18 Comments
founding

A timely and important preface to a deeper discussion Jade, thank you for bringing these feelings, terms, and perspectives front and centre! Echoed sentiment felt right here.

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The headline is perfect, as is everything else that follows it. So well put, Jade.

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Mar 23, 2023Liked by Jade Fox

So much to unravel and I haven’t landed on where I sit (as though there is a side of the fence to sit on? What those sides are I don’t know). On the one hand I wholeheartedly believe that the Australian government needs to increase parental support (maternity leave and parental leave etc) for all families. And there is also a campaign running this week to increase the support given to parents of multiples (twins parents get no more than singleton parents despite twice the complications/nappies/hospital time/time out of works etc etc). Then on the other hand, I wonder why we/society needs to place a monetary value on something to make it be of value. Can we move towards a decapitalised position where we see the benefits in more than just an economic value that the main caregiver adds to the economy through raising children? I don’t have a conclusion. I did like the quote shared by Natalie Konyu in Howl Mag along the lines of not celebrating the fact that more women in work creates an opportunity for fathers to now increase their bond with their child. As you say it’s a privileged position to be able to think about these things and experiment with what works best for ourselves and our families.

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I'm so interested in how mothers who are exhausted, under-appreciated, or fed up respond to their situation. Do they take off for re-cooperating vacations too often? Have affairs? Check out of their role? Hunker down and turn off their passions to stay in line with the expectations put on them? great piece. :)

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Loved this piece. You did not need to edit the headline. Well said. Have you read Essential Labor by Angela Garbes? It's a must to make you feel seen and angry and all the emotions and paradoxes between about domestic labor, mothering, and raising our kids. https://www.harpercollins.com/products/essential-labor-angela-garbes?variant=39707015020578

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Oh thank you!

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