The Feminine Mistake: Are We Giving Up Too Much?
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Women are constantly being told that it's too difficult to balance work and family, so if they don't really "have to" work, it's better for their families if they stay home. Not true, Leslie Bennetts says-in fact, the arguments in favor of stay-at-home motherhood leave out the surprising advantages of work and the unexpected toll of giving it up. Combining work and family really is the best choice for most women, she says, and it's eminently doable.Bennetts and millions of other working women provide ample proof that there are many different ways to have kids, maintain a challenging career, and enjoy a richly rewarding life as a result. The truth is that when women gamble on dependency, most eventually end up on the wrong side of the odds-and miss out on the intellectual, emotional, psychological, and even medical benefits of self-sufficiency.Not since Betty Friedan has anyone offered such an eye-opening and persuasive argument for why women can-and should-embrace the joyously complex lives they deserve. The Philadelphia Inquirer As wise an argument as has been proffered in some time . . . there are too many smart women who choose to be ignorant about the financial structure that supports the family.Until it doesn't.
Prologue xvAuthor's Note xxixBack to the Future: "It's a 1950s Life!" 1Opting Out: "It's Like the Slaughter of the Lambs." 32But What If...: "I Never Thought about That!" 58Opting Back in: "No One Told Me It Would be So Hard!" 72Risky Business: "How Am I Going to Live?" 97The Fifteen-Year Paradigm: "It Really Does Get Easier!" 126Who Says It Doesn't Work?: "It Can Be Done!" 148The Joys of the Full Life: "It's Hard for Me to Imagine Who I'd Be If I Didn't Work." 173It's The Money, Honey: "God Bless The Wife Who's Got Her Own!" 200Men, Marriage, and Money: "It's a Macho Thing!" 229Home Equity: "My Husband and I Are Peers." 246But What About the Children?: "You Know What? I Think My Kids Really Benefited!" 267Backward Progress: "You're Taking the Safe Road!" 285The Anxiety of Liberty: "What Am I Going to Do with My Life?" 307Notes 323Index 341
