2.16 Kim Landeen and Caroline Allen discuss the Irreplaceable role of Fathers and building interdependent relationships with men.

Currents: the Big Ocean Women Podcast

Kim Landeen and Carolina Allen discuss the tenet, “We value the irreplaceable role of fathers and build interdependent relationships with men.”

“It gives us all the more authority to speak because it can be an interesting thing to be getting advice for the world from a group of people that have completely disavowed, or just said, ‘Hey we are not engaging with men anymore; we’re completely writing them off from any sort of significant interaction.’ That doesn’t give you credibility in the world because the men still exist, and they’re still a part of this world with us. To have a feminist voice that’s saying, ‘I am in these messy trenches of a hard relationship, and I am making it work. We’re working on it, that gives us way more authority to speak on behalf of feminism in general.” – Carolina Allen

Partnership – “How much better off am I when I have a partner in the work equally yoked, so that I’m not feeling less than or being treated like an employee, or that my husband is my supervisor or my manager… my husband is equally yoked to do the work with me, where his contributions outside of the home and inside of the home are valued, and likewise with my contributions outside of the home and inside of the home, and where we can fill in for each other with our unique gifts and strengths and lighten the load wherever we are and see each other as teammates.” – Carolina Allen

“People don’t get through life unscathed, and as we are willing to invest in the healing of our spouses, in the healing of our partners, great things do come from that.” – Kim Landeen

“We need fathers. They are truly key players in establishing our homes; they are key players in establishing communities that really respect women and respect girls. Without them, we lack so much.” – Kim Landeen

“We need the men in our lives to show up… We don’t need men just to be present, we need men to be actively engaged in the home.” – Kim Landeen

“The idea of ‘fathers’ and the idea of ‘fatherhood’ implies a selflessness that’s embedded in there: that you’re living not just for yourself, but for someone else, and there’s a maturity level there. We’re inviting me to rise to that level of ‘father.’” – Carolina Allen

“(Men), become better with us, rise to the occasion. Be partners in marriage, be partners in life, be partners in rearing children, and in society and all of the good things that come with that.” – Kim Landeen

“Building takes effort and building takes time. Building takes forethought and planning, but it’s worth it.” – Kim Landeen

“Our call to women is to see this value in men. See the struggle, recognize the struggle, see that there is value in the struggle, there is value of partnering with these men in our lives, of surrounding these men with love, even when they’re not necessarily exhibiting the best behaviors, because we see the value in these men, we see the potential in these men. And men, we ask you to partner with us. Truly partner with us. Step up. Yoke yourself beside us. Let’s raise these families, let’s raise society, let’s raise each other in the process. Let’s become the best us we can be by becoming the best we that we can be. Let’s raise our families, let’s strengthen our society. We need you!” – Kim Landeen

Carolina is the founder and leader of Big Ocean Women, the international maternal feminist organization representing perspectives of faith, family, and motherhood throughout civil society. Carolina holds a B.A. in philosophy from the University of Utah with an emphasis in cultural religions and philosophy of science. Her inspirational and philosophical work has been presented at various international U.N. conferences. She is a native of Brazil, and a fluent trilingual. She and her husband Kawika are parents to 7 children. She is an avid soccer fan and had a brief career as a semi-professional player.

Kim Landeen is a founding member and a Global Team Director of Big Ocean Women, the international maternal feminist organization representing perspectives of faith, family, and motherhood throughout civil society. Kim has a deep love for the natural world. She lives in Alaska with her family where she enjoys spending the slower paced life with her children combing the beach for treasures, gardening, picking wild berries, and spending rainy lazy days making bread, reading books, and watching movies. She is an ecotour captain in Glacier Bay National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site where she helps educate her clients on the relationship between humanity and the larger eco-environment. In addition to her love of nature, she also enjoys studying theology and the inner workings of the soul as well as tracking global political and social movements. Her love for God, people, and this world drives her to continually seek to improve her own circumstances and the circumstances of all those with whom she comes in contact.