Would the Queens of Nonfiction Please Stand Up

Check out this article in the Chronicle of Higher Ed, "Where Are the Queens of Nonfiction?" by Anne Trubek, an associate professor of rhetoric and composition at Oberlin College. It's excellent. And majorly depressing. Trubek riffs on the title of Ira Glass' new book, The New Kings of Nonfiction, an anthology intended to commemorate and canonize our current golden age of nonfiction writing. Writes Trubek,

Huh? Glass is a trailblazing icon of alternative, indie culture, a very with-it, 21st-century guy. What was he thinking? Why did he choose a gender-specific title for his book?

She goes on to do some byline counting:

A few years ago, two women — Ruth Davis Konigsberg, a writer and former editor at Glamour, and Elizabeth Merrick, director of a women's literary reading series — tallied the ratio of male to female contributors at those four magazines on their own Web sites. The numbers called attention to a significant gender disparity. According to Konigsberg, on womentk.com, during a 12-month period (from September 2005 to September 2006), there were 1,446 men's bylines and 447 women's bylines. At Harper's, the ratio was nearly seven to one, at The New Yorker four to one, and at The Atlantic 3.6 to one.

I did my own tally. From May 2007 through May 2008, Harper's published 232 men and 51 women (a ratio of about 4.5 to one) and The Atlantic published 158 men to 49 women (a ratio of about three to one). In 2008, The New Yorker has published 185 men and 51 women (about 3.5 to one). Things are not getting much better.

Then analyzes what does make it into print:

As disheartening as those statistics are, closer inspection of what women do publish in such magazines makes the disparity even more disturbing. Many of the women's contributions are not features. (At The New Yorker, they might be a Talk of the Town piece, a poem, a cartoon, or a dance review.) And many are about being a woman. For example, the March 2008 issue of The Atlantic contains three substantial pieces by women. One, by Eliza Griswold, is both political and reported, and it does not integrate her personal experience. But the other two use personal experiences to make claims about women's lives. And in an almost absurd twist, both argue that women should start settling for less.

That other Atlantic piece of course is "Marry Him! The Case for Settling for Mr. Good Enough," by Lori Gottlieb.

For a great analysis of what gives, read the rest.

I'll Be on Pacifica Radio Tonight...

Taking time out from prep for next week's bridaldom, I will be on Pacifica Radio tonight (in Houston, KPFT, 90.1 FM ) at 9pm ET tonight discussing media sexism and the election, particularly in light of Hillary Clinton’s campaign. If in Houston, tune in! If not, I'll post the web link (which stays live for 60 days) here soon. The program is the Progressive Forum, with host Lillian Care. Joining me will be Isabelle McDonald of FAIR.

Guest Posting Opps While I'm Away

Instead of going dark while off doing wedding and honeymoon during the last two weeks of July, I'm pleased to announce some rather FABULOUS guest posting coming our way! Claire Mysko and Gloria Feldt will be among the lineup, with some live blogging from BlogHer and some posts about the election. The fearless Kristen Loveland of The Choice will be blogsitting (and crossposting!) for me while I'm away.

I'd also like to take this opportunity to open the doors wide open to the GWP community. Your comments are always so smart and insightful, your emails always teach me. I'd love to bring more GWP readers into fuller view. So here's the chance. If you have an idea for a guest post and would like to run it by me before I take off, please email me at girlwpen@gmail.com. The last day I'll be checking email will be July 17.

Oh How I Hate Ohio...?

That was a line my classmates at the University of Michigan used to throw around -- though I think it went "Oh How I Hate Ohio State." Not that I ever cared much about football (sorry Wolverines). But this just in from Nancy Polikoff is making me hate Ohio this morning indeed. Writes Nancy:

Ohio will vote on a paid sick leave initiative that doesn’t recognize unmarried partners, let alone the full range of people’s relationships. Given that there is an excellent model out there in the rules for federal employees right now and the proposed federal Healthy Families Act, it is not utopian to imagine something much better than what the Ohio folks are asking for.

Read more over at Nancy's blog, Beyond Gay and Straight Marriage. And ok, Ohioans (Sam?!): defend yourselves.

NEW! Fall 2008 Girl w/ Pen Webinar

Registration is now OPEN! This course will run for 5 Tuesdays this fall: 10/7, 10/14, 10/21, 10/28, 11/4 from 7pm-9:15pm ET. Deets below. Click that little button that looks like a flag top right to enlarge. If you'd like a copy of this flyer emailed to you, please contact Kristen (kristen.loveland@gmail.com) and she'll send it your way.

