For the past half century or more, psychology and social science have supplied the authority for a distortion of reality at a cultural level when it comes to the daily lives of women. Motherhood is most often cast as a mental health hazard, while careerism is marketed as a crucial act of self-care. This view of child-rearing vs. work for pay rests on selective readings of research and a diagnostic double standard. That double standard blames distress with children on motherhood itself, yet it