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High school commencement speaker tells females: stay at home, don’t be CEOs

Yes, I think the BEST people in the world come from GOOD homemakers, not somethiing either of us can "know for a fact". You can give examples, but they can easily be knocked down. Same with me. But what is not subjective is the role of the mother in a child's life. With rare exception mothers are the central important figure for a child, yes, more important than fathers. It's great to have both, but when it comes down to it, there's a reason mothers generally get custody.



Nonsense, you have that reversed. The egg does not precede the chicken in this context.

My mother figured prominently in my life not just because she was a tough mother, but as an adolescent and young adult, it was her role as a career woman and her political work that influenced me even more.
 
When did being a great wife and mom become a bad thing? The only thing wrong with this statement, as I see it, is that he didn't also encourage the male students to be great husbands and fathers and forget all that wasted time working late and on weekends chasing the CEO ring and spend more time with your wife and kids and help them be successful in their lives too - it's the greatest reward.

If you think that is the reason why people are pissed off at this guy then you just don't get it.

A woman's role is whatever she wants it to be, there is nothing wrong with equality in the work force, there is nothing wrong with women being CEO's, and there is nothing wrong with not having kids, or getting married if you don't want too.

Women should be free to choose, and have the same opportunities as men, not be pigeonholed into a life they may not want.
 
My mother figured prominently in my life not just because she was a tough mother, but as an adolescent and young adult, it was her role as a career woman and political work that influenced me even more.

I suspect she also chose to make you the overriding priority. Dare I say you would have found yourself just as proud of and influenced by her had she instead chosen to be solely a homemaker.
 
If you think that is the reason why people are pissed off at this guy then you just don't get it.

A woman's role is whatever she wants it to be, there is nothing wrong with equality in the work force, there is nothing wrong with women being CEO's, and there is nothing wrong with not having kids, or getting married if you don't want too.

Women should be free to choose, and have the same opportunities as men, not be pigeonholed into a life they may not want.

Indeed, and no one, not even in the OP is saying that women can't make all those choices, or that they are terrible human beings for doing so. But right now, we need great mothers to engineer great families more than just about anything else. So the call goes out - that's precisely what happens in commencement speeches.
 
I suspect she also chose to make you the overriding priority. Dare I say you would have found yourself just as proud of and influenced by her had she instead chosen to be solely a homemaker.

She made us the priority, but her work was also as a result of our family. I would have been proud of what she had done, but I would by lying if I said I would have been as proud. Her work has been very important for children, for parents, for the state, and the legislature. Her influence would have also greatly diminished. We're working together frequently, in the same professional circles, and its largely because of her influence.
 
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My mother figured prominently in my life not just because she was a tough mother, but as an adolescent and young adult, it was her role as a career woman and her political work that influenced me even more.

I had a similar experience growing up. It largely shaped my attitude towards the role of women now. I like strong, smart, opinionated women with goals, educations and ambitions. If I wanted a dependent, I'd get a cat.
 
Indeed, and no one, not even in the OP is saying that women can't make all those choices, or that they are terrible human beings for doing so. But right now, we need great mothers to engineer great families more than just about anything else. So the call goes out - that's precisely what happens in commencement speeches.

That is basically what the quote in the OP said. Saying that it is not our place to work, and the only real way we can make a difference is to be in the kitchen barefoot raising babies. It is the same old tired sexist sentiment that has been around for years.
 
A woman's biggest impact on the world is their ability to have children, to suggest otherwise would be moronic. You can argue the societal points all you want, but biology will win.





You are demeaning women with this statement. You are also insulting me because I don't agree with you and I am certainly not a moron.

A lot of women who have had a much huge impact on this world never had a child.

You need to open up your mind and let a little reality seep in.
 
That is basically what the quote in the OP said. Saying that it is not our place to work, and the only real way we can make a difference is to be in the kitchen barefoot raising babies. It is the same old tired sexist sentiment that has been around for years.

That wasn't my takeaway from the quote at all. There's a good deal of self-added subtext in what you took away from that. Being a mother and homemaker in no way means you're chained to the kitchen, barefoot raising babies.
 
Commencement speeches revolve around the current milieu. Right now we have gone through social changes that have brought us to a place where increasingly motherhood is taking a backseat to the other aspects of life.

and on the other hand, the global population is approaching a point where it will have to be addressed. i can think of worse ways to address it than people deciding to have fewer children so that they can have some time to develop their careers. spreading that cultural trait to the third world would be a very good thing, IMO.

i suppose if it's a priority to have one parent at home be it father or mother, we might consider paying our workers a bit more so that they can actually do that. after 30 years of wage stagnation, it's pretty difficult for one worker to support a family.
 
