By now, we are all very, very aware that Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett has seven children, two of whom are adopted from Haiti. Indeed, both Republican politicians and Barrett herself have done everything in their power to make sure that we are all very aware of her children, despite them not being relevant to her judicial decision-making.<\/p>\n
I have been profoundly uncomfortable with the extent to which Barrett\u2019s children have been thrust into the spotlight. Growing up in a politically active conservative family, the first of a large number of children, I constantly felt that I was being shown off. Because I was<\/em>. While this did not particularly bother me\u2014I rather liked the spotlight\u2014it\u00a0did\u00a0<\/em>bother some of my younger siblings.<\/p>\n Children should not be used as a means of furthering a parent\u2019s political views or ambitions. In a similar vein, children should not be paraded around like props. Children should be allowed to be their own separate people, regardless of who their parents are. I believed this about Malia and Sasha; I believe it about Barron; and I believe it about Barrett\u2019s children.<\/p>\n I have been trying to puzzle out why Republicans are so keen on talking about Coney Barrett\u2019s children. In part, I think they are trying to signal Barrett\u2019s underlying conservatism to their base. In part, I think they are trying to advertise to those outside of their base that they really truly<\/em>\u00a0believe women can both have children and have careers. None of this comes off well<\/em>.<\/p>\n I grew up in a world where women\u2019s worth was measured by the number of children she had. When I left that world, it took me a very, very long time to work through my feeling that my worth as a person was measured by my fertility. It is\u00a0never\u00a0<\/em>a good idea to measure a woman\u2019s worth by how many children she has. Also, while Republicans do have more children on average than Democrats, they don\u2019t have\u00a0that\u00a0<\/em>many more children. I\u2019m unsure what this emphasis on Barrett\u2019s fecundity is actually<\/em> communicating to Republicans who have two children.<\/p>\n Also, Republicans\u2019 emphasis on the fact that Barrett has many, many<\/em> children and yet somehow also<\/em> has a high-powered career\u2014can you believe it?!\u2014does not exactly send the woman-power message I think Republicans think it sends. In fact, to me it sends the\u00a0opposite\u00a0<\/em>message. Republicans are All Astonishment<\/em> that women can balance both children and careers\u2014something the rest of us figured out a long time ago.\u00a0<\/i>Like. Really?<\/p>\n I really wish Republicans would focus on Barrett\u2019s record, rather than on the very,\u00a0very\u00a0<\/em>large number of children she has. Honestly? The number of children Barrett has is not all that odd. She has five biological children, which is not\u00a0uncommon among practicing Catholic families. She also adopted two children, why is why she has seven.\u00a0This should not be getting that much press.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n I grew up in a\u00a0much\u00a0<\/em>larger family, and when my father ran for political office\u2014which he did\u2014he focused on politics. No one said \u201cwow, look how many kids he has, you should definitely elect him.\u201d That would have been weird<\/em>. For that matter, did anyone ever focus on how many kids John McCain had? Like Barrett, he had seven. Why are Republicans\u00a0all\u00a0<\/em>talking about this?!<\/p>\n Ugh! Yes, I\u2019m annoyed! Women\u2019s worth is not measured by how many children they have, this isn\u2019t a contest, and kids should be left exist\u00a0in peace,\u00a0<\/em>thank you very much.<\/p>\n Also! We\u2019re talking about the same party that was a-okay with separating children from their parents at the border. Don\u2019t for\u00a0a moment\u00a0<\/em>let them claim they are the pro-children ones here. They are manifestly\u00a0not.\u00a0<\/em>They like children as ornaments to respectable white people, and that\u2019s about it. Consider how they talk about Black moms on welfare. Or immigrant families that take financial assistance like\u00a0state-subsidized health insurance for their children.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n The Republicans are\u00a0not\u00a0<\/em>the pro-child family. Full stop.<\/p>\n There is one other thing I want to address. I\u2019m somewhat reluctant to say anything about this because I really, truly do think Barrett\u2019s children have the right to exist in peace, outside of the spotlight. But since Republicans have thrust<\/em> them there, I feel the need to touch on this.<\/p>\n I\u2019ll start by sharing these tweets, which echo what I\u2019ve been feeling:<\/p>\n I do not trust right wing white evangelicals who adopt black children. \u2014 JJ in NH (@JustJoshinNH) October 12, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n
Seen it.
Knew these people.
Nope.
Don't trust it. At all.<\/p>\n