Is feminism destroying relationships and families ?

My mom is a feminist, but she left work for 15 years to raise children because my parents thought it was important.maybe my family's just weird. Despite the fact that I'm the daughter of a feminist, I would never consider myself one.

I was taught that it's completely acceptable to stay home and take care of your kids, but I was also taught to be independent and not rely on someone else for my livelihood. I'm the youngest, and once I started first grade, my mom went back to work--it's what she wanted to do, and she didn't get her MBA so she could stay home and cook.

Men are just as much to blame for problems in families as women are. Fathers may be the bread-winners, but the responsibility of raising children primarily falls on mothers. In this day and age when women are working, they're still expected to play the largest role in their child's life. If men aren't willing to change, there's no way children will get the attention they need. And as far as divorce rates go, I think people today rush into things, and they're quick to bail out.

These are good questions. Women deserve to have to choice and equal opportunities.

That said, with choice comes responsibility. It isn't just about women and feminism, though. The problem is that society in general, men and women together, are not putting families first. A couple should decide that someone, either one, will ideally be home for the kids. If that isn't possible, then work opposite shifts. Kids need parents available to them. The corollary is that the parents need to make themselves available to each other. It is an effort. These days with so many electronic ways to entertain ourselves, it is very easy to let a relationship slip. A relationship is work. Of course it's worth it.

I think feminism has changed the possibilities. What happened at the same time is that our values as a culture changed dramatically. Those other cultures don't put such a high value on material goods. They are onto something while we have lost something. We moan about the dissolution of the nuclear family, but we allowed it to happen.

I chose to be a stay at home mother. I am a ferociously independent sort and it was an identity crisis. I finally have it sorted. I really am traditional. I take care of my family. It's actually what I want to do. I also do other things. I am a writer, too. However, my child and my husband come first. (I did try working for two months and hated it. I simply could not juggle the responsibilities. I felt constantly torn. I sympathize with those that must do it.)

You really like questions that stir don't you?! I kind of get what you're saying and I suppose in some ways I am old fashioned and would like to be perceived as a traditional woman who looks after her man. However I am studying to be a dentist and so will earn a lot more money than my partner. Both of my parents have always worked but my mother has always done all the cooking and cleaning and my father has always done the DIY and stuff like that and my father has always earned more than her. So I suppose this is why I see the cooking and cleaning as my job. But I do clean my own car, can mow the lawn and wire a plug so I can do the 'manly' jobs if I have to. I have too many friends whose main goal in life is to marry a rich older man and while I like the idea of a man supporting me I am just too independent and ambitious for this to happen!

NO, things aren't really 50/50. if anything, more is expected out of women these days. I don't know if this is the same for everyone but coming from an asian background, a woman is expected to obtain higher education, a good career while at the same time, be a complying daughter, sister, mother and wife to her family.

i think that women are still taking care of their men it's just that there's more in their plate. like an overflowing mass of food that's toppling down on to the floor and making a mess. that picture can be really overwhelming when men keep demanding more out of their women. I find that most married women don't really have a partner in the men that they marry as the husband eventually becomes one of the children. like seriously! fellas, I know you say that you guys want to take care of your partner and children but that doesn't stop at being the bread winner of the family. you claim to be exhausted from work and expect to be pampered and treated like a king when you get home. and what that translates to me is, oh having dinner ready, a back rub and maybe sex while your wife is struggling with the kids running around making a mess, cleaning the house, among other things, leaving NO time for herself. just put yourself in a woman's shoes. I MEANT it! guys always talk as if you REALLY know how it's like to be a woman in today's society. the expectations are so much higher than before. I'm not saying that all women are the end all be all but neither are all men. so cut the crap and quit your whining about how your woman isn't treating you right because she doesn't do this or she doesn't do that. stop whining and do it yourself for a change. ever thought if your woman is feeling the same about you too? don't you think she also deserves a little bit of compassion and instead of demanding more out of her, maybe do something out of the ordinary and help her for a change.

divorce rates are higher now because women are being more independent and the things we do now aren't taboo, like getting a job and actually being successful at it. maybe doing better than a man. you know even now women who have the same position as men get paid less because of their gender. for instance, a woman in an IT job where I used to work was only getting paid $35K a year while a male with the same experience, qualifications and LESS senior than her was getting $47K. like wth? why is society still undermining the abilities of women. don't you think that women are if not much more capable than men? as sexist as this will sound, I firmly believe that women ARE the pillars of society. they are the strong foundations that keep families together. I mean think about it, in divorce cases it's usually the man walking out while the woman is left with the children to take care of. I don't get it. is it not also a man's obligation and responsibility to take care of his seed? and no I don't think that paying child support even cuts it.