In Progress-Getting Your Book DONE - Upload a Document to Scribd

Read this document on Scribd: In Progress-Getting Your Book DONE

Quick Hits: Nooo....

Oh nooo - is it true? I don't want to believe it's true. Say it's not. Anyone?

Obama Botches the Abortion Conversation
7/8/08 Alternet.org: One thing is certain: Obama has backhandedly given credibility to the right-wing narrative that women who have abortions -- even those who go through the physically and mentally wrenching experience of a late-term abortion -- are frivolous and selfish creatures who might perhaps undergo this ordeal because they are "feeling blue."

And this next one too--Stepford v. Angry Black Woman? Oy. Make it stop!

Rocky Journey To Being First Lady
7/8/08 Baltimore Sun: In the way we have of boiling human beings down to a handful of adjectives and then forming a caricature from those adjectives, Obama has become the angry black woman and McCain, a Stepford wife.

Lastly, just in case you haven't had enough bad news for one morning, here's this:

Women at Work Find Reinforced Glass Ceiling
7/8/08 Women's eNews: Promotion barriers, harassment, pregnancy and motherhood bias, unequal pay. Women in the paid work force say these are all pillars propping up a glass ceiling. Fourth in "The Memo" series on the status of U.S. women.

Kudos for the tips on all this cheeriness today go to Rebekah at the WMC.

Image cred

Want to Write for HuffPo?

This just in from The Huffington Post, where I occasionally post commentary when I feel like not getting paid. Publishing at HuffPo is a great opportunity for exposure, but for working journalists, well, let's just say I've slowed down my contributions over time. Nevertheless, it is a WONDERFUL opp for visibility and I can't recommend it enough for those seeking to break into print. So here's the announcement about their new initiative, because I definitely want to help them spread the word (and because I hugely admire the new initiative's clever logo, and because I recently met -- and loved -- Eat the Post editor Rachel Sklar!):

It's the electoral race of the century. Political maps are being redrawn, and rules are getting rewritten across the board. Fundraising records have been broken. The candidates are even comparing the sizes of their email lists.

The mainstream media is tripping over itself to report on every last press release and campaign announcement. But do any of us REALLY know what's going on?

With you helping from the frontlines, the Huffington Post can change campaign coverage. OffTheBus is HuffPost's citizen-powered and -produced election site, and we're depending on readers like you to tip us to what's going on or, better yet, to write up the stories you think should be covered.

WOULD YOU HELP US?
Chances are you're a political junkie. That's why you got involved in HuffPost's community as a commenter. But why stop there?

By becoming a member of HuffPost's OffTheBus, you can publish op-eds and news stories to the Huffington Post. You get first-hand access to editors. The best citizen reporting is cross-posted to the politics page and homepage. Or, you can jump into our collaborative reporting assignments, like our Superdelegate Investigation or OffTheBus Party Map.

GET PUBLISHED AT HUFFINGTON POST.
Last October OffTheBus members dropped in on Sen. Barack Obama's Nationwide Canvassing Day from more than two dozen locations. Hours later every observer independently relayed to us that the economy, not the war, was the voting issue. Twenty-four hours later we reported on the significance of the economy, beating the mainstream media to the punch by a few weeks.

As our numbers grow, the same collaborative reporting model that got HuffPost's OffTheBus the scoop on the economy may tell us a lot more about what's happening nationwide.

YOU GAME? JOIN HUFFPOST'S OFFTHEBUS.
Click here to sign up.

Call for Submissions: Women Creating Democracy

In August, Women, Power and Politics (aka the online exhibit qua very creative webjournal of the International Museum of Women) will look at how women have created recipes for democracy around the world. They're seeking fresh thoughts, in a variety of forms, on women creating democracy. Submit your creative work by July 15 to be considered for the August focus. To learn more, visit www.imow.org/submissions.

Other of their upcoming submissions categories:

• September: Why is Voting Important?
• October: Women Running for Office
• November: Women Working Together Across Borders

Deadlines for submissions categories vary. Visit www.imow.org/submissions to find the latest date that you can submit work.

MadDawg Siegel

And speaking of family pics, this is my uncle, Norm "MadDawg" Siegel, musician extraordinaire! For those of you in sweet home Chicago, MadDawg will be playing on July 13 at Bill's Blues Bar (1029 Davis, Evanston) at 7pm. He'll be cutting loose with a mix of some of Chicago’s best singer songwriters from the great Folk era of the late ‘60’s and ‘70’s. Following Norm will be Jim Fine, a former Evanstonian singer songwriter and guitarist.

