A. I'm reacting to It's surprising that human society has survived.
B. Also the part you quoted implicitly suggests raising children takes no brains.
I was one of the top three students of my graduating high school class, won a National Merit Scholarship, among other things, and was a full-time wife and mom for a lot of years.
I homeschooled my twice exceptional sons because no other school was really capable of adequately serving their needs. My oldest tested at senior in college level in science at age 11 and also below grade level in writing. Addressing his needs required me to present high level materials without watering them down while accommodating his weaknesses.
I take personal offense at the idea that full-time moms are not doing useful work and raising children is something any idiot can do well.
The world would be a better place if we worried more about raising our children well. Studies show that investing in preschoolers saves money down the line by lowering prison costs for society.
Edit in response to your edit:
Isn’t it possible to lament a historic lack of choice without demeaning homemakers?
Absolutely. But the comment in question doesn't manage to do so.
> I take personal offense at the idea that full-time moms are not doing useful work and raising children is something any idiot can do well.
Where was this even remotely implied? OP said:
> It's surprising that human society has survived, given that half the population was artificially excluded from many intellectual pursuits - or many pursuits full stop
Even if you disagree with the premise - how in any way does this demean homemakers? What a bizarre reaction.
I believe the idea here is that suggesting any degree of “surprise” that human society has survived implies that the work women were excluded from was more vital to human society’s survival than what most or all of those excluded women were actually doing at that time.
B. Also the part you quoted implicitly suggests raising children takes no brains.
I was one of the top three students of my graduating high school class, won a National Merit Scholarship, among other things, and was a full-time wife and mom for a lot of years.
I homeschooled my twice exceptional sons because no other school was really capable of adequately serving their needs. My oldest tested at senior in college level in science at age 11 and also below grade level in writing. Addressing his needs required me to present high level materials without watering them down while accommodating his weaknesses.
I take personal offense at the idea that full-time moms are not doing useful work and raising children is something any idiot can do well.
The world would be a better place if we worried more about raising our children well. Studies show that investing in preschoolers saves money down the line by lowering prison costs for society.
Edit in response to your edit:
Isn’t it possible to lament a historic lack of choice without demeaning homemakers?
Absolutely. But the comment in question doesn't manage to do so.