Petra Bueskens is a psychologist and social scientist in Australia and a well-known motherhood researcher worldwide. She coined the term “strategic absence” to describe a tactic she saw while studying women who were deliberately trying to upend traditional gender dynamics in their home. The idea is that if you plan the occasional absence from the home, not only does it help maintain your independence, but also it forces everyone else in the household to share the load of domestic tasks. But can it work in a pandemic?

Critical Frequency is a woman-owned podcast network on a mission to provide a platform for independent creators and those who are often overlooked in other media forms — women, people of color, LGBTQ people, and those who live outside of key media cities.

Co-published with Critical Frequency and Reasonable Volume.