You Can Have It All (Just Not At The Same Time)

Written by Andrea Hayhurst


Continued from page 1
Consider a rather thought provoking theory propounded byrepparttar authors Coney & Mackey in their 1998 article “Cultural Evolution & Gender Roles: Advantage...Patriarchy.” In it, they state that evolution is not in favor of females overtakingrepparttar 130476 work force. They note in their study that acrossrepparttar 130477 worldrepparttar 130478 female is expected to berepparttar 130479 primary caretaker. This notion arose out ofrepparttar 130480 fact that inrepparttar 130481 past “if a job or task interfered with mothering, then that task was given to men.” This would explain why women are genetically programmed to be caretakers. Coney & Mackey go on to establish thatrepparttar 130482 expansion of opportunities, both in education and other areas, for women is correlated with a reduction in fertility in that cultural group. Consequently, they conclude that groups which expect and emphasize women to take onrepparttar 130483 mother role will eventually replace other societies. That’s a pretty powerful theory, but their hypothesis is based on solid research and data. I also know that there are plenty of examples out there of men raising children and same sex partners adopting children and having families of their own and I have no doubt that they do an excellent job of caring for those children. I simply think that as a society maybe it is finally time for us to acknowledge that women onrepparttar 130484 whole do tend to have an inherent caretaker instinct that does not exist, at least not inrepparttar 130485 same way, in men. I mean, fromrepparttar 130486 beginning of time women and men have just been put together differently, both in a physical and mental/emotional sense. Even in our earliest days, men wererepparttar 130487 hunters and gatherers and women wererepparttar 130488 ones who didrepparttar 130489 nurturing. I don’t think it was an accident that society, onrepparttar 130490 whole, tended to organize itself aroundrepparttar 130491 family asrepparttar 130492 central unit withrepparttar 130493 male partner providing forrepparttar 130494 family in an economic sense andrepparttar 130495 female partner tending to care forrepparttar 130496 home and family inrepparttar 130497 domestic sense. Again, I am not trying to perpetuate stereotypes, but simply trying to acknowledgerepparttar 130498 very real reason that women today feel torn between their families and work lives in a way that very few men do. Instead of demanding equality on our own terms it seems to me that women have demanded equality on men’s terms.. No wonder women now feel such conflict in their lives. They are attempting on one hand to do everything a man has traditionally done and atrepparttar 130499 same time they cannot give uprepparttar 130500 real sense of obligation they often feel to berepparttar 130501 nurturer and caretaker of their home and family. So they end up taking on both roles and soon realize that there is not enough time inrepparttar 130502 day to do both. And when you add children to that mix,repparttar 130503 conflict becomes even more apparent. Men, onrepparttar 130504 other hand, don’t facerepparttar 130505 same sort of conflict in their lives since they have never, as a group, attempted to take on two roles atrepparttar 130506 same time. Sure, there was a time when men were encouraged to “get in touch with their feminine side” and there is no doubt that as a result ofrepparttar 130507 feminist movement men are much more hands on aroundrepparttar 130508 house and withrepparttar 130509 kids then they once were, but men have never feltrepparttar 130510 need to take onrepparttar 130511 caretaker role in order to prove themselves entitled to anything. With women, however, it’s a different story. We go intorepparttar 130512 office and work hard at showingrepparttar 130513 corporate world qualities that are traditionally considered masculine in nature such as competitiveness and winning at all costs and then have to do a 180 degree turn atrepparttar 130514 end ofrepparttar 130515 workday when we go home to our families who are expecting to see a wife and mother walk throughrepparttar 130516 door and fix a tasty, nutritious and well-balanced dinner. Let’s face it, very few men have qualms about using slice and bake cookie dough for their child’s annual school bake sale or being too overscheduled to make every dance recital, school play or PTA meeting. When a woman frets about these things her husband will tell her not to worry, no one could possibly expect a woman with a full time job to worry about baking home made cookies or attending every school function that’s scheduled smack inrepparttar 130517 middle ofrepparttar 130518 day. Whatrepparttar 130519 men don’t get is that WOMEN do expect it. As a matter of fact, working women expect it of themselves more then anyone else. We feel guilty because we see those domestic functions as being our area of expertise and god help any husband who innocently suggests that he step in to help out with one of these tasks. Women may complain that they need more help or support from their husbands, but they also don’t want any ofrepparttar 130520 traditional job responsibilities that go withrepparttar 130521 “mommy” title being appropriated by them either. I maderepparttar 130522 decision to be a stay at home mom after my second daughter was born. Once I committed torepparttar 130523 decision I felt likerepparttar 130524 weight ofrepparttar 130525 world had suddenly been lifted from my shoulders. For a short while, I felt like I was betrayingrepparttar 130526 entire feminist movement, which in earlier days I had quite vocally supported. Butrepparttar 130527 more I thought about it,repparttar 130528 more I realized that more then anything else, I finally felt like I was being true to myself. And isn’t that whatrepparttar 130529 real goal ofrepparttar 130530 feminist movement was all about? I don’t need to prove to myself or any man that I can earn a paycheck and “make it” in a man’s world. I’ve already “made it” in my own world. I’m surprisingly content beingrepparttar 130531 domestic caretaker of my family. I revel in trying new recipes and doing all those other domestic tasks that I never had time for before I made my decision to be a full time mom. I will even admit to having spent hours making cranberry and popcorn garland forrepparttar 130532 family Christmas tree this past holiday season, a task which I previously wouldn’t have even considered given my former notorious lack of spare time. But you know what? I’m not ashamed of that one little bit. And you know what else? When I fall into bed every night absolutely exhausted from taking care of my two toddlers, at least I know that I have spent my day making a difference in their lives, no matter how insignificant that day’s activities may have been. When I worked outsiderepparttar 130533 home and fell into bed exhausted every night I felt miserable because I had spent my day doing a variety of completely mind numbing activities for a faceless corporate entity and working my tail off to put a couple more million into some CEO’s pocket whose name I can honestly say I don’t even recall. I’m not trying to make women who work outsiderepparttar 130534 home feel guilty or ashamed for their choices either. I am perfectly aware ofrepparttar 130535 harsh realities which dictate some family situations. All I’m trying to say is that I think women have painted themselves into a corner. We can be our husband’s equals without having to live in their world. Women should learn how to celebrate and be proud ofrepparttar 130536 differences betweenrepparttar 130537 sexes. So go ahead and be that domestic goddess if that’s what you truly want and don’t let anyone make you feel anything less then proud for havingrepparttar 130538 courage to liverepparttar 130539 life you want! I absolutely love this quote from an unidentified woman who was interviewed for a book entitled “And What Do You Do? When Women Choose to Stay Home”. She said that her favorite answer to “ And what do you do?” was “I’m changingrepparttar 130540 world.........one child at a time.” We’ve come a long way, baby!

