Rosen vs Romney

The latest blast on the War Against Women front came from Hilary Rosen when she claimed Ann Romney, a stay at home mom, never worked a day in her life. The Romney campaign, anxious to get some street cred in the WAW, responded that raising five sons was work.  Unfortunately, this was just another example of the “mommy wars” fought every day between stay-at-home and working moms. Being a mom is hard work ; employed mothers often have hours of work once home while stay-at-home moms are frequently held to unattainable housework goals because she is at home. But Rosen’s comments brought out class issues, too. Many women said staying home with five kids when you are a multi-millionaire is not quite the same as a mom working several jobs to make ends. Even Jay Leno quipped “It’s easy to be a homemaker when you have ten homes to choose from.” An op-ed piece from the Washington Times Communities page even described Rosen as a bitter lesbian jealous of Ann Romney’s beauty, especially when Rosen’s own stay-at-home stint ended in a break-up. Probably the most important message we can all take away from this finger pointing is quite simple; women need to support each other  regardless of race, class, gender or any other constraint that divides us.