Not at all - as I said previously, being great at raising a family is indeed the one thing with the greatest impact on society, without a doubt - the only thing he missed out on was imploring the male students to also devote themselves to being great husbands and fathers. He isn't saying that any other pursuit isn't worthy or irrelevant, just not as important to society and to mankind.

It's a perfectly legitimate view to have irrespective of your attempts to make it seem perverted.

He did.

I challenged the men by telling them that, to solve the problems of our society, we don’t need more millionaire entrepreneur men. We need more men acting as fierce defenders of their wives and providers for their children.

I suppose you can nit pick and complain wives don't need husbands to defend them, etc. but I think most of the outrage in this thread is over something the man clearly didn't intend to suggest.

Personally, I think he can fantastic advice.
 
and on the other hand, the global population is approaching a point where it will have to be addressed. i can think of worse ways to address it than people deciding to have fewer children so that they can have some time to develop their careers. spreading that cultural trait to the third world would be a very good thing, IMO.

i suppose if it's a priority to have one parent at home be it father or mother, we might consider paying our workers a bit more so that they can actually do that. after 30 years of wage stagnation, it's pretty difficult for one worker to support a family.

The speech said nothing about having large families or tons of babies.
 
That wasn't my takeaway from the quote at all. There's a good deal of self-added subtext in what you took away from that. Being a mother and homemaker in no way means you're chained to the kitchen, barefoot raising babies.

I think you are ignoring a lot of context that doesn't paint his message in such a pretty light. Also you are ignoring the words he used, he said the world doesn't need women CEO's, can't get much more clear than that.
 
That is basically what the quote in the OP said. Saying that it is not our place to work, and the only real way we can make a difference is to be in the kitchen barefoot raising babies. It is the same old tired sexist sentiment that has been around for years.








I wasn't surprised to learn at the OP's link that the commencement speaker is a decidedly Christian motivational speaker.

I had him pegged as a right-wing evangelical from the git-go.






"Man has created God in his own image: intolerant, sexist, homophobic, and violent." ~ Marie
 
I think you are ignoring a lot of context that doesn't paint his message in such a pretty light. Also you are ignoring the words he used, he said the world doesn't need women CEO's, can't get much more clear than that.

You're reading it through a jaundiced eye, he said that in context of what was said immediately prior.

“I challenge you to devote yourself to your families and your children. If you choose to have a career, God’s blessings upon you,” Heck orated. “But I challenge you to recognize what the world scoffs at, that your greatest role in your life will be that of wife and mother. The greatest impact you could ever contribute to our world is a loving investment in the lives of your precious children. To solve the problems plaguing our society, we don’t need more women CEOs. We need more women as invested mothers.”
 
No, he said:

"The greatest impact you could ever contribute to our world is a loving investment in the lives of your precious children. To solve the problems plaguing our society, we don’t need more women CEOs. We need more women as invested mothers.”

So yes, he is in fact telling young woman that they should stay at home. More importantly, he's telling them that their contributions to the world are best achieved through staying at home and squeezing out babies. That is both ridiculous and positively archaic thinking.



At the link I learned that he's a Christian motivational speaker.

Surprise, surprise.
 
Yeah... no. First, the quote said that the most impact a woman can have is as a mother. That's just absurd. Unless you've raised Mark Zuckerberg, there're any number of things a woman can do with her time that will have a greater impact on the world than being a mother. Sure, being a responsible parent (of either gender) is hugely impactful to your child, but it has very little impact on my life. Certainly far less so than the business decisions of, say, Sheryl Sandberg.

Second, there's a long list of jobs that are far more important that being a mother. Even if you just count the things that directly impact children, pediatric surgeons save the lives of thousands of children over the course of their careers, and and teachers teach hundreds of thousands of kids. Both of those jobs seriously impact the lives lots and lots of people, whereas a mother pretty much only influences her own kids.

So no, motherhood is not the most important job ever. It's a perfectly valid life choice; and yes, children need involved parents (again: of BOTH genders) but to suggest that a woman's greatest impact comes from squirting out a baby and taking care of it is just not true.




But it's an idea that a lot of right-wing Christians will promote.
 

And how is this bull**** different from what Muslim extremists tell their women?