to be continued.i'm running out of space

Yes, you are correct! You will get a lot of heat and there is a huge difference in yesterdays'
families and todays. It is great that women like to go to work and prove that they have a brain.
Yes, they should get paid just like their male counterpart, which most of the time they do not.
Yet, they are expected to shuffle the kids most of the time, take care of the house, do the
grocery shopping, sometimes the lawn upkeep. Yes, there are a few guys who do this.
Congratulations to those guys-I really mean this. Do most guys complain, yes. Are families
suffering today because the lack of home value? Yes, and the government has a big role in
this. Your tax dollars are a work here. If more people would recycle, commit to the community
wherever they live, have one car, walk to work and carpool, that would be a help. Realistically,
this is not feasible. The public transportation is not that good. Shops, business, etc., are
not close by. So America has been structured instead to not have a community within a
community by having these things close to neighborhoods, but more distance. Yes, everything
has changed. Now, to the lady supporting her man. Just as the man needs to support his
lady. This is called commitment. When they build a strong commitment, usually after they
have gone through so much and clawed and cried, fought and lied, to bring honesty forthright
between them. Then they can develop a strong family tie. It is still very hard. There are
families today that like the idea, want it, but to financially support life, they must travel, etc.
a lot, which in turn weighs heavily on the family. Again, thanks to our tax dollars and the
American system. Vote for the independence of America to truly come back!

Not at all. I believe that it's much more difficult these days to own a home and live a middle class lifestyle on a single income. Medical costs alone have seen to that. But the situation isn't helped by mortgage closing costs, college tuition and such. Numbers for inflation and cost of living are manipulated to make us feel better. On the other hand, what we want in the way of material things has changed too (multiple vehicles, home entertainment, trips, fancy phones etc). Can't blame this all on the ladies alone.

If feminism is destroying any relationships and families, it is probably only destroying weak useless ones held together by threads of lies and oppression to begin with.

G string for 8 year olds is more about the sexual revolution and freedom of expression, not about feminism. I am not complaining.

I find no evidence that suicides and homicides have increased at all, much less an exponential increase, so I can't really answer why some thing's happening when it's not. If it is, it's probably because people are depressed because they have high hopes and are getting let down. Why do you draw the link to feminism?

Divorce is cool. People get married for the wrong reasons these days, and then decide to break up. Frequently for non-feminist reasons.

We do get more from higher incomes. The stuff we have today is better. In the 50s, they had shitty stuff. Shittier cars, shittier TVs, and no computers. You have to take into account the population increase. The population has more than doubled since then, meaning people are competing over things like land to have houses on.

Lots of other countries have women working, and the reason they are well off is because they have inherited estates.

You're grasping at straws to blame feminism for this, not considering other aspects. Far more has changed than having women go to work.

I don't think feminism itself it to solely blame for relationships and families having problems in today's society. It probably doesn't help relationships between men and women much, though.

Whenever there is an extreme of thought or action, a group of people will spring up to oppose it (for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction). The more women practice the extreme versions of feminism, the more they will create a rift between themselves and men; and groups of men who wipe their hands clean of dealing with them all together. No relationship can occur with a rift in the middle of the people involved.

I can appreciate wanting to be treated with the same rights and respect that everyone should enjoy, but that message gets mixed up with the other habits and qualities those women can't stand about men. So feminism has become something else entirely now that what it was probably meant to be.

My personal pet peeve with feminism is something I heard once "Well we can artificially inseminate now, so I don't even need to interact with a man. Just let him do his 'thing' into a cup and send him on his way, that's all he's good for." If that was the only type of woman I had around me in life, I would gladly not contribute to "the cup" and let mankind die off. That sort of anger and resentment doesn't need to be reproduced or rewarded. In general, if I get any kind of vibe from a woman that she thinks this way I just ignore her and go about my business. Her loss.

So in short, when it pertains to feminism, I'm Pro feeling good about oneself (regardless of gender, faith, race, age, etc), and Con taking out anger and resentment on others. Feminism could do well for itself if the goals and means are positive and better-established.