Can 'The 50/50 Solution' Finally Bring Balance to Divorce Cases Tainted by 3rd Wave Feminism?"
A lot can be said for a self-proclaimed feminist to enter the world of father’s rights. In her latest showstopper, Emma Johnson, Wealthy Single Mommy and author of “The 50/50 Solution”, brings a well-balanced and rational argument in opposition, that children are best left with the mother in custody disputes. As a mother and stepmother, the magnitude of issues seen from primary care placement with only one parent are immeasurable. (Missing Fathers and the Children Left Behind) Years of nonprofit work in family law reform have opened my eyes to the undisputed reality that millions of children are socially and economically impacted by sexist court rulings resulting in the removal of one parent, predominately the father. Ms. Johnson throws herself to the whims of her countless female supporters by laying out the cold hard facts of our what was once a prized jewel- the American dream of the house, car, 2.5 kids and why today, we see the backlash of failed social policies such as child support, welfare, domestic violence funding and gender roles.
You don’t need to look hard to find an example of modern-day family court trauma events. Hell, I’m only here because of the emotional turmoil placed upon my husband, why else would I be knee deep in fembot bullshit trying to change societal norms? It’s not fun. Emma’s logic can lead even the most novice shared parenting advocate through a garden of rich social welfare program history, parenting roles and methods, failed gender specific parenting marketing and government sponsored dismemberment of the family unit. Advising that some women have a blind sense of power and that through domestic violence organizations, girl chat over coffee and potential financial gain; rule the parenting realm. A chapter or more in I started to notice a theme, a theme that made me a bit uncomfortable- liberalism. Although my collection of personal readers is nothing like The 50/50 Solution, I find my comfort in political ideological pieces and governmental power, the hints to Emma’s personal thinking’s were getting a little soggy for my taste.
But I told myself, “Summer, this woman has risked her reputation on the same concepts you’ve been advocating for- YOU WILL FINISH THIS BOOK” Luckily, the context was brought full circle and started getting into the thick of why the US struggles so badly with gender equality. Emma frames this issue through the lens of personal interviews, parental deformity and scientifically sound studies from some of my favorite professionals in the field, Dr. Jennifer Harman and William V Fabricius- to whom I credit hypnotizing me into the world of shared parenting methods. Emma takes a global approach in her argument for 50/50 custody arrangements. She allows the reader to form their own conclusions based on facts from worldwide family science experts. If you’ve never heard of shared parenting or if you’ve never experienced family court; well one, consider yourself lucky and two, this book will give you the crash course in why shared parenting not only is the preferred custody arrangement, but the only method to ensure your child(ren) aren’t going to grow up requiring anti-depressants when living through a cycle of unhealthy relationships.
I particularly, enjoyed chapter 2, Beyond the Male Breadwinner. This chapter truly exposes the wide gap between parenting roles, some going as far as removing the father’s input even while living together as husband and wife. Emma’s thoughts of gender equality are clear: if woman truly desire to be equals with men, women must demand equality in parenting. This concept as been overshadowed for an eternity by happy go lucky mothering books, over commercialization of motherly attachment theories and a century of social welfare programs aimed at disproportionately helping women. Emma takes the hard line- “LET FATHERS, FATHER”. The overwhelming benefits of having such a different influence in a child’s live as been proven time and time again to only enhance that child’s wellbeing well beyond adulthood. The message is clear, stop treating dads as weekend warriors, idiots, and lazy do-nothing bodies, all while demanding financial compensation for carrying a child for 9-months.
The final nail in the proverbial coffin against any sort of anti-shared parenting argument was the reasoning behind the public awareness component, that there’s an entire systematic structure in place reducing two parent households. Junk science, as discussed in chapter 5: A Deeper Look at Domestic Violence Postdivorce, truly covers the uphill battle men face when allegations of abuse are made. Policy and law can and has been formed around biased journal reports in the name of “science”, like we’ve seen with Joan Meier,ESQ and her cherry-picked nondisclosed data set write up, “Child Custody Outcomes in Cases Involving Parental Alienation and Abuse Allegations”. I released the breath I was holding while reading on to discover Emma’s opinion on Joan’s work, and to my pleasure, she had the same reckoning as many others before her- Joan Meier is a paid Attorney working under federal grant monies to produce outcomes to continue programing and funding. Period.
There are many highlights that I will be applying from this reading. The number of dog ears I have is almost criminal to book lovers everywhere- sorry, not sorry. The 50/50 Solution should be a must read for every woman, regardless of status. Mother, married, not married, divorce, dating, same sex relationships etc. If we as women understand where our inequality comes from, then we may strive to make the changes needed to make society whole again yet, this doesn’t mean that men need to suffer for us to feel empowered. Take a piece of logic from a non-feminist, reducing a man’s worth in the name of adding to mine will never result in a holistic change in societal understanding- this will only transfer the oppression from one being to another other without doing the hard work.
To learn more about shared parenting and its advocacy visit, www.nyfamiliesfortomorrow.org
New York State currently has Bills in both the Senate and House promoting Shared Parenting- CALL, EMAIL, VISIT YOUR REP TODAY IN SUPPORT!
