Moms (was: Does JKR's portrayal of woment combat sexism?

[catlady_de_los_angeles]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at y..., "cindysphynx" <cindysphynx at c...> wrote:

> Maybe I just don't have a clear idea of what you mean by "higher 
> regard" for the role of mother. (snip)
> I'm having trouble understanding the argument, I think.  Maybe the 
> problem is that I really don't see why a mother is entitled 
> to "higher regard" in society than a woman who chooses not to have 
> children or cannot have children.  Or a man who chooses to be a 
> father, for that matter.  I just don't get it.

Cindy, my recollection is that you posted about this yourself less 
than a month ago. IIRC you complained of men who patronised you for 
being 'just a mom' and employed women who asked you what on earth you 
found to do all day. That's a social attitude, and it's hard to 
think of laws that could change it. Maybe a law not allowing people, 
even biological legal parents, to be waking time caretakers of 
children without a license that requires passing a difficult exam. As 
long as raising children is viewed as work suitable for illiterate 
and non-English-speaking illegal immigrants who work for half of 
minimum wage, how *could* full-time moms be held in high regard? 
They're doing work that is (according to the free market) almost 
worthless (value-less). 

Maybe a law that all people have to give the woman who was their 
childhood caretaker one-third (before taxes) of all their income for 
the rest of her life. That would give it money value.

I do not believe that the free market (whose unfreedom is a whole 
'nother rant) is the truest possible judge of values, and I am 
troubled that the children of the college-educated class (ooh, the 
classism can of worms!) are being raised by people who tell them that 
evolution is a lie and 3.01 is bigger than 3.1 because it has more 
digits and Botticelli's Birth of Venus is disgusting pornography 
because it's a nude ... and that only fags and lesbos study for 
school or read for pleasure ... but I am worse than troubled, I am 
empathically agonized, at the thought of intelligent, talented women 
(or even men) spending eighteen-plus *years* imprisoned, caged up 
with children (who are horrible by definition)! Even merely having to 
spend nights and weekends in that prison is more suffering than *I* 
could ever endure.