Posts by Sacha
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Hard News: Key Questions, in reply to David Hood,
the GCSB have to be able to spy on New Zealanders.
and for the benefit of foreign citizens, not us. Hmm, didn't he say that would be verboten?
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Up Front: Another Brick in the Wall, in reply to Bart Janssen,
You are right though the purely moral argument can sway political opinion, but as you say it needs significant effort by a group of advocates who can shift public opinion.
It does. Coherent, competent effort.
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Just so long as no one accuses a certain caucus of lacking balls, or anything really important like that. :)
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Up Front: Another Brick in the Wall, in reply to Hilary Stace,
I am not suggesting that 'desired' characteristics are gender labelled
Um, you described parental advocacy as mothering. Or I wouldn't have noticed and spent so much time discussing it.
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Up Front: Another Brick in the Wall, in reply to Hilary Stace,
I also have fears about the new disability services mantra of increasing 'natural ' ie free supports. That also means more unpaid work for women.
Totally with you on that.
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To fix these long-standing problems, we must involve allies and persuade decision-makers (many of whom may be male). I suggest gendered labelling of desired characteristics will not help with that. Anyone who doesn't know better may assume the solution is more mothers, rather than better-supported parents and champions.
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Up Front: Another Brick in the Wall, in reply to Hilary Stace,
Let's focus on the nature of those advocacy roles, and how we can strengthen them and their place in the system in the interests of disabled children and families.
Equity is not equality, so I doubt we will see similar numbers of men and women performing all roles any time soon. Both genders bring strengths to the table, especially when it comes to speaking up for disadvantaged people and working to fix broken systems.
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Up Front: Another Brick in the Wall, in reply to Hilary Stace,
I simply don't see the point in labelling a desirable attribute in the name of only one gender as you've done. If it is committed parenting that makes a difference, why not call it that? If it is forceful advocacy, likewise.
By all means recognise the load currently falls way too much on women's shoulders, but that seems less likely to change if you remove the responsiblity from fathers altogether in the way it's described. Or for our gendered roles to evolve in useful directions. Essentialism was not that helpful in the 70s and I really thought it had been replaced by smarter approaches.
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Up Front: Another Brick in the Wall, in reply to Hilary Stace,
so by mother you mean committed parent.
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Up Front: Another Brick in the Wall, in reply to Hilary Stace,
Sometimes you can substitute ‘father’ for ‘mother’, but that role is much less likely to exist for disabled young people, and in my totally unscientific analysis, not as reliable an indicator for good outcomes.
Can you outline what you are distinguishing as 'fathering'?