Andrea Hayhurst is a freelance writer who specializes in writing articles about family and women's issues as well as fiction novels. The author can be contacted via email at ahyhrst12@aol.com for further information.


Using Natural Progesterone Cream Wisely

Written by Dr. Loretta Lanphier, ND, CN, HHP, CH


Continued from page 1

It is said that over ¾ ofrepparttar population is sleep deprived. The importance of being in bed before 10:00 p.m. so thatrepparttar 130474 body's biorhythms are not disturbed has been taught by natural medicine doctors for many years. The body does most of its repair and healing betweenrepparttar 130475 hours of 10:00 p.m. and 2:00 a.m. If you are awake during these hours your body definitely looses. There is no such thing as "catching up on your sleep". Once it is lost, it cannot be regained. Weekend "sleep warriors" are actually doing more harm to their Circadian rhythms than they may realize.

Like most things in life, we must always proceed with caution. There is no magic bullet when it comes to gettingrepparttar 130476 body balanced and healthy. Natural progesterone isrepparttar 130477 most natural and safest way to assist women withrepparttar 130478 symptoms of hormonal imbalance, but we must remember that our goal is "balance" in every area.

The following table showsrepparttar 130479 benefits of natural progesterone compared to estrogen. As you can see,repparttar 130480 effects of progesterone are many-we would do well to use it wisely.

We'll end this article with a comparison table that listsrepparttar 130481 respective effects of both estrogen and progesterone. Estrogen Effects Progesterone Effects Stimulates breasts cysts Protects against breast cysts Increases body fat storage Helps use fat for energy and keep it off hips Salt and fluid retention Natural diuretic (water pill) Depression and headaches Natural anti-depressant Interferes with thyroid hormone Facilitates thyroid hormone action Increases blood clotting and risk of stroke Normalizes blood clotting Decreases libido (sex drive) Increases libido Impairs blood sugar control Normalizes blood sugar levels Loss of zinc and retention of copper Normalizes zinc and copper levels Reduced oxygen level in all cells Restores proper cell oxygen levels Increased risk of endometrial cancer Prevents endometrial cancer Increased risk of breast cancer Helps prevent breast cancer Helps decrease bone loss slightly Increases bone building



Loretta Lanphier, ND, CN, HHP is the Founder of Oasis Advanced Wellness in the Houston, TX area. She has done extensive research in health science, hormonal balancing, nutrition, natural medicine, weight loss, herbology, cancer nutritional balancing and researchs new natural treatments for disease. Dr. Lanphier is also a dynamic seminar speaker and prolific author. For more info please visit us at: www.oasisadvancedwellness.com; www.menopause-pms-progesterone.org; www.oasisserene.com


    <Back to Page 1
 
ImproveHomeLife.com © 2005
Terms of Use