Why Ann Romney Should Be Proud of Her Stay-At-Home Mom Status
My sister is a stay-at-home mom. Her day starts at 6 a.m., when my nephews get up, and isn't over until the last of the two monkeys heads off to bed around 8 p.m. Every single second of her day is dedicated to my two nephews, ages two and three, and I can say without a single doubt in my mind that my sister is the hardest worker I know. She may not get up and go to an office, but if anyone ever belittled her job as a mother, I'd kick their ass for being an ignorant twit.
Just because my sister is a stay-at-home mom, it doesn't mean her opinions on women in the workplace or issues regarding women in general should be overlooked. My sister did work before she got married (she was a first-grade teacher), but her current job - yes, it is a job - shouldn't make others lose respect for her. I'm looking at you, Hillary Rosen.
Democratic strategist Rosen appeared on Anderson Cooper 360 recently to voice her opinions on Mitt Romney's wife Ann's position as a stay-at-home mom who has "never worked a day in her life" and has therefore, naturally, according to Rosen "never really dealt with the kinds of economic issues that a majority of the women in this country are facing." Related: Why Do Ladies Love Mitt Romney?
Of course these statements brought about anger from every end of the political spectrum, and when Rosen decided to apologize, it was too late. Enter conservative political commenter, S.E. Cupp, who also had some winning comments to make about Ann Romney's position as not only a wife, but the wife of a very, very wealthy man: "While liberal women may praise Ann for (at least) getting herself an education, where is the praise for Ann's best decision of all - to marry well?"
Excuse me? Come again? Did Edith Wharton just join the conversation or something? What year is this? And apparently, as feminists, we're against this and against patting Ann on the back for such a "great" move on her part? No, feminists are against women like Cupp even bringing the "marrying up" concept into the conversation at all. It seems Ann Romney can't win with either liberals or conservatives, just because she chose to be a stay-at-home mom and happened to fall in love with a wealthy man. Unfortunately for Ann, this is just the beginning of a long debate that will be following her and her husband during his campaign. I'm not even a Republican but I want to defend Ann here: Can't we all just live and let live, and quit bringing her life choices to the forefront? After all, this campaign isn't about Ann, it's about Mitt and that's where the focus should remain.
Written by Amanda Chatel for YourTango.com.
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