There, I said it.
I work at home while the children are at school, and I listen to Dr. Laura when I am working. Her commentary and phone calls play in the background as I format WordPress posts, edit photos, and plan my editorial calendar. I shake my head at the misfortunes of her callers as I answer emails, process invoices, and IM with my boss. I pause the podcast when I go downstairs for a snack or take a phone call.
Dr. Laura Schlesinger is a radio personality who shares her opinion with callers who seek her advice about their personal drama. She takes a strong stance against both parents working outside the home, a strong supporter of the military and manly men, and if you listen to her long enough, you will probably love her or hate her. She doesn’t mince words, and last year she left AM radio because she unabashedly said the “n-word” on the air and was blasted for it. Now she’s on satellite and I subscribe to her podcast.
As a working mother – albeit one who works at home (but I have worked full time outside the home in the past), I am not always in agreement with Dr. Laura. I know she would tell me to get my younger son out of preschool because he should be at home. I know I would have been scolded for working in television and finding daycare when my older son was only 13 months old. I don’t know if Dr. Laura’s preaching would have influenced me at the time, but now that I have the luxury, borne of hard work and much juggling, of being here for my kids after school, I hear her at-home-mom mantras echo in the back of my mind.
Because my community of friends and family, both offline and online, is largely made up of working mothers and people with otherwise very open minds, I have been quiet about my Dr. Laura fandom. She comes off as a right wing conservative “Crazy Pants”. I remember the first day I heard her on the radio. She was tearing into some poor woman who had called in, crying, because she found out her husband had had an affair. Dr. Laura told the woman it was her own fault because she had been a crappy wife. I sat in my car, mouth agape, unable to change the station.
And I tuned in the next day. And the next. And here I am. I don’t always agree with everything Dr. Laura says, or her manner – sometimes she talks over people so much that she seems to miss the point of their questions, or hangs up on them out of frustration before they can even tell her why they are calling. But I have come to understand the overall message.
I like Dr. Laura because she just wants people to do the right thing. She’s protective of young children. She’s a big fan of preserving a happy, stable home life, and if that means stroking your husband’s ego (or your partner’s – she’s not anti-gay, which is a big deal to me), then so be it. Men just want regular sex and tasty sandwich, she says, it’s so easy to keep them happy. Many of her solutions for people are astoundingly simple – walk away from that mean person. Send a thank-you note. Put your kid in a private school. Break up with that addict. Stop calling your verbally abusive mother.
I’ve shared my little secret with people here and there, but for the most part I’ve kept it to myself. I was never willing to be judged because of it or get into an argument about Dr. Laura – indeed, I would certainly agree that she’s a little crazy, because aren’t many people who work hard to make a difference in the world a little crazy? – with someone who really can’t stand her. But now I’m 40, and as the internet tells you, once you hit 40 you no longer care what people think. And so I don’t. I’m confessing.
My name is Kim Tracy Prince, and I’m a Dr. Laura fan.
Kim Tracy Prince is the features editor of Best of Los Angeles at CBSLA, and a veteran mom blogger: see more of her strong opinions at House of Prince and fun local stories at Agoura Hills Mom.
If you would like to confess something (and I mean who doesn’t?) Email me at: DesireeEaglin@aol.com
I can’t listen to her because she said things I didn’t agree with a few times, but my friend who works as a social worker does religiously and thinks some advice is very very good. I tried, but I think my biggest problem is that she tells people they are the problem but they aren’t ready to hear it how she tells it so the advice is lost on them.
I will up you “listening to Dr. Laura” and raise you….”I’ve called Dr. Laura” mutiple times! I’ve been a live caller on the show twice! *bows head in embarrassment*
Here is the deal. My sister calls and every time gets on the show and Dr. Laura rips her a new one. She was so upset after Dr. Laura yelled at her she made me call to see if she’d yell at me. She didn’t. I then called back again a couple weeks later with a question I thought was sure to give me a lecture…nope.
I convinced my sister to call again and ask about her breast implants (one popped and she wanted to know if she should get them replaced or just remove them using the example that she married her husband with them in)
Dr. Laura talked to her for 30 minutes and complimented how great of a wife and mother she was and how she did not need to replace them… *whew*…My sister got some strange satisfaction that she wanted over Dr. Laura’s approval and she never made me call again…
Oh…I also have her books…..LOL….
