tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23020174.post8861688719197844326..comments2023-12-02T05:36:17.832-05:00Comments on Sexuality and Religion: What's the Connection?: It's Back...Debra W. Haffnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03018331891805010135noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23020174.post-88057750693892928132007-04-02T10:27:00.000-04:002007-04-02T10:27:00.000-04:00My question is how will this amendment help mother...My question is how will this amendment help mothers? Will it mean that even breastfeeding mothers with very young babies will be drafted into the military because of the principle of forced gender sameness? <BR/><BR/>I've already found that mothers with breastfeeding babies often have difficulty postponing jury service because there is a strong attitude that women are the SAME as men and if MEN wouldn't get a breast infection from being forced to sit for 10 hours while their breasts filled up with milk, women shouldn't get a "break" either. (In my advocacy work, even full-time working moms are often denied the right to pump their breasts, even to relieve their own discomfort - never mind any possible benefit to babies who don't matter in our society anyway.) <BR/><BR/>Will postpartum mothers (even low-income single mothers) be disallowed six weeks' maternity leave because they are supposed to be "equal"? Will it mean that there will be no protection for mothers and babies - especially breastfeeding mothers - because if men can't have babies and breastfeed, women shouldn't have any accommodation for these things?<BR/>(Hey, we can all be sterilized or take Seasonale to make sure we don't even have a monthly hormonal blip or anything.) <BR/><BR/>There are a few conditions - motherhood being the primary one - in which strict gender sameness and interchangeability can end up actually burdening women (and children, but again children don't matter much in our society). <BR/><BR/>Of course, I am for women getting paid the same as men for the same work, having equal educational access, etc.<BR/><BR/>But I do think that when a woman becomes a mother, there are some legitimate accommodations,some situations in which the fact that a woman is capable of childbearing and breastfeeding makes disparate treatment of men and women legitimate. <BR/><BR/>I think some of the unintended (or maybe intended) consequences of a "Womens' Equality Amendment" will actually be to erode the protections (however small they still remain in our society) for mothers and babies - the one area where gender difference actually does matter the most. <BR/><BR/>For feminists (like myself) who believe that mothers and young children still deserve protection and respect, this amendment makes me think that they will be the ones who end up lacking protection. <BR/><BR/>I hope I'm wrong, but as long as there is a strong movement to say that gender difference may never be taken into account for any reason, motherhood (and the baby's need for its mother) will be endangered. I'm sure some people think this is great, but I think if this is the case, humanity will ultimately suffer.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23020174.post-57418699693280473532007-04-02T06:56:00.000-04:002007-04-02T06:56:00.000-04:00"this time it's going to happen"We can hope and wo..."this time it's going to happen"<BR/><BR/>We can hope and work for it!<BR/><BR/>I, too, remember its introduction in 1972 and its ultimate failure to become ratified. Hopefully, the Schlafleys of this country will see it for what it truly is this time around.<BR/><BR/>Can you imagine being *against* an amendment worded such as this? It boggles the mind...DeniseUMLawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11278455047320881546noreply@blogger.com