"I want all the perks of maternity leave — without having any kids" [triggerwarning: entitled women]

kekerae · 2017-05-09T19:13:33+00:00

"Women are bad at putting themselves first."

Yep, that's what maternity and parental leave was for me. Just putting myself first all the time. Long bubble baths and glasses of wine over candlelit suppers with my husband. /s HA!

Maternity and parental leave isn't a "perk", it's biology. By biology I mean physically and emotionally recovering and then bonding with a little person. I spent the first 6-8 weeks of leave bleeding and handling the glamours of hemmorhoids and leaking painful breasts. Then after getting out of the initial trenches of postpartum emotions and complete sleep deprivation we moved into the world of constant developmental changes which meant having to always adapt to a new sleep schedule and finding new ways to stimulate baby so that they are getting the love and rest and attention and learning opportunities they need. Oh, did I mention my husband left for 6 months to train for a new career when the baby was 12 weeks old?

This lady is hilarious. If you want you time then I guess you should save money for a vacation or take a sabbatical or something.

BellaScarletta · 2017-05-09T20:13:08+00:00

parents on staff left the office at 6 p.m. to tend to their children, while it was assumed co-workers without kids would stay behind to pick up the slack.

This isn't a case for why women need a "meternity" leave...it's a case for why women shouldn't be in the workforce full-stop. But hey, that's just me.

which is, to me, a sabbatical-like break that allows women and, to a lesser degree, men

Lol of course.

It seemed that parenthood was the only path that provided a modicum of flexibility.

HAHA. Who has a kid and says "thank god my child changed my life to give me all that extra flexibility." This woman is delusional.

One friend made the decision to leave her corporate career to create her own business; another decided to switch industries. From the outside, it seemed like those few weeks of them shifting their focus to something other than their jobs gave them a whole new lens through which to see their lives.

Yes, it's absolutely the few weeks away from work that gave them a new lens. Not, you know, the entire other human that just changed their whole life.

Burnout syndrome is well-documented in both sexes, but recent research suggests that women may experience it at greater rates; researchers postulate that it’s because women (moms and non-moms alike) feel overloaded by the roles they have to take on at work and at home.

Lol I refuse to believe the "roles they have to take on...at home" affects moms and non-moms alike. What roles do non-moms have in the home that could even begin to compare to a mom? Also a mom presumably (with exception, of course) has a male counterpart at home, whereas as a non-mom may or may not. If you're taking on all the house-responsibilities of two people (read: your SO is a slacker who does nothing) then sure, maybe that would get burdensome. But I'm so very skeptical that demographic alone is who is being referenced here, in which case I'm failing to see how women have it worse than men in any way that warrants what she's suggesting.

Bottom line: Women are bad at putting ourselves first

Are we? Are we really?

You know, that's the problem with these modern Western women. They're just so bad at putting themselves first.
/s

but I grappled with self-doubt

It's like she grazed the surface of self-awareness, and then just floated away.

I want kids in the future

But wait?

Meghann Foye, 38

AWKWARD.

[deleted] · 2017-05-10T17:53:59+00:00

"Perks of maternity leave".... in a country that has some of the worst maternity leave of all developed nations in the world. Did that part just go over her head?

Zombies_InTheSnow · 2017-05-09T18:24:30+00:00

No this isn't satire! Saw this on t_d and just had to share with you ladies

Rivkariver · 2017-05-09T19:33:28+00:00

My response to this is Lol.

jerculees · 2017-05-09T20:00:54+00:00

Ohhhh I remember this b-tch. She's changed her story several times. I recall something about how she said it was all supposed to be a joke, that she wasn't trying to say women should just get time off. She took a break/sabbatical and wrote a book or something.

I don't care for her at all, and I'll never read her book, but from a PR standpoint - there's been a lot of controversial buzz about her - which is basically free advertising.

I think women should take maternity leave. In an ideal world, new mothers would not work for at least the first year after birth (I don't think this time should be paid leave however). I also don't think that parents should be given special considerations over and above single employees. I know that when it comes to scheduling shifts and vacations, some places are good about following seniority, but other places will give parents first pick. I would have zero patience if I worked in an office and had to cover for, or saw a coworker get off the hook due to their kid.

I know a woman that works two jobs (or more) for a year solid, saving up every penny she makes. Then she quits and spends an entire year travelling and doing whatever she wants. I think it's an interesting approach, and I certainly would not be able to do what she does (saving for the future is too important to me).

violetpiecrisis · 2017-05-10T12:46:56+00:00

Um, isn't that called a "VACATION" ?!

okaygirl123 · 2017-05-10T09:48:22+00:00

The entitlement is so strong with this one I couldn't even get to the end

--cunt · 2017-05-13T12:45:07+00:00

I can kind of get behind what she's saying, it does come across as very entitled, and I think asking for maternity leave for non-mothers is taking it a bit too far. But I think a lot of women don't want to be career women, and unfortunately have to in today's economic climate.

Me personally I've read a little bit of surrendered wife and got to the bit where it said you shouldn't be afraid to ask for less time at work. Now my fiancé cherishes his alone time, and working 16 hours less a pay period (one day a week) would be a hefty chunk of my pay. But I asked my boss for a more regular schedule. Which is not at all a thing at my workplace... except for him to accommodate him & his wife's childcare, and another woman who has a child. I really fought for it, and while I'm not working 9-5 Mon-Fri, I'm not closing and then opening the next morning. I can schedule me-time after work and my anxiety is better and I'm more pleasant, and for once I feel like I have time to clean and cook regularly instead of maybe on one of my weekends off. I dunno, and I felt like an entitled brat asking for that because I DONT have kids yet, I don't need to be home at a set time to take care of everything. But being having the time to take care of my home and myself and my fiancé is just as important to me even though we don't have children yet