what's a modern girl to do?
Maureen Dowd sees a boomerang effect happening in feminism, with a push back to women in the kitchen wearing aprons and heels.
"Many women now do not think of domestic life as a "comfortable concentration camp," as Betty Friedan wrote in "The Feminine Mystique," where they are losing their identities and turning into "anonymous biological robots in a docile mass." Now they want to be Mrs. Anonymous Biological Robot in a Docile Mass. They dream of being rescued - to flirt, to shop, to stay home and be taken care of. They shop for "Stepford Fashions" - matching shoes and ladylike bags and the 50's-style satin, lace and chiffon party dresses featured in InStyle layouts - and spend their days at the gym trying for Wisteria Lane waistlines."
I would love to say that this doesn't ring any bells, but there are a lot of women in my life who have said these exact words to me. I can only goggle at them in wonderment. What?!? I have been fighting for 11 years not to be mrs. anonymous, and I find it so hard to be sensitive when I hear women idealizing something that is, at least in my mind, only different from slavery by degree.
Some of Dowd's other arguments have been disputed because of weak research, but this is one argument that I think is all too true (sad).
"Many women now do not think of domestic life as a "comfortable concentration camp," as Betty Friedan wrote in "The Feminine Mystique," where they are losing their identities and turning into "anonymous biological robots in a docile mass." Now they want to be Mrs. Anonymous Biological Robot in a Docile Mass. They dream of being rescued - to flirt, to shop, to stay home and be taken care of. They shop for "Stepford Fashions" - matching shoes and ladylike bags and the 50's-style satin, lace and chiffon party dresses featured in InStyle layouts - and spend their days at the gym trying for Wisteria Lane waistlines."
I would love to say that this doesn't ring any bells, but there are a lot of women in my life who have said these exact words to me. I can only goggle at them in wonderment. What?!? I have been fighting for 11 years not to be mrs. anonymous, and I find it so hard to be sensitive when I hear women idealizing something that is, at least in my mind, only different from slavery by degree.
Some of Dowd's other arguments have been disputed because of weak research, but this is one argument that I think is all too true (sad).
posted by mo | 1:51 p.m.
1 Comments:
In defense of the Stepfords (ha!), there are some of us who like the idea of being a wife... but don't equate that with being Mrs. Anonymous. I am grateful for the opportunities i have as a result of being a woman of my particular generation, but i have to tell you... i like the idea of looking after my man. I do NOT want to shop for matching shoes & ladylike bags (well maybe sometimes), and I do NOT want to spend my days at the gym... i wouldn't even mind having a job. For me, that is because I have not found a career path that i feel truly represents me, my identity is something else, and i love lovin'. (please ignore my track record).
cxo
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