (who probably weren't clamoring for that position, anyway) so that she could feed her child? She repeats this bullshit incessantly and it just boggles the mind.

As she's keen on excusing herself from the world outside the confines of her little haven, I'd say she's sure as hell not qualified to lecture me or any other woman on its realities.

That whole situation was like watching an Indie movie. As she worked a job, for pay, outside the house, she still said how women shouldn't work outside the home. She still proclaimed her supposed ideal version of people and life. That has got to be a really, really hard place to be. Doing one thing and saying another. Instead of recognizing that people, no matter who they are or what they want, do what they have to do, she went off to her stressful, exhausting, part time job and still proclaimed how wrong it was to do so - for others. Just give it up. Give up the ideal and do what ya' gotta' do for your family and get on with life.

I think she makes life way harder than it has to be. There is no question that life is hard and everyone has to make hard decisions. But to follow some ideal, yet still have to act and decide in opposition to those ideals just happens.

And, I agree. She is not qualified in any way, shape or form to say what other women's realities are or to judge what is and isn't 'right' in someone else's life.

I also still can't get over her continual proclamation that she 'receives emails' asking questions. Who would write HER to get guidance? I fully believe she wants to jump on her high horse but knows it won't be received well so she makes the excuse that someone came to her directly and asked for her opinion. I honestly find it hard to believe that anyone would specifically ask her about working women if they've ever read her blog or know any of her history or position on matters of the world.

[lilwriter85]

That whole situation was like watching an Indie movie. As she worked a job, for pay, outside the house, she still said how women shouldn't work outside the home. She still proclaimed her supposed ideal version of people and life. That has got to be a really, really hard place to be. Doing one thing and saying another. Instead of recognizing that people, no matter who they are or what they want, do what they have to do, she went off to her stressful, exhausting, part time job and still proclaimed how wrong it was to do so - for others. Just give it up. Give up the ideal and do what ya' gotta' do for your family and get on with life.

I think she makes life way harder than it has to be. There is no question that life is hard and everyone has to make hard decisions. But to follow some ideal, yet still have to act and decide in opposition to those ideals just happens.

And, I agree. She is not qualified in any way, shape or form to say what other women's realities are or to judge what is and isn't 'right' in someone else's life.

I also still can't get over her continual proclamation that she 'receives emails' asking questions. Who would write HER to get guidance? I fully believe she wants to jump on her high horse but knows it won't be received well so she makes the excuse that someone came to her directly and asked for her opinion. I honestly find it hard to believe that anyone would specifically ask her about working women if they've ever read her blog or know any of her history or position on matters of the world.[/quote]

I wouldn't be surprised if some people actually were emailing her and asking questions. Some of these bloggers have managed to get groupies who admire them and think they can do no wrong. ZsuZsu has her groupies and even Jessica had a few of them.

[themadapple]

I also still can't get over her continual proclamation that she 'receives emails' asking questions. Who would write HER to get guidance? I fully believe she wants to jump on her high horse but knows it won't be received well so she makes the excuse that someone came to her directly and asked for her opinion. I honestly find it hard to believe that anyone would specifically ask her about working women if they've ever read her blog or know any of her history or position on matters of the world.

She could be making the e-mails up, though I wouldn't be surprised if others were actually writing to her. Either way, I think she gets off on playing the sort of wise counselor. If you look back, you'll notice that she was giving advice on running a household and marriage well before she was married or had children herself. I can't presume to know for sure what her home life is actually like, but perhaps acting the part enables her to get her mind off of things and live a sort of fantasy. The Christian fundie-ish talk combined with Orthodox Judaism also gives her a bigger audience.

Yep, Anna T, you've gotta do what you've gotta do, and so do we. Women have been working their asses off since the beginning of time, whether they liked it and found it fulfilling or not. I'm not sure a woman of the past would have appreciated her spiel or that of many of these fundie women we encounter. I remember one fundie or another pointing to a Little House scene in which the women harvested the crops while the men were away and finding that positively unfeminine and ungodly. Well, if they had stayed in and made delicate little pretties all day, it wouldn't have been a pretty time...

[browngrl]

Why do these people feel the need to shove their ideas on what women should do down my throat? I'm glad she is happy at home. I would be miserable. I like working. Sure my job is stressful but apart from winning the lottery or being adopted by a wealthy person who wants to give me a huge inheritance I can't think of a better way to take care of myself. I like the independence and freedom a job gives me. I like having the opportunity to pursue my dreams/goals. My husband would not want me any other way. He can't abide weak dependent women. If these women are content to be submissive and to put away all their own dreams and ambitions - so be it. I am not. Why can't these people understand that different people need different things and that doesn't mean you are evil/selfish/unworthy. It just means you are different. :angry-banghead:

[formergothardite]

Do we know if anti-working fundie women go to female doctors? Wouldn't there be defrauding if all your doctors are men? Or are unattended childbirth and home remedies supposed to get around that problem entirely?

I have read some blogs where the women would never go to female doctors because they believed that by doing so they would be supporting a life of sin (byhisgraceandforhisglory.blogspot.com is one of them). But then there are people like Kristina who are totally against women working yet would only see women doctors. I remember when people here called her out on it she just flounced and wouldn't talk about it. I have found most of the people who are anti-women working and pro-women doctors respond that way because it is impossible for them to justify their actions with their beliefs.

[Dinorah]

I know I've mentioned this before, but is she aware that some Orthodox women have a tradition of working while the husbands are the ones who stay home and study? Ok, she doesn't want to work and that's fine, but how can she demonize women working to such an extent, considering they have been always doing it in her culture. Maybe someone should email Anna about that. She seems to be trying to twist Protestand fundamentalism into Judaism .

[kpmom]

These women who refuse to go to women doctors; Do they refuse to shop at stores that employ women? Refuse to eat at restaurants where women work? Won't accept mail from a female mail carrier? Refuse to go to those male doctors who employ women as part of their office staff?

Unless these women are living completely off the grid, they are dealing with evil working women all day, every day.

[deelaem]

what would fundies do for porn? they would have to watch guy on guy porn. We all know there is more porn watching in the fundie world then ever is know. Studies have shown that more porn is paid for in the bible belt then anywhere else in the us.

[darkplumaged]

Working makes my life complicated. It consumes much (sometimes too much) of my time and energy. But I don't WANT to stop. My husband REALLY doesn't want me to stop. My income may be pretty small, but that doesn't mean it's unimportant. And working is good for my brain; when I went through a dry spell last year (I'm a freelance editor), it was hard to get in gear when I got busy again because I was out of practice.

Now, I don't have children, and I work at home; I would feel differently about work if I had kids or had to commute every day. But even if I do have children, I don't plan to give up work entirely. We'll still need the money, and I'll still need the mental challenge. Living in a tiny house in the middle of nowhere like Anna T. does is not my idea of a good time--and we need my income to move up and stay up.

[doggie]

it's called sarcasm.

[GolightlyGrrl]

Shorter Anna T: "I went out into the real world and couldn't handle it because I'm a whiny twit with a brain made of pudding. Therefore, no women should ever work outside the home."