The Granola Extreme - Page 17

[Hazelnut]

I know I should be kind of disturbed by the pure/nonpure thing, but it's so out blatant that I almost find it kind of hilarious.

[marybethorama]

Originally Posted by Hazelnut

I know I should be kind of disturbed by the pure/nonpure thing, but it's so out blatant that I almost find it kind of hilarious.

it's hard to take it seriously.

-Aldulterated Mom aka:

[TranscendentalMom]

Originally Posted by jazzharmony

Sears' troubles run a lot deeper than that. He's a homophobic sexist for two. I stopped buying his books long ago and I encourage others to do the same. There are other authors out there who promote gentle parenting w/o the fundemental religious views thrown in. Talk about judgmental...

Really? Does he say things about homosexuals? The sexist views run throughout his books...in the healthiest child in your neighborhood, he goes on and on about what mothers feed their children, he could easily have edited the whole thing to say "parents" but over and over it sends the msg...mothers are solely responsible for their childrens diets.

[lolalola]

Originally Posted by Demeter9

This is one of my only complaints about the feminist movement. That motherhood is not embraced. That marriage is not embraced.

I think it drives most women away. It absolutely drives away immigrant women, when they are the women who could usually be the most helped by the original suffrage movement.

I think it limits the ability of feminism to be accepted into all cultures. Makes it far more difficult for real women to get into the trenches with women all over the World, to help women with actual issues in their lives and their culture.

The fact is that most women are mothers. Most women will marry. Making these two basic life experiences of women out to be hideous, unappealing, oppressive, and unacceptable to the free woman is ridiculous and dangerous. Worse, it is a useless endevour rendering the people who propogate it useless to the lives of almost every woman on the planet.

The fact is and will remain that in EVERY culture where women are free, children are treated better. The cultures themselves are more fluid. That alone makes feminism for everyday women the best thing on the planet. To refuse to acknowledge and embrace one of the most universal female experiences on the planet is like pretending that the Sun doesn't exist.

Interesting post. Can you elaborate a bit on what you mean by 'free women'?

[thismama]

Originally Posted by TranscendentalMom

Really? Does he say things about homosexuals? The sexist views run throughout his books...in the healthiest child in your neighborhood, he goes on and on about what mothers feed their children, he could easily have edited the whole thing to say "parents" but over and over it sends the msg...mothers are solely responsible for their childrens diets.

Yes he makes extremely offensive comments about homosexuality in his book for fathers.

Reading that crap was the end of my respect for Dr. Sears.

[Demeter9]

Originally Posted by lolalola

Interesting post. Can you elaborate a bit on what you mean by 'free women'?

People who are free under the law, people who have access to the pursuit of the equality of opportunities available. Very simply that.

Given the legal freedom to avail oneself of the opportunities we see fit for ourselves is the most basic freedom upon which all other freedom of self is created. Even if the available opportunities for an individual or culture are limited to an extent, the legal freedom of equal opportunity increases exponentially over the years and generations. So that the woman who exercises freedoms today, actually increases those possibilities for successive generations. Simply through the pursuit of freedom and the establishment of such in one's own life.

[lolalola]

Originally Posted by Demeter9

So that the woman who exercises freedoms today, actually increases those possibilities for successive generations. Simply through the pursuit of freedom and the establishment of such in one's own life.

I really like the way you put this, and it echoes the way I model MY feminism (particularly for my daughter). I'm sure you've heard of, maybe read, Adrienne Rich's book Of Woman Born ? (It's 30 years old now...yikes.)

Whenever I start to feel guilty about living an independent life--outside and in combination with my role as a mother, I read this part:

[What daughters need] are mothers who want their own freedom and ours...The quality of the mother's life - however, embattled and unprotected - is her primary bequest to her daughter, because a woman who can believe in herself, who is a fighter, and who continues to struggle to create livable space around her, is demonstating to her daughter that these possibilities exist. (1979; 247)