Abortion, Autonomy, and the Reality of Parenthood

What are the consequences of feminist ideals on modern women? How have they affected the work-life balance, the denigration of motherhood, and the quest for female autonomy?

Carrie Gress is a fellow at the Ethics & Public Policy Center and at Catholic University. She is also the author of several books. Her latest is titled, The End of Woman: How Smashing the Patriarchy Has Destroyed Us.

Greg and Carrie discuss her latest book, where she argues that feminism has been detrimental to women's happiness and societal roles. Carrie explores the historical roots of feminism dating back to the French Revolution, and cites key figures such as Mary Wollstonecraft and the people around her. Carrie critiques the feminist movement’s focus on autonomy, notes its influence from communism and socialism, and laments its impact on modern societal issues, including motherhood, family dynamics, and mental health. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

What feminism forgot about motherhood

16:41: I think the problems really get bigger. The more you start seeing how it's not just about women going to work, but it's really an ideology that we've been fed over and over again, and told that this is really the route to happiness. Meanwhile, something like motherhood is denigrated, even though, you know, there's so much personal growth that happens from motherhood. There's so much growth in terms of just maturing. And I think that's one of the great things about motherhood — it just pulls you out of yourself. And that's what people are resistant to — you don't wanna see how impatient you are. You don't wanna see your limits. And that's what motherhood pushes you to, so that you have to surpass them and become better than what you were before. And there's nobody to take over for you at five o'clock. It just keeps going. And I think that the ways in which our virtues are really extended and can grow — but, you know, few people understand and think through that prism when it comes to motherhood.

Home solidifies who you are

20:26: Home isn't meant to just be a hotel where you check in at night, but it's meant to be a place where you really solidify who you are. You learn your gifts; you learn your connection to family. And in that rootedness, then you can go out into the world and be something.

What really is feminism?

03:51: Feminism is a way to protect ourselves against things, instead of really opening ourselves up to something more beautiful, which comes about within the family, within having children, within the home — which is not to say that women shouldn't work. I'm obviously a working mom, but I think it has to be balanced with understanding who we are. And instead of rejecting something, it's really going back to embracing ourselves — the life of womanhood as a mother and wife, and caring for others.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

• Betty Friedan
• Congress of American Women
• Simone de Beauvoir
• Mary Wollstonecraft
• Elizabeth Cady Stanton
• Percy Bysshe Shelley
• William Godwin
• Jean-Jacques Rousseau
• Margaret Sanger
• Gloria Steinem

Guest Profile:

• Faculty Profile at the Ethics & Public Policy Center
• CarrieGress.com
• Profile on LinkedIn
• Social Profile on Instagram

Her Work:

• Substack Newsletter
• Amazon Author Page
• The End of Woman: How Smashing the Patriarchy Has Destroyed Us
• Theology of Home III: At the Sea
• Theology of Home II: The Spiritual Art of Homemaking
• Theology of Home: Finding the Eternal in the Everyday
• The Marian Option: God’s Solution to a Civilization in Crisis
• The Homemaker's Litany
• Ultimate Makeover: The Transforming Power of Motherhood
• The Catholic Thing Articles
• National Catholic Register Articles