Emancipation

Think Pieces

The emancipation of women in a family setting cannot be separated from the question of the emancipation of men. Otherwise, the relationship will not hold and will finally break down. - january 1993

Some men who help their partners in the household and childcare think that they are emancipated because "they HELP their partners." But I think a man is emancipated only when he thinks that household work and childcare are part of a man's work as much as they are a part of a woman's work. I never really thought of it this way until my husband told me about his reply to a friend of ours who commented once to him "Oh, so you're both a mother and a father to your daughters today". To which my husband answered "No, I'm a father to my daughters". When he told me about this incident he said "I've always viewed the care of my daughters as my work as a father , not helping you or taking over your task as a mother when you're away". - january 1993

If there is a sharing of responsibility in the care of the children and household work between men and women, the way the society is managed will probably also change. It will no longer be a male-dominated society, nor a society where one gender has more power than the other. Then perhaps conflicts within and among societies will be handled differently (and not through violence and war), then perhaps there will be more concern for our children's future, for the environment and the world where we live..... If men will have more experience and take up more direct responsibility in the care of the children, in running a household.....men will have a different perspective of the world....... that is, how the world should be run. Emancipation is shared work, shared responsibilities, and shared benefits. - march 1993