Do we seriously believe that feminism is at the heart of child custody disputes? Custody doesn't purport to reflect society as we would like it to be, but rather as it actually is. In the overwhelming majority of cases (and not just a plurality), it's the women who do the heavy lifting of child rearing. Men, for the most part, trade-off actual childcare duties for the extra money they make. Since salary disparities are still the norm (especially for working moms), we grin and bear it. When divorce occurs, it should come as no surprise that custody goes to the parent with the most hands-on responsibility (the mother) and that fathers are expected to continue their trade-off tradition by paying child support. Why blame feminism and it's call to action to more equally balance parenting roles? Next we'll be blaming feminists for the high price of fuel. Hey! Another great ad idea for John McCain!

I agree; it's just not clear to me how a feminism that believes that both mothers and fathers should be more involved in child care and domestic duties is somehow also responsible for child custody systems that in practice award sole custody to women more than men. Of course, that 's also only when joint custody is not ordered or agreed upon, or when the parents are unable to work out an acceptable system on their own. And if it is true that women still bear the bulk of child care and domestic duties, then it makes sense they would get custody in order to minimize the disruption caused to the child. Or, they might be getting custody because the judges have a more traditional view that mothers are more properly responsible for child care (it used to be the other way around--men always got custody of the children, at least when they were over the age of seven. A woman who divorced lost her kids, and there were no visitation rights). Again, not clear why that would be the result of feminism--if anything, the feminist view would militate toward shared duties.

Also, the fact that some women behave badly towards their ex-husbands with regard to child custody issues is hardly an indictment of feminism. First of all, we don't know that those women are feminists, and if they are blocking the father's access to their children, they would not be living according to a principle that called for more egalitarian child care arrangements. They might just be vengeful, or angry, and be using child custody for personal reasons. Or the dads might be deadbeats who complain that they don't get enough visitation but then don't show up when they promise. Who knows? Every situation is different depending on the personalities and circumstances of the couples involved. I just don't see how feminism is involved.

Then why is it that "feminist" groups, like NOW, fight against shared parenting tooth and nail, pulling out all kinds of bogus statistics, and putting on dramatic "victim" displays? If feminist groups were truly fair to both sides, feminism in general would stop getting blamed.