Doing It Right and Being a Mom

In The Cultural Contradictions of Motherhood, Dr. Sharon Hays speaks about the conflict of mothering and career expectations that women face today. For two years, Dr. Hays, a sociologist studied thirty-eight women from all different classes.

Here is something she has to say about women in our culture never being able to get it right:

"If a woman voluntarily remains
childless, some will say she is cold,
heartless and unfulfilled as a woman.
If she is a mother who works too hard
at
her job or career, some will
accuse her of neglecting the kids. If she
does not
work hard enough,
some will surely place her on the 'mommy track,'
and her career
advancement will be permanently slowed by the claim that her
commitment
to
her children interferes with her work place efficiency. If she
stays
at home with
her children, some will call her unproductive and
useless.
A woman, in other
words, can never fully do it right."

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