Frances Perkins struggled with the accusation that she may have been a better American patriot than she was a mother. What are your thoughts on that?
She had a vision for what she wanted for our country. A vision that was a very strong and important goal in her life. Unfortunately she had a personal life that was somewhat difficult to manage. I think she did the best she could to manage both.
As someone who had a job to which I was devoted, I could really relate to that accusation. Luckily my husband was there to take up much of the slack. When I asked my oldest son about it later, he said he always considered it “benign neglect.” I think ultimately it was good for my sons to see a woman do an important job well. They all now have long and happy marriages to strong women.
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She reminded me a little of Ruth Handler, the creator of the Barbie doll. It’s really hard to be passionate about something outside the home while trying to be a full-time parent. In Frances Perkins’s case, she was a single parent, making matters worse. I don’t envy the position that either woman found themselves in.
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Oh for Pete’s sake! Her work was important for the very life of her own daughter in every way possible and for the lives of all the people in the USA . Because Frances did the work she did her child had a home, an education, love and a very diverse lifestyle. For the mothers working in the sweatshops to make ends meet should we doubt their dedication to their children? She was BOTH a Patriot and a mother and while her husband was cheating on her, frittering away their money with bad investments she was working and continued to work to provide for HIS needs and care as well as THEIR child. So… let’s talk about Paul’s devotion to his child and his showing as a father.
Isn’t that always the accusation thrown at women who are successful in male-dominated spaces? Not once was it claimed that her husband was lacking as a man or father for his choices (not talking his mental illness here).
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By letting her husband be the primary parent, Francis gave Paul the best chance to feel needed and important. Financially, she couldn’t really afford not to be in the workforce - it’s easy for people to accuse when they are not aware of the realities of her situation, which were closely guarded at the time.
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Stereotypical placement of a woman in that “box”. Back then, it was absolutely unheard of for a woman to put her career ahead of her family. Women were supposed to stay in the home and allow the men to take care of business. Frances wanted to be out there making a difference. She wanted to show her daughter that a woman could accomplish big things in a man’s world.
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All the previous comments align with my thoughts. Male dominated society then and still today.
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Isn’t it sad that people will make those comments about women, while almost never saying that about men?
Perkins forged ahead backed by FDR, but she did leave her daughter without either parent for a good part of her childhood. There is no easy answer to the critics of her choices but, perhaps especially as an only child, her daughter did suffer. Her mental instability was inherited, and certainly cannot be blamed on her mother’s absence. As a working mother myself, I always felt I never did enough in either world.