Michelle Obama and the Fashion Statement of Working Motherhood
This post also appears on The Mama Bee, offering tips, support, news and commentary for mothers working in the corporate world.
Yesterday the Toronto Star ran this article how about Michelle Obama is inspiring Canadian working mothers, who hope that her focus on work-life balance will spread across the border. I was partly interested in this because, when compared with the US, Canada’s family policies don’t seem too bad. Mothers can take up to 52 weeks of job-protected maternity leave, a portion of which is paid from a fund the workers contribute to throughout their career. There is universal healthcare and a strong public school system. Our first lady is going to help Canada see the value of better work-life policies?
The article implies that Canadian women feel that being a working mother is more socially acceptable in the Obama era, even glamorous. Entitled “Keeping It Real Earns New Glamour,” the piece says:
Just as she’s done for sculpted arms and Portuguese water dogs, Obama has made it not just okay, but fashionable, to wrestle with things like childcare, which parent does what domestic chore, and how to carve out family time.
Let’s put aside for a moment the obvious insanity of comparing working motherhood with Portuguese water dogs and sculpted arms — the kind of pithy soundbite that would never be written of a male leader. Is Michelle Obama legitimizing the struggles of working mothers? I think she is, and I’m very proud.
There are naysayers, including in the Toronto Star article, where an academic points out that Michelle Obama has given up her career for her husband. Some have termed this the “momification” of the first lady. I’m not sure how she could possible be expected to maintain a full-time corporate law position, attend to all of the responsibilities associated with being first lady — including biggies like attending the G-20, and still be a good mother. Part of functioning as a working mother is knowing your limits, and I like the idea that she understands her parameters.
Some might suggest that in a different world where sexism in politics is less pervasive, Michelle Obama could have been the President herself, but she didn’t choose the path to the White House. While Barack Obama used his law education to become a community organizer and then a politician, Michelle Obama made her professional life in the corporate realm. It’s clear that she could be a tremendous legislator if that’s what she chooses, but I don’t see how we can expect her to have achieved a goal she never set.
Nataly at Work It! Mom agrees that there’s no betrayal in Michelle Obama’s putting her career on hold, although she says that it is nearly impossible to survive with any bit of sanity as a family where both parents have highly demanding careers. From my perspective this is the wrong takeaway, suggesting that one powerful parent would always have to take a backseat career-wise to the other.
Demanding careers don’t limit parenting; bad policy and inflexible workplaces do. If there were universal access to high quality childcare and healthcare in this country, I think we would have to make many fewer choices between parenting and work. And that’s where I hope that Michelle Obama — as one of us — becomes an advocate for parents who believe they have a right to work in whatever field they choose and have well-adjusted, successful families.
Related links:
* Rebecca Traister at Salon.com writes about the momification of Michelle Obama.
* Meghan O’Rourke at Slate.com follows up on the Salon piece and writes about the no-win situation of working motherhood.
* Megan Garber at the Columbia Journalism Review calls for an end to the talk about Michelle Obama’s momification.
* Bitch magazine laments the lame media coverage of Michelle Obama.
Yesterday the Toronto Star ran this article how about Michelle Obama is inspiring Canadian working mothers, who hope that her focus on work-life balance will spread across the border. I was partly interested in this because, when compared with the US, Canada’s family policies don’t seem too bad. Mothers can take up to 52 weeks of job-protected maternity leave, a portion of which is paid from a fund the workers contribute to throughout their career. There is universal healthcare and a strong public school system. Our first lady is going to help Canada see the value of better work-life policies?
The article implies that Canadian women feel that being a working mother is more socially acceptable in the Obama era, even glamorous. Entitled “Keeping It Real Earns New Glamour,” the piece says:
Just as she’s done for sculpted arms and Portuguese water dogs, Obama has made it not just okay, but fashionable, to wrestle with things like childcare, which parent does what domestic chore, and how to carve out family time.
Let’s put aside for a moment the obvious insanity of comparing working motherhood with Portuguese water dogs and sculpted arms — the kind of pithy soundbite that would never be written of a male leader. Is Michelle Obama legitimizing the struggles of working mothers? I think she is, and I’m very proud.
There are naysayers, including in the Toronto Star article, where an academic points out that Michelle Obama has given up her career for her husband. Some have termed this the “momification” of the first lady. I’m not sure how she could possible be expected to maintain a full-time corporate law position, attend to all of the responsibilities associated with being first lady — including biggies like attending the G-20, and still be a good mother. Part of functioning as a working mother is knowing your limits, and I like the idea that she understands her parameters.
Some might suggest that in a different world where sexism in politics is less pervasive, Michelle Obama could have been the President herself, but she didn’t choose the path to the White House. While Barack Obama used his law education to become a community organizer and then a politician, Michelle Obama made her professional life in the corporate realm. It’s clear that she could be a tremendous legislator if that’s what she chooses, but I don’t see how we can expect her to have achieved a goal she never set.
Nataly at Work It! Mom agrees that there’s no betrayal in Michelle Obama’s putting her career on hold, although she says that it is nearly impossible to survive with any bit of sanity as a family where both parents have highly demanding careers. From my perspective this is the wrong takeaway, suggesting that one powerful parent would always have to take a backseat career-wise to the other.
Demanding careers don’t limit parenting; bad policy and inflexible workplaces do. If there were universal access to high quality childcare and healthcare in this country, I think we would have to make many fewer choices between parenting and work. And that’s where I hope that Michelle Obama — as one of us — becomes an advocate for parents who believe they have a right to work in whatever field they choose and have well-adjusted, successful families.
Related links:
* Rebecca Traister at Salon.com writes about the momification of Michelle Obama.
* Meghan O’Rourke at Slate.com follows up on the Salon piece and writes about the no-win situation of working motherhood.
* Megan Garber at the Columbia Journalism Review calls for an end to the talk about Michelle Obama’s momification.
* Bitch magazine laments the lame media coverage of Michelle Obama.
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