Feminists eat babies!

Or, at least, Dawn Eden thinks so.

In response to this post, blogger Dawn Eden has written this.

Feminism means never having to say you're sorry ... for leaving your kids to die

!

I'm almost honored. Here was my response.

Okay, it’s my post you’re talking about here, so I thought I’d take a moment to clear up some misconceptions you’ve had about it.

I do not think being pro-choice or being a feminist means that you don’t have to be responsible if your child dies. In fact, I’m sure I said in my post that I think these people should be punished.

When I said that if an employee of mine had a child die in the car because they couldn’t find day care, I meant that I’d feel guilty about it (wouldn’t you?) not that I think they are legally responsible. (In addition, it’s difficult to get your employers to agree to additional maternity leave, should you need it.)

And my real anger, and the driving point of my post was that women are more likely to be sentenced and for longer periods of time for the same crime. Now feel free to disagree with me but I don’t think a father is any less legally responsible for his children than a mother is (and let’s not get into an abortion debate as to what is a child or not. I’m happy to agree to disagree on that right now). In essence, culpability for child neglect is not a gender-based issue. Or at least it shouldn’t be.

If you want to call me a hypocrite for saying that fathers should be equally legally responsible for their children but that women shouldn’t need a permission slip from a man to get an abortion, then fine. But what you’ve written seriously misrepresents my own post, and I wanted to go on the record with a correction.

Also, to be clear, I was just a guest-blogger at Feministe. And Feministe is a feminist blog, not an ‘abortion-advocacy’ blog. The two issues (feminism and pro-choice) intersect, but they’re not the same.

And to the person who said the thing about breastfeeding vs. formula, with one not being any better than the other, I agree with you 100 percent. Breastfeeding is very difficult physically and time-wise (and powered breastpumps these days run between 200 and 300 dollars), and there shouldn’t be a huge stigma placed on you if you choose to go either way.

And Dawn, since you are notorious in some circles for deleting/editing comments you find objectionable, I will be reposting this at Feministe and at my own blog.

I really don't begrudge Dawn any of her opinions I find wackier, and wish her well living her chaste lifestyle. I just wish she wouldn't make me out to be a baby-eating monster. *sniff*