Monthly Archives: June 2013

“Make It Fun”

Posted on June 26, 2013 by Abigail

Thank you, Judy, for going to New Guinea and bringing back this amazing story, for us to reflect on. A propos:  I once asked my mother why she thought men used to live so much longer and now they were … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Gender Balance, Political, Sexuality, Social Conventions | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

“Submission”

Posted on June 20, 2013 by Abigail

James Baldwin wrote a novel, Giovanni’s Room, ostensibly about the coming out of a gay man and how he disappoints the woman in his life.  Baldwin said the book was really about “the crucial lack of sexual authority in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Academe, Femininity, Feminism, Gender Balance, Literature, Masculinity, Political, Race, Sexuality | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

“Autonomy”

Posted on June 11, 2013 by Abigail

I see two ways to approach “need” and “fulfillment,” the political and the existential.  Re the political: the feminist movement fought to gain full human status for women.  The rationale for denying that status had been that femininity itself was … Continue reading →

Posted in Femininity, Philosophy, Political, Social Conventions, The Problematic of Woman | 4 Comments

“Tragedy”

Posted on June 7, 2013 by Abigail

About tragedy: I think of a Lakota woman I knew. She was descended from a nineteenth-century chief whose name is well known. When she stood or walked, she was straight as a birch tree — the kind of straight you … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Femininity, Race, The Problematic of Woman | 2 Comments

“Positive Feelings”

Posted on June 3, 2013 by Abigail

About making others feel positive feelings, one has to watch that. One time a colleague urged me, “Smile, Abigail!” We were both in the green pea soup. We had both been fired. My answer? “The reason I have a natural … Continue reading →

Posted in Femininity, The Problematic of Woman | 1 Comment