Feminist Mystique

Author Caitlan Flanagan proves Betty Friedan’s point: Motherhood can make you crazy.

By Kirsten A. Powers
Web Exclusive: 05.04.06

The ongoing “Mommy Wars” has been building with such ferocity that it seems destined for an old-fashioned rumble. The Greasers and the Socs used knives and tire irons; the working mothers will hurl blackberries and briefcases, while the stay-at-homes try to run them over with their minivans.

Barrels of ink have been expended to make unequivocal cases for the “right” way to be a mother, when any reasonable person knows there are no simple answers, and there is no panacea for raising emotionally healthy, productive children. So, why can’t we all just get along?