Back to basics

I was having a conversation with a friend over the weekend & she said something that struck me as very true. She said that life seems to be coming a full circle for women.

Up until about 30-40 years ago, women thought their primary duty in life was to look after their house, tend to their family & raise their kids. They were happy doing all of that, and sure enough, working women were a rarity.

Over the course of the 80s & 90s, when feminism crossed western borders and spread to all corners of the globe, and women's liberation became the norm of the day, we saw a rise in the number of women who were willing to place their careers over family life. They were ambitious & unapolegetic about it.

Now, we seem to be coming back to the point where women are once again giving more importance to their husbands/families as opposed to their careers. I'm not saying women are not ambitious anymore, but more & more women are willing to make compromises in their careers as opposed to their personal life. They don't think twice before relocating to another town if their husbands get a good job opportunity. They are increasingly opting for part-time (consultant) or work-from-home options so they can give time to their kids. Many are even willing to give up their careers completely because they feel they ought to give more time & attention to their families.

Feminism & women's liberation are still around, but the more subtle type, not the bra-burning variety. And it's more at an individual level - women are increasingly able to make up their minds about what they want in life, and stand up for themselves, rather than getting in mobs & trying to save the women of the world!

I think it's an evolution we have gone through as a species. So until hardcore feminism sweeps over us once more...it's fun being in the time & place I'm in!