COMMENTARY | The stay-at-home mom remarks uttered by misguided Democratic commentator Hilary Rosen on CNN highlights how desperate liberals are to claim that Republicans have waged a war on women.
Stay-at-home moms work hard every single day, even if though they do not earn a paycheck. Feminists should be in an uproar over the attack on a woman's right to make important lifestyle choices, but they have remained silent on the issue. Rosen's claims that Ann Romney has no right to comment on issues she believes are important because she chose to remain at home with her five children are demeaning.
Making the decision to leave your children in the care of others or to set aside your own aspirations and devote the maximum amount of time possible to child rearing is the most difficult decision any mother ever faces. Balancing work and family can be a hardship, but is often necessary to make ends meet, especially during a rough economy. Professional and stay-at-home moms should not be pitted against one another.
Ann Romney had the luxury to afford to staying at home with her children, spending time volunteering for charitable causes and helping care for her 16 grandchildren. She should not feel guilty about her choice or ousted from conversations which involve women's issues. According to America's Families and Living Arrangements statistics quoted on Fox News, in 2010 approximately 5 million women opted to remain inside the home instead of rejoining the workforce once they became mothers.
Rosen and her ex-girlfriend, Elizabeth Birch. have shared the parenting duties of adopted twins since the couple separated in 2006. Birch owns a consulting firm with offices in two states, according to the company website. Based on Rosen's thinking, stay-at-home moms could argue that she is not qualified to discuss issues important to children and mothers because the twins spend a lot of time with caregivers.
Rosen's aggravation with Ann Romney stems not from her choice to be a stay-at-home mom but with the wealth her husband accrued to allow the children to be raised by a mother and not babysitters. Even in 2012 many women still struggle with stereotypical expectations to be the primary homemakers and caregivers while working outside the home to help pay the bills. Both professional women and stay-at-home moms have something to contribute when women's issues are debated.
