In the movie Kramer vs. Kramer, mama Kramer leaves papa and baby in search of ‘having it all’
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Right now, being a parent is really hard. Both mom and dad are expected to work full time, but household incomes and wealth have stagnated, meaning that families have to struggle to find adequate childcare and house-care to enable them both to participate in the market. Elizabeth Warren talked about it in her book the two income trap. What’s even worse is that since families are now expected to have two incomes, a lot of positional goods—education, housing—and scarce goods like healthcare have inflated in cost far outpacing rises in income or wealth. All this looks like a cruel trick. Wasn’t the entrance of women into the workplace meant to make things better for people? There’s a longstanding narrative that the two income trap is in some ways feminism’s fault. That by insisting on the ambitions of wealthy, white, educated women for professional advancement, feminism made it normal for women to attempt to have it all: to be wives, mothers, and professionals. But this balancing act is impossible, leaving us to the situation where we are at today, where having children and maintaining a career seems impossible.
Kirsten Swinth shows this wasn’t feminism’s fault. That far be it from being callous to the needs of the household, Second Wave Feminism was deeply invested in trying to make childcare, housecare, and marriages far more equitable for men and women. She details a number of activists, organizations, and movements that were supposed to make all of this easier. What happened was that in the 1980s, after some major defeats, a narrative rose up that it was all feminism’s fault. Listen to hear about how it’s not! It’s Nixon’s fault. (And more!)
Further Reading
Kirsten Swinth, Feminism’s Forgotten Fight
Brendan Mackie (that’s me), The Impossibility of the Natural, Happy Baby
Elizabeth Warren, Two Income Trap
Alix Kates Shuman A Marriage Agreement
James Levine, Who Will Raise the Children? New Options for Fathers (and Mothers)
Betty Friedan, The Feminine Mystique
Pat Mainardi, The Politics of Housework