People not only judge mothers based on work status, but also judge their kids
A Kansas State University study evaluated the perceptions people have of women and their children based on the woman’s work status. The findings showed that people value, and do not differentiate between, mothers who stay in the home full time and mothers who find a compromise between working and at-home motherhood after they have a child. People also devalue mothers employed full time outside the home, relative to their non-employed counterparts, and perceive their children to be troubled and their relationships to be problematic.
“The most interesting, and potentially dangerous, finding is the view that if a child has a working mother, people don’t like that child as much,” said Jennifer Livengood, a K-State graduate student in psychology from Sweet Springs, Mo. “People really devalue a mom who works full time outside the home in comparison to a mom who doesn’t. People like mothers who fulfill traditional stereotypes, like staying at home. That’s just not a reality and not a preference for women as much as it used to be.”
I don’t think the same can be said for mothers of color. A mom of color who stays home is stereotypes as lazy, living off the govt.
True. Is there any stereotype of a mom of color, though, that’s positive? Because I’ve never encountered one. The only good mother is a white mother, after all. (Yes, that’s sarcasm.)