And since I can't seem to refrain from wedding blogging, one more tidbit about Norm: he has taken time out to learn acoustic renditions of Dodi Li and and Erev Shel Shoshanim (Jewish wedding tunes) that Marco and I picked out and will be playing us down the aisle A WEEK FROM THIS COMING SUNDAY. What an uncle, huh?!

Girl with Upside Down Book

So Marco and I are digging up childhood pictures in honor of that age-old sappy of sappies tradition: the wedding slide show. This is me, pretending to read, and caught in the act. Goodness knows where I got the hat.

Where I'm Teaching Next...

July 11-13, Amcrandale, NY:
Woodhull Institute Nonfiction Writing Intensive. It's not too late! Join me--and Catherine Orenstein and Kristen Kemp--up in Ancramdale this weekend for some oped, magazine article, and book proposal writing good times! To register, email ecurtis@woodhull.org pronto and she'll set you up.

August 11-13, NYC:
AFTER the honeymoon, I'll be teaching a special three-day workshop this summer for the girls of Writopia Lab and am excited about the possibility of publishing some of the pieces that emerge from that workshop here on GWP. In the spring, I posted one by 14-year-old Writopia Writer, Sam French, on why she was supporting Hillary. In case you missed it, here tis.

Online seminar, 5 Tuesdays this fall:
Back with Version 2.0 of my Making It Pop: Translating Your Ideas for Trade bloginar! Have you successfully tackled the book proposal but are struggling to find the right structure for your book, themes for your chapters, or hooks and anecdotes to draw the reader in? With In Progress: Getting Your Book DONE, I'll take you beyond the book proposal and into the process of writing your first book.

Are you writing a book but lacking an author’s community? A writers’ group and the advice of someone who has done it before can aid you to overcome writer’s block or plain old frustration with structure and content. This one's a hands-on seminar and author-led writer’s group for those in the middle of writing their first books for the public.

The course will offer:

-Exchanges with professionals in the field and your chance to ask those questions that have been plaguing you.
-Strategies for getting unblocked in the middle of Chapter Four
-Tips for crafting introductions and conclusions for the popular reader
-Workshops on playing with structure, chapter titles, and format
-And more.

For more info or to register, please email kristen.loveland@gmail.com.

And lastly, a fall blogging bloginar (how's that for meta) may very well be in the works. If interested, please let Kristen know and we will send a heads up when details are underway.

Blogging While Brown

Yet another conference I wish I could be at but will be on my honeymoon(!) instead:



If anyone attending would like to do some liveblogging from the conference here on GWP, please do let me know (girlwpen@gmail.com).

Watching the Michelle Obama Watch

So I'm finishing up a report this week on media coverage of race, gender, class, and age in the 2008 primaries. And I'm so jazzed by Gina McCauley's Michelle Obama Watch and what I've learned about it so far that it merits another post. And another, and another to be sure.

I corresponded with Gina yesterday and learned that there have been over 90,000 page views in the 20 days since the site's been up. A recent piece about MOW in The Baltimore Sun tentatively asks "Michele Obama Ties Black, White Women?" and notes, "Gina McCauley's blog on African-American women in pop culture has never attracted this kind of attention. But she launched a new Michelle Obama Watch blog in June to monitor and critique media coverage of the potential first lady, and since then, feminists of all colors have been linking and commenting."

The solidarity is key, and Gina knows it's about something more. As she wrote to me in an email:

"[T]his ultimately isn't about Michelle Obama, it is an exercise in how the nation, the news media and entertainment industry in particular, an deal or not deal with an African American women who defies the dominant stereotypes perpetuated about us. If we let them get away with their chicanery with a Harvard-educated attorney, then the next Black woman to walk in her footsteps would have to to trod a more difficult path."

Hells yes.

The site currently has 13 volunteer contributors who have contributed 88 posts. Got a news tip for the site? Direct your concerns, complaints, or praise about the media's treatment of Michele Obama to michelleobamawatch@gmail.com. And watch for more from Gina over at What about Our Daughters, which has received credentials to cover the 2008 Democratic National Convention in August.