Wrong is wrong is wrong is wrong. Women will continue to be the niggers of the world until they day comes that dickwitted extremists stop trying to dictate their lives. I suggest that Peter Heck and men who support him be the example they want to see. Stay the hell home and raise the children while the wife pursues a career.
 
And how is this bull**** different from what Muslim extremists tell their women?

Wrong is wrong is wrong is wrong. Women will continue to be the niggers of the world until they day comes that dickwitted extremists stop trying to dictate their lives. I suggest that Peter Heck and men who support him be the example they want to see. Stay the hell home and raise the children while the wife pursues a career.






Great idea.

What's good for the goose is good for the gander.
 
And how is this bull**** different from what Muslim extremists tell their women?

Wrong is wrong is wrong is wrong. Women will continue to be the niggers of the world until they day comes that dickwitted extremists stop trying to dictate their lives. I suggest that Peter Heck and men who support him be the example they want to see. Stay the hell home and raise the children while the wife pursues a career.
1. I agree that the guy is sexist, if not even misogynistic. However, Muslim extremists tend to go a bit farther than telling women to stay at home, LOL.

2. Women are the "niggers of the world" is the worst. Lennon was an idiot for making that song. Not only does it inherently ignore black women (they, according to the phrase, would be the "nigger niggers of the world"), it's also an overly simplistic comparison of black and female oppression. It also evokes a sense of, "Holy ****, women are being treated like blacks. This is too far!" In sum, the sentiment behind the phrase is well-intentioned, but poorly executed.
 
I am not one of those people.

I see that address as a major failure.

Changing dirty diapers is not my idea of a great job (I've changed plenty and washed them.).

Whoever picked that social studies teacher to give the commencement address failed.

Who made the rule that women have to do all of the tough jobs?

When talking about certain elements of children that would be nature. Other elements it was just a logical extension of the former.

Btw, changing diapers is not really that hard and I think men have been sharing that responsibility even in our grandfathers time.
 
1. I agree that the guy is sexist, if not even misogynistic. However, Muslim extremists tend to go a bit farther than telling women to stay at home, LOL.

2. Women are the "niggers of the world" is the worst. Lennon was an idiot for making that song. Not only does it inherently ignore black women (they, according to the phrase, would be the "nigger niggers of the world"), it's also an overly simplistic comparison of black and female oppression. It also evokes a sense of, "Holy ****, women are being treated like blacks. This is too far!" In sum, the sentiment behind the phrase is well-intentioned, but poorly executed.

The men in the United States who would, who do, demand their women stay home are cut from the same bolt of cloth as Peter Heck and the people who support him. Muslim extremists get away with it because the societies in the countries in which they live tolerate/support their extremism. If it were tolerated/supported by the American society at large, US religious extremists would no doubt tell their women the same thing Muslim men tell their women.

We will have to agree to disagree regarding John Lennon's intent.
 
If you think that is the reason why people are pissed off at this guy then you just don't get it.

A woman's role is whatever she wants it to be, there is nothing wrong with equality in the work force, there is nothing wrong with women being CEO's, and there is nothing wrong with not having kids, or getting married if you don't want too.

Women should be free to choose, and have the same opportunities as men, not be pigeonholed into a life they may not want.

Whether you know it or not, you fell directly into the societal stereotype that this commencement speaker was talking about - he challenged them, dared them, to consider what in today's society is the unconventional - that being the woman who has a family and her role/goal in life is to raise that family. He's challenging them not to let people say to them you're not doing important work, you're not fulfilling your promise and your potential because you're not out in the workforce, you're not striving to be a CEO, you're just a wife and a mom.

To use your words, he challenging them not to be pigeonholed into the life of the corporate/business woman just because other women think that's what makes you equal to men, as good as men.

You can find all kinds of articles in the media and on the net from women who are stay at home moms whose friends act as if they're second class citizens, lazy, not contributing to society because all they do is stay home and look after their kids. You're exactly right - a woman's role is whatever she wants it to be and if she wants it to be a marriage and a family that she raises as a stay at home mom then she shouldn't feel she's any less a woman in today's society just because "career" women think less of her.
 
That is basically what the quote in the OP said. Saying that it is not our place to work, and the only real way we can make a difference is to be in the kitchen barefoot raising babies. It is the same old tired sexist sentiment that has been around for years.

What a gross misrepresentation of the words quoted in the OP - and you claim I got it wrong??
 
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