primalmommy on tue 12 feb 08
Chris Campbell wrote:
>I have to agree with Mel ...
>just because our daughters think sexism is gone
>does not make it so ...
>Sexism is alive and well as you can see below in this
>wonderful example of subversion camouflaged as caring ....
> Kelly in Ohio... where Prof. Lee expressed his concern,
> in the EMU studio late last night, that the sheer geographical
> challenge of my commute and the interrupted, here-and-there
> availability of my work time may prevent me from making a wide
> and coherent body of work for my MFA.
>So, Kelly is not up to the challenge because of the
>'commute' with 'interrupted availability'....
>yeah right .... barf ...
>A politically correct way of saying ...
' >Kelly, you are a Mom with kids and home care
>responsibilities ... can you really handle this big job?'
>Kelly ... you are in the belly of the beast which is why you
>might not be seeing it!
OK, Chris.. let me put on my special
walking-on-eggshells-through-the-minefield shoes, here.
First: You're a very smart cookie, and I like the way you speak your
mind. And I agree wholeheartedly that the "mommy track" penalizes
women/moms in a way that men/dads don't seem to experience. And I
appreciate the reminder that those attitudes can be systemic and hard to
recognize.
However: in defense of Prof. Lee: he is, himself, the main caregiver for
three little girls -- and not unsympathetic to the equal importance of
both roles.
In retrospect, Lee was likely baiting me, by presenting a challenge. In
the almost two years I've been here, he and Diana kind of have me pegged
as contrary and stubborn (go figure!) and have probably figured out that
-- (like a toddler, vulnerable to reverse psychology) -- the way to get
me motivated is to doubt my resolve.
It worked, btw. A friend wrote me offlist about that sign-off, worried
what folks will think. I said, "To heck with 'em. Wait 'til they see my
SHOW."
Yours, Kelly in Ohio... living the stereotypes of hot tempered Irish,
and ornery German. The Schmidts in my family say, "You can always tell a
German.. but you can't tell him MUCH."
http://www.primalpotter.com
http://www.primalmommy.com/blog.html
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