GUEST REVIEW: Claire Mysko on About Face

This morning I'm pleased to bring you a review by Claire Mysko (pictured left), author of the just-released You're Amazing!: A No-Pressure Guide to Being Your Best Self. I mean really, who better to review an anthology of very personal essays about what women see when they look in the mirror than a writer who is also the co-founder of Inside Beauty and 5 Resolutions to Transform the Fashion and Beauty Industries, two groundbreaking initiatives that have garnered international acclaim for responsibly addressing the intersections of health, body image, fashion, and beauty?! Without further ado, here's Claire. - GWP

About Face: Women Write About What They See When They Look In the Mirror
Edited by Anne Burt & Christina Baker Kline

Seal Press

Too often, beauty and body image are dismissed as superficial issues. Courtney Martin recently wrote about an exchange she had with another feminist who told her, “I’m so sick of hearing young feminists talk about fashion and body image…What about the women in Afghanistan!?" I would encourage that feminist to read About Face—a collection of twenty-three essays written by women talking about what they see when they look in the mirror. This is certainly not fluff or frivolity. The writers in this anthology share deeply personal stories that build a compelling case for the central message of this collection: It’s complicated. It’s complicated because what we see in the mirror is subjective. As we come to new understandings about our lives and ourselves, the way we see our faces can change, too.

Meredith Maran exposes what se learned about her own beauty when she was photographed with her supermodel niece. Kym Ragusa approaches her reflection as ethnography, tracing her features through photos of her mother and grandmother, and the lines on maps revealing where her family has made its mark over the centuries. And in her essay “Souvenir,” Manijeh Nasrabadi describes how a trip to stay with her family in Iran transformed her reflection:

“Snagged by my own reflection, I stopped and stared. Nothing jarred. Nothing tweaked my consciousness painfully away from some imagined, whiter version of myself. It was as if the settings in my brain had changed and reconfigured what my mind could see. Oh, so that’s what I look like. I heard myself sigh in relief. There was nothing ugly or needed to be changed. There was nothing American, Jewish, Zoroastrian, or Iranian to hate or hide. I laughed with myself. I smiled, and it was me I saw smiling. Then I knew what it meant to feel at home.”

I am one of those young feminists who believes it is critically important for women to talk about body image and beauty. We must explore how the reflection we see in the mirror is a reflection of our relationships, our experiences, our cultures, and our exposure to media messages—if not for ourselves, then for future generations.

According to the Girls Inc. “Supergirl Dilemma” study, we have made great progress in overcoming some gender stereotypes over the last six years. More girls now see that they can be good leaders and fewer girls believe that they should be expected to take care of housework and babysitting. The areas where stereotypes and pressures have gotten worse? Looks and appearance. In 2000, 74% of girls said that girls are under a lot of pressure to dress the right way; in 2006, that number jumped to 84%. Sixty percent of girls in the study believe that they must be thin to be popular; that’s up from 48% in 2000.

About Face is the kind of book that can prepare us to be the role models these girls need. The editors say that “looking in the mirror without turning away—and then talking about it honestly—is a radical act.” The women in this collection have taken that task to heart. I hope that others will read their words and be inspired to stage their own radical acts, whether in the bathroom mirror, in the rearview mirror, or even passing by a store window. These reflections offer opportunities for positive change. Let’s claim them as our own.

Toddler with Keyboard

Weekend recap:
I look away for one minute and Talia, age 3,
has figured out how to post on my blog!

Male Bonding: Marco and Gabriel

This here's a shot of my dude Marco eating our friend Daphne's baby, Gabriel, while Gabriel tries to eat his own arm.

That's Daph in the back, furiously trying to pack up and get back to the city, which is where we're headed tomorrow morning too. Alas. It's been wonderful communing with our wedding site out here in upstate NY! I feel like Speed Bride; we got so many wedding errands done that now I'm ready for a vacation :)

One Day 'The Glass Ceiling' Will Be the Name of a Fairy Tale...But Not Yet

Just two quick hits about women as op-ed writers and women as sociologists (how's that for a connection?!) before I really sign off:

1. San Francisco Gate: The Opinion Pages: Mostly A Man's World

When it comes to the opinion pages of some of the most influential American newspapers, it's far too often a man's world. One reason for the disparity is obvious: Women are still breaking through glass ceilings in business, government and academia.

2. Inside Higher Ed: Women in Sociology - Satisfied, but Not Equal

Women in sociology, 10 years after earning their Ph.D.'s, are achieving substantial professional success and high levels of research productivity, but also differ from men in some ways in their career trajectories, according to a new study released by the American Sociological Association.

