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Family, Parenting and Religion
Would God Agree with J.D. Vance about Women?

Would God Agree with J.D. Vance about Women?

Last updated on: September 3, 2024 at 5:39 pm by Christine Schmertz Navarro

Would God Agree with J.D. Vance about Women? 2024-09-03T17:39:59-07:00 Christine Schmertz Navarro

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J.D. Vance has suggested that all women should be mothers. Once these women reach menopause, their role is to help raise their grandchildren. First, there are multiple reasons why women are not mothers. Second, childbearing is a sensitive issue.

Does Vance believe God has revealed to him the vocation of half the world’s people?

Mother lifts child over her head with window in background

Many women feel a call to motherhood. Others do not. Making generalizations about women will be inaccurate. Courtesy of William Fortunato, pexels.com

God Calls Women in Varied Ways

J.D. Vance may have had an epiphany when he had children, and his wife became a mother. For some reason, he believes he knows what every other woman should do.

I do not have negative feelings about parenthood. My experience as a mom is a blessing and continues to be an opportunity for growth. This blanket statement about women, however, contains false assumptions. These are three of them.

1. All Women Would Be Good Mothers

I know that some Christians believe in traditional roles for husbands and wives. God calls many couples to have families. If a couple also discerns that the husband works full time while his wife takes care of the home and children, OK. If a husband expects his wife to stay home rather than work outside the house, I believe he compromises her freedom.

Not all women would be good mothers and no mother is perfect. We live in a broken world where life experiences can wound both women and men, preventing them from parenting well. Some women do not feel the call to motherhood. They may want to contribute to society in different ways.

If J.D. Vance wants to support women as mothers, however, I suggest he support programs that help them.

Equal pay for equal work. It is tough to be a single mother when society pays women less than men for the same job.
Universal or affordable healthcare. Healthy parents and children have a better chance of success.
Paid family leave. Mothers and fathers should spend time bonding with their children after childbirth or adoption.

If J.D. Vance does not find concrete ways to support women as mothers, his statements come from ignorance.

2. All Women Can be Mothers.

Flippant comments about motherhood reveal a lack of respect for women’s bodies and decision-making. I wonder how couples struggling with infertility reacted to his statements. Women may want a child or more children with their whole hearts but cannot have them for some reason. Pregnancy could cause women with weak hearts to die. Women who take medication may not want to jeopardize the health of an unborn child by becoming pregnant. A woman may want to be a mother but has not met a man who would be a good father.

3. Women are Always Better Caregivers than Their Partners or Spouses

I have encountered couples where the father has a better connection with his children than his wife. Perhaps he should be the primary caregiver while his wife is the breadwinner. Some couples alternate these roles when one parent is pursuing a degree or training or is away with the military.

Men and women can both be bad or excellent parents. In a family with multiple children, one parent may connect better than the other with a child. The idea that a woman, because of her biology, can be the better parent does not make sense. Even though parenting is rewarding, it can also be challenging. Using the gifts of both parents enriches children’s lives.

Generalizations Are Generally Inaccurate and Can Hurt

As much as I might wish to know whether a couple plans to have a little brother or sister for their son or daughter, I have realized that 1. their plans are none of my business and 2. issues surrounding pregnancy, childbirth, number of children, and so on involve strong emotions.

Unless a husband or wife confides in me, I stay silent. Being unmarried when wishing to be married is lonely. Experiencing a fertility problem when wanting to have a child is painful. Receiving pressure to have grandchildren is stressful. I assume that J.D. Vance’s assumptions about pre-menopausal women and post-menopausal women come from a lack of understanding and empathy.

Every person deserves the freedom to pursue God’s call. Many good people are not parents. This experience challenges the idea that all men or all women are called similarly. Each person deserves the freedom to choose how they want to live their lives . . . and whether they want cats!

I do not think that God would agree with J.D. Vance about women. Since he created women, let us allow God to guide us.

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