I’ve really enjoyed reading all your thoughtful responses to this article. I don’t have too much to add to what’s been said, but I thought I’d briefly share two passing thoughts I had while reading through this thread.

I’ll preface this by saying that I usually avoid these kinds of articles and discussions for several reasons. Firstly, I think this conversation too often takes precedence over other issues impacting a broader cross-section of women. Which I can live with, I guess, but it would be preferable if when these conversations did arise we could be more honest about the extremely limited scope of the topic at hand. The author is only speaking to and for a very tiny subset of women and even just making the headline “Why Professional Women X” or “Why Upper-Middle Class Women X” would have, ironically, gone a long way towards recognizing and acknowledging the fact that feminism isn’t just for privileged women. While I don’t agree with the way Wurtzel goes about it in this article, or even much of what she says, she, at least, drives that particular point home.

Secondly, I appreciated Courtney bringing up the fact that balancing work and life is not just a “woman’s issue”- and as long as we continue to frame it that way, we are contributing to the problem. I’ll also cop to my far-left-of-center liberalism and admit that I’d like to see the debate reframed completely so that we not only discuss childrearing but also work/life balance as it pertains to “carer responsibilities” which could mean caring for children, but also elder care and caring for family with mental and physical disabilities and/or addiction, as has been done in certain countries in Europe. Though some may feel that childrearing is a more “fundamental” part of life, and should take precedence over other forms of care and support, I think the principle is still the same. Even the most ambitious amongst us should not be expected to sacrifice our familial obligations at the altar of work. But as Courtney points out, such a vast overhaul of American corporate culture is likely impossible for various reasons.

Overall, I really did appreciate Slaughter’s piece because it moves us away from dichotomizing the issue, which is Wurtzel’s ultimate stumbling block in the article linked above. We are (hopefully!) far from the days of the Mommy Wars, and it shouldn't be considered an act of bravery for a professional women to admit that the "have it all" ideal is fundamentally flawed. Perhaps this will prove a stepping stone for those of us who have some semblance of a choice, to think carefully about the kinds of careers and personal lives that we want, as well as take the time to think about what our general employment culture can do to assist those who have less of a choice in how they juggle the too often conflicting demands of home and work.

-- RumbidzaiMaweni - 29 Jun 2012