38-year-old Meghann Foye was lucky enough to get Meternity published, and the biggest take away may be a selfish sense of entitlement while contributing nothing to the debate on paid family leave.
Foye’s work of fiction is about a young woman who fakes a pregnancy to get maternity leave. But, it’s based on her decision to take her own kind of maternity leave, despite not having any children, as she shared with The New York Post.
As Foye reflects:
That time may never come even for women who are pregnant. The United States is one of few nations which do not offer federally guaranteed paid maternity leave. Foye’s character was lucky to work for a company that offered it.
The oddity continues:
Both arguments may be “valid” to Foye, but are likely not to many employers. And, it may seem “that parenthood was the only path that provided a modicum of flexibility” because Foye does not have children.
To Foye, women ought to take “meternity” leave because they may suffer from burn-outs while having the good fortune of being employed:
The issue of paid family leave is a complex one, with thoughtful arguments on both sides. And yet, Foye has to take the discussion a step back by contributing nothing. Perhaps it’s not millennials who are the entitled generation — Gen-X has their own bad apples.
