[Barry the Sprout]

Originally posted by Timber Loftis: I think that both the "stay at home caregiver" and the "breadwinner" roles play an important part with kids. My problem with the feminist movement is that rather than empower women for what attributes that are traditionally associated with "feminine," the movement has instead encouraged women to become men, and told them they are not a success unless they do in fact assume what were traditionally male roles. This has left a dearth in society, a void, of the "stay at home caregiver" role -- which these days is relegated to a day care service.

Had to take issue with this Timber - I don't think this was ever the goal of "feminists" as a whole. It may have been the goal of a some of them, but pretty much any book I've read about feminism has decried exactly this phenomenon you describe - if you simply encourage women to become men, as opposed to encouraging them to become liberated, then they end up simply sharing the problems men have always had. And of course adding a whole new level of psychological baggage as well. The thing is not to make femininity the same as masculinity, but instead to stop the artificial elements of femininity from dominating women, and vice versa for masculinity.

Well, thats my take on it anyway.