socbaker

There is a fascinating discussion going on at the Chronicle of Higher Ed right now about family leave, gender, and the rights of childless people.
An untenured male professor wants to use FMLA to care for his soon-to-born child. He was essentially told by his chair that this would amount to career suicide, as would not coming in regularly during the summer, even though he is on a 9 month contract.
The comments go on for many pages, but some interesting questions arise:
Is FMLA a “benefit” to parents that is thus unfair to the childless, even though it is government madated and unpaid?
Is it ever okay to bring a child to work? If so, when and how often? Does bringing your child entitle the childless to bring in dogs and talking parrots?
Should the childless ever make any concession of sacrifice whatsoever for the benefit of those with children?
And finally, should fathers be considered parents, as epitomized by this comment:
I don’t mean to be snarky–well, OK, maybe a little–but I don’t get it. I know I come from blue-collar country folk, and maybe that’s the difference, but how the hell is it that my dad never had to take off work when my sister and I were born, way back in the stone ages of 1950 and 1960? And my husband didn’t take off work when I had our girls in 1988 and 1991, ...