Feminism and family

There are people in feminism who refer to mothers as =E2=80=9Cbreeders.=E2=
=80=9D This angers me. What angers me the most about this is complete lack =
of respect for child-bearing and child-rearing. Bringing life into the worl=
d and taking care of it is one of the most important things that a person c=
an do. And without people doing that, you =E2=80=93 and I - would not be al=
ive.

One of the saddest statements I=E2=80=99ve heard was a feminist graduate st=
udent referring to her body as useless. Useless? How can it be useless? The=
 female body can produce new life. What can be more useful than that?

In some circles, family is a dirty word. The problem here is confusion betw=
een a value and the misuses of the value. Wrong things that get done in fam=
ilies discredit family itself, leading many honest people to become anti-fa=
mily. The problem is not with family; it is with wrong things that get done=
 in families. Family can, and should, be done better.

The women who don=E2=80=99t want to have children should be left free to th=
eir choices. But so should women who do want to have children. I anticipate=
 that most women will want to have children. Which means that the correct s=
tance for feminists to make is not to discourage them from having children,=
 but to support them as parents and help them face whatever struggles they =
face as part of family life.

I would therefore like to see feminists encouraging their followers to have=
 children. That way the feminists get to pass on their values to more peopl=
e and make them matter in the lives of more people. Family and feminism sho=
uld not be things hostile to one another. It should be possible for feminis=
m-influenced people to have families and raise their children with feminist=
 values.

So no, the female body is far from useless. Here is something that women ca=
n do that men can=E2=80=99t. Affirming it is profoundly empowering to the w=
omen. Feminists should not be referring to these women as =E2=80=9Cbreeders=
.=E2=80=9D They should be supporting them as mothers and helping them to fa=
ce whatever they face in that role. And then feminists will actually be spe=
aking for women and doing what they need to do for women=E2=80=99s well-bei=
ng to be achieved.