Yay! Another reason to love you, Kim Tracy Prince! I too listen to Dr. Laura. Although I don’t agree with her stance on abortion and a few other issues, I really enjoy her moral clarity. And frankly, sometimes, listening to her callers, it’s like listening to/watching a train wreck. I get to cringe in advance just knowing what Dr. Laura is gonna say to this poor caller who made the mistake of living with her boyfriend before marriage while he was a drug addict who has kids from a previous marriage and she works outside of the home.
I used to listen to her every day when she was on KFI. I even called in a couple of times, getting on air with her once. Shhh… don’t tell anyone. 😉
I can’t get behind you on Dr. Laura, my friend, but you shouldn’t be ashamed. I’m all for anything that makes you think and question.
Of all the yahoos on radio — satellite radio, no less — you feel the need to apologize for listening to Dr. Laura? Let your freak flag fly, girl!
My Friday confession? When I get a rental car with Sirius/XM I listen to the old-school rap channel, “Backspin.” They drop the N-Bomb quite a bit themselves.
Love this insight on the lovely Kim Tracy! My parents always tried to give me a book she wrote or two. I personally don’t listen to her, but sometimes listen to her radio show by “accident” from time to time. Great post!
I wish I had time for something other than Mickey Mouse Clubhouse LOL : ) In the past I’ve listened to her but it’s been difficult to listen to some of her stands on issues I don’t agree with.
I enjoyed this piece. I am a bisexual man, and I remember the huge ordeal about Dr. Laura’s comment about gays being a “biological error”. What a huge blowup. Nevermind she was speaking her opinion from a scientific perspective (she does NOT proclaim to be a scientist). All “the gays” heard was “error” and we married a moral and ethical meaning to a word used for its literal purpose. Now, I don’t agree with her scientific assertion – but that is mutually exclusive from burning her at the stake from your own freggin’ Amygdala hijack.
Sometimes someone will hop into my car and hear me listening to Rush Limbaugh and either assume I’m Republican (and then treat me with disrespect and disdain until I explain myself, which I shouldn’t have to do in my own vehicle) or complain incessantly.
I give them a very stern NEWS FLASH: Do not assume that because I listen to Rush Limbaugh that I like – or do not like the man. I listen to Rush because he has political significance and if I want to change the minds of others, one must start by getting OUT OF YOUR OWN BUBBLE (I was in a gay bubble, a Liberal Bubble, an avant-garde experimental art click bubble).
If we are to enlighten minds with our own Truth, we must first give credence to others’ Truths. Read: To be able to argue the talking points (of the other side), you must first know them.
I don’t listen to her regularly anymore, only because my focus has shifted to concern about issues of much grander scale (think: Chris Martenson, Naomi Wolf) but I am DAMN glad she is still singing her song in a Clarion Call to awaken the values she espouses.
Is her delivery perfect? Hell no.
Do we shoot the messenger… or listen to the message?
As a former long-time friend of Kim’s, and a fellow Libran – I can tell you that objectivity is something we’re good at. Kim is dead on about having to keep this little secret. Way too many of us like to think we’re non-judgmental – because we want others to give us the benefit of the doubt – but how often do we practice it ourselves… in relation to others?
If you see a Lyndon LaRoche publication on my floor and we’re on a first date and you pick it up and throw it in my trash – I will pick you up and take you out to the Trash. -end rant
p.s. Kim is also absolutely right about what Lura asserts about men. We really are a pretty user-friendly model… regular sex and sammies… and we will roll over and show you out soft heart and belly… always.
If nothing else I’m now mildly intrigued to LISTEN TO DR. LAURA EVERY DAY OF MY LIFE! Thanks Kim Tracy Prince. Thanks.
OMG! Please say it ain’t so, Kim. I can’t even write what I think of Dr. Laura. She has made a fortune out of other people’s misery. And that doctorate–it ain’t in anything related to human behavior.
You guys are funny.
Fly that flag! I love her. I let her kick my butt every day since I started design school in the nineties. By then I had committed quite a few of the “Ten Stupid Things that Women do to Mess up Their Lives. I was SHOCKED by her opinions, because the prevailing attitude was that everything is out of one’s control / nothing is bad/ no one is at fault. She was recommended to my by someone who told me that I had enough therapy, now I needed help with moral dilemmas. I’ve now listened to her help so many people and that opened my mind to the root of my personal issues. I give her credit for making me emotionally fit for marrying a great guy, how to keep a happy home, deal with dysfunctional family and difficult people. I draw on her voice in my head when I am faced with difficult situations of right and wrong. She really helped me grow up. Thank you for outing us 😉