Here is a thoughtful reply from the man who posted the above article (on another forum):
Greetings in Christ.
This was in part what I was trying to get at in my response to the Original Poster in the Mens Forum ("What do men want in a relationship"). There seems to indeed be a prevalance of women wanting their cake and eating it too. And I've encountered my fair share of women who think they are impressing me by the careerpath they are on or the material things they own. There is, of course, nothing evil in these things in and of themselves - for even Proverbs 31 speaks of the virtuous women who sells her items at the market. But as this article writer points out from studies done on this issue, and correctly I believe if referring to the modern woman in western society, "If they quit their jobs and stay home with the kids, they will be unhappy."
So I will do something I do not often do - I will offer my opinion publically. It is nothing more than that - but it is based on my both my personal experience and deep reflections on this topic following the failure of my own (non-canonical) marriage. You are welcome to disagree with me, but please, in charity, don't throw stones as I've been wounded plenty enough already.
It seems that these days almost from the first days of school, teachers begin encouraging their students to entertain thoughts of a career. It was here, especially in the public school settings beginning in about the 1960's, that the views taught in schools began to collide with those in the home, thus fostering a spirit of independence on the part of the child apart from the authority, protection, and provision of ones parents. In contrast to the Catholic schools that my parents attended in the 1950's, where daughters were primarily educated how to manage the day to day domestic and business affairs of a household, the public schools began to encourage young women to be career minded, which in most cases, required them to consider university studies. Again, she would be encouraged to act independently from the authority, protection, and provision of her parents.
After graduating college, she again acts independently by establishing her career and is able to - apart from the authority, protection, and provision of her parents - buy her own car, own house, etc. Finally, there is time to consider that one thing that her nature longs for - marriage and children. But there now is a problem. In the not so distant past that simple ceremony at the beginning of the wedding - the one where the father hands over his daughter to her husband to be - really meant something. It meant he was handing over the authority, protection, and provision of his daughter to her husband to be. But now, it seems, it is just a empty symbol. For many women have traded these beautiful provisions in God's plan for their lust of independence. How will she now be able to accept her husband's authority, protection and provision when she has been so busy independently exercising these on her own since at least her days in college?
Surely, in today's two income economy, there will be sacrifices that will need to be made if she is not working. Will she accept or scoff at her husband's financial provision for the family? Will she embrace her husband's protection when he sees a spiritual trap that may lead her into sin, or will she continue to follow her own intuition as she has come accustomed to? And will she accept her husbands authority as her spiritual head or continue her desire to act independently from any authority but her own? Look at the statistics: these are the very issues that are at the center of the failure of most marriages.
No, I'm not against education, nor women working if they must - or if they believe that they have truly found that a particular job is their calling from God. Nor do I direct this toward those who grew up in abusive homes were the provision of God that I speak of was abused by their parents. But I think that in the same way that we as traditional Catholics look at the fruits of Vatican II, we must also carefully evaluate the fruits of other seeds that have been planted in the last 40 years since the cultural revolution of the 1960's. For being a traditional Catholic is much more than just adhering to the traditional Mass.
Pardon me while I seek shelter to avoid being hit by stones...
Peace be with you.
Christopher