Do check out the MotherTalk bloggers’ reviews this week of a book called Getting Unstuck Without Coming Unglued: A Woman’s Guide to Unblocking Creativity by Susan O’Doherty. Here’s the schpiel: At the age of 42, O’Doherty, a practicing psychotherapist, chose to confront the cultural demons who had been telling her all her life that the only “important” writers were men. She offers tools for managing the stress of trying to do serious creative work while holding down a job and, often, caring for a family. Sounds like, perhaps, a modern lady’s A Room of One’s Own?
Brought to you by GIRL with Pen. There. I just wanted to see if I could use women, ladies, and girls all in one post - there's an interesting yet familiar debate going on on one of the listservs I'm on about the politics of calling ourselves girl. Dude, I'm fine with it. But I also understand the objections, and how frustrating it must seem to see younger women returning to the diminutive second-wave feminists fought against.
2 comments:
Deborah, thanks! The "woman/lady/girl" issue was huge when I was coming of age, and, yes, it's still a sensitive topic for many of us. I feel diminished when women my age (55) are referred to as "girls," and having grown up in an era when it was considered incorrect to refer to women of color as "ladies," I still find the entire controversy fraught with buried mines. Intention matters a great deal, though, and maybe younger women will be able to reclaim these terms in a positive way.
Thank you for your comment, Susan! I look forward to learning what the *next* generation of us will want to be :)
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