The Lady and the Tramp

“The Lady and the Tramp (II): Feminist Welfare Politics, Poor Single Mothers, and the Challenge of welfare Justice” by Gwendolyn Mink focuses on the effects of welfare reform targeting poor single mothers. The problem with welfare is that most women advocating for it are usually middle/upper class women that have not undergone the struggles of most of the recipients of welfare thus most of the changes that come about may not always be beneficial for those on welfare. The author agrees with the idea that the job of a mother in the household is crucial especially when it comes to raising their children, thus their hard work at home should be rewarded monetarily through welfare. The majority of women, some that are even feminists, are against welfare for women that remain at home and believe that they should be working to fulfill their duty in society because since the days of the feminist movement women saw the home as the ground for women’s oppression. I think that more poor single mothers that are on welfare should be introduced into these committees of welfare reform, especially for those advocates who want to promote better opportunities as well as better lives for those on welfare. I disagree with the author in that women should have the right to stay at home, but I also disagree with those that are against welfare and who believe that the single mothers on welfare are lazy and falling back on welfare as a financial solution. It is possible for these poor single mothers to have a job and fulfill their responsibilities as caregivers at the same time. I don’t think that the government should intrude on the lives of these women on both personal and intimate levels such as demanding of these people the details of intimate relationships, to make room for biological fathers in their families, and punishing their decision to bear children (p. 58). These women should not be chastised, but instead should be motivated and given options to encourage them to fulfill their duties as good citizens in society by both obtaining a job and taking care of their children.
The targeted welfare population are single women of color, black specifically. The majority of these women of color on welfare live in communities that do not make it easy for them to step outside the home to look for a job and take care of their children as well. Instead of intruding on these women’s lives and limiting them, the government should be focusing on their children. If the welfare reform requires single mothers to work, the government should make options such as by creating free after-school programs in the communities where welfare is prevalent in order to allow these women to find a job while knowing that their child is in good hands, thus enriching the lives of the children as well as the mother. These single mothers of color are the ones who should be heard and given a voice in order to be able to fulfill both their needs and society as a whole.