Kyle I in no way want to come at this from a victim’s perspective. That does nobody any good. You are correct.
And I don’t think it’s the fault of a particular demographic that culture expects different things of different genders. I’m not mad at men for this inequity.
I DO acknowledge that men sacrifice a lot to raise children, mostly by having the expectation of being the provider thrust upon them. Absolutely.
I also agree that the equation is insanely complex and can’t be solved solely by looking at gender.
In fact, I think it’s mostly our crazy economics and the constant grind to create sufficient income that may be at the root of this issue.
This study from Yale does a pretty good job of detailing out some of the facts -
No. I’m not trying to argue from a feminist victim perspective.
I just recognize that there are a LOT of factors that go into people’s varied choices of how to exist in this modern world.
It’s not just about what we WANT to do. It’s about what we all HAVE to do to make it work. Right?
So when an analysis comes out and measures the percentage of gender in the 1%, and finds that most of those who earn the income are men, I think there is more than simply personal choice going on here.
I think our choices are still strongly influenced (not dictated) by old cultural stories.
Just because I (woman) can carry and bear a child into this world doesn’t mean that I am the only one capable of raising and caring for said child.
Men also have this capability, and it’s actually not fair to them that they are forced to work outside the home if they’d rather spend more time with their families.
It bothers me that gendered expectations of work, and the economics of running a home create the expectations we are talking about here.
And what bothers me the most is that caring work doesn’t have an economic value assigned to it. While knowledge and physical work earn money, caring work does not.
And that’s not fair for anyone.
Optimistically, the fact that we are even having this conversation means the underlying story is in a time of transition. In the 80’s, this exchange between us wouldn’t have happened.