Among the key findings:

-Male sociologists in the cohort were more likely than female sociologists to be married or living with a partner (83 percent vs. 68 percent), or to have children living with them (62 percent to 50 percent).

-Among sociologists who are parents, women are much more likely to be divorced (21 percent vs. 1.4 percent). Roberta Spalter-Roth, director of research at the sociology association and one of the report’s authors, said one reason for this was that many more women than men come to graduate school as single parents, having already been married and divorced.

-Many sociologists who do have children do so before their tenure reviews, with the largest group having a first child 3-4 years after earning a doctorate.

-Parenthood does not appear to limit research productivity, at least as measured by the number of articles published in refereed journals — a key measure for the discipline. Mothers and fathers reported an average of 10.0 refereed journal articles since they earned their doctorates, while childless men and women reported an average of 9.5.

-Mothers appeared, on average, to earn less than others in the cohort. The income question was asked with categories, not exact amounts. The median income for sociologists who are fathers, and for sociologists who don’t have children, was between $70,000 and $99,000. The median income for sociologists who are mothers was between $50,000 and $59,000.

-On many issues, mothers and fathers both reported high levels of stress related to advancing their careers while also caring for their families. Child care, the tenure process, and teaching loads were key issues for parents.

(Go Katie O and The Op-Ed Project! And thanks to Rebekah Spicuglia of the Women's Media Center Daily News Brief for the tips.)

Any Takers for Live Blogging from BlogHer Here on GWP?

Ok GWP readers out there, make my day. I'm so SAD about missing the BlogHer conference this year (timing, timing) and would still very much like to somehow be involved. So here's what I've come up with: Would anybody who is planning to attend the conference in SF like to do some live-blogging here at GWP while I'm off getting hitched that weekend (July 18-20)? If so, please email me at girlwpen@gmail.com and we can discuss!

Pity party over. And happily back to wedding planning. This weekend Marco and I are staying at the home of the friends whose backyard will be the scene of our wedding--it's so beautiful here. And I'm getting all verklempt.

So I'll be signing off now for the weekend. I wish everyone a VERY HAPPY 4th! ENJOY!

New Bookish Matchmaking Service

Those MotherTalk-ers have got it going on. They've just launched a matchmaking service for Books Seeking Reviewers, called Connections. The listings it seems are typically from authors or small presses who are looking for online reviewers but not a full-blown blog tour. To submit your own book for a listing, email info@mother-talk.com with 500 characters or less and include the book title(s) and contact information. To become a reviewer, get in touch with Melissa at melissa@mother-talk.com. Among others, they are currently seeking reviewers for Mama PhD for a blog tour that starts July 30.

And yet another reason I'm BUMMED I won't be at BlogHer this year: The MotherTalk "First Drink On Us" party at BlogHer on Thursday, July 17th from 5-8 pm at Caruso’s. They'll be giving away nearly 300 fabulous books, and author Shari MacDonald Strong will be on hand to sign copies of The Maternal Is Political.

I know, I know. I have a good excuse. I'm getting married. (Have I mentioned that?! YIKES - it's now 2 weeks away!)

Blogging, Brown and Female

My dear fellow WGL (short for WomenGirlsLadies) Kristal Brent Zook wrote a great piece yesterday over at the Women's Media Center, Blogging While Brown (and Female). In case you missed it, here's the summary:

In a preview of the "Blogging While Brown" conference (Atlanta, July 25-27), WMC author Kristal Brent Zook spoke with Gina McCauley, founder of www.whataboutourdaughters.blogspot.com and one of the organizers of the upcoming conference. McCauley's foray into blogging began one year ago, when the Texas-based personal injury attorney was compelled to respond to the demeaning characterizations of black women that she saw making headlines. McCauley's blog demonstrated the power of individuals to speak out and demand change, when she took on offensive programming from BET. McCauley's righteous indignation helped to generate a wave of protest, leading BET to reposition, and then cancel, the show.

Then, in the midst of their success, everything changed for supporters of What About Our Daughters as its readers and writers were blindsided by a tragedy that would dramatically alter the tone and content of the site. As Zook reports, a tragedy at Dunbar Village, a West Palm Beach, Florida, public housing complex, helped bloggers at What About Our Daughters and other sites to find their voices on issues of misogyny and violence.

Read the article here.

And by the way, the WGLs (aka, our traveling panel "WomenGirlsLadies: A Fresh Conversation across Generations") appear next in Washington DC, at the Association of Women in Communications Conference and at Georgetown on September 26. Details coming soon!