A Feeble Defense of Single Motherhood

A Feeble Defense of Single Motherhood

New York Times contributor Kate Roiphe slams conservative social critics for suggesting “single mothers are bad.” Actually, it’s single motherhood as an institution – not the mothers themselves – that deserves criticism.

Roiphe claims the nuclear family is “narrow, constricting, airless” while her own situation – with two children from two different fathers, neither of whom live with her – is “messy, bohemian, warm.” She insists “suffering is everywhere” in traditional marriages, based on novels, plays and conversation with friends, without acknowledging that dysfunctional relationships always make a more compelling focus for entertainment or talk.

Finally, she identifies the “real...