Welcome NYTimes readers
As Landismom was kind enough to point out, this blog was mentioned in the New York Times this morning, in Patricia Cohen’s article about Hirshman and "choice feminism." (No, I hadn’t seen it — leisurely reading of the Sunday paper is one of the things that went out the window for me when I had kids.)
If you’re looking for my reaction to the Hirshman article, the post that Cohen quoted is this one — The domestic glass ceiling. I also wrote several posts about other aspects of the article, focusing on Hirshman’s Rules and Litmus test feminism.
Gender and domesticity is definitely one of the recurring themes of this blog, and I recently made a list of the posts from last year where I discussed it.
- Vacuuming
- Your mommy hates housework and your daddy hates housework
- Division of Labor
- Marriage and compromise
- The domestic glass ceiling
- Cleanliness is next to…
And if you’re wondering where the title of the blog comes from, as I explained in my very first post, it’s from the subtitle of a terrific book called Flux: Women on Sex, Work, Love, Kids, and Life in a Half-Changed World by Peggy Orenstein. And my thanks to Orenstein, who was very gracious when I emailed her to ask permission to use it.
Welcome, and I hope you’ll continue the conversation.
January 15th, 2006 at 5:09 pm
Congratulations on the mention. That’s a nice bit of blogging karma. Looking forward to more of your insightful posts on this topic.
But no pressure. 🙂
January 15th, 2006 at 5:22 pm
I’m embarassed to admit that I had one of those “hey, I know her!” moments when I read this this morning. Because I don’t really know you, but still, it was cool.
And I’m not really sure how I managed to read the Times this morning myself–it was a freak accident, which certainly won’t be repeated for another six or seven months.
January 15th, 2006 at 8:20 pm
I read the article this morning. How did I miss that you were quoted? This is why I should never attempt to read anything pre-coffee. Congratulations!
January 15th, 2006 at 9:13 pm
Congrats on the mention! Sorry I missed delurking week, so I thought I’d comment here.
January 15th, 2006 at 11:11 pm
YAY!!! I am very excited, proud, and thrilled about your mention in the NY Times. Elizabeth -that’s really terrific.
January 15th, 2006 at 11:39 pm
y’know….
I’ve been thinking about this “have a baby, just don’t have two,” remark that’s drawn so much fire, and despite all the breathless outrage, I think Hirshmann’s probably right. I’m restarting my career after two years off; I’ve got one child, plus the disabled guy I’m semi-separated from, and I’m damned if I can see how I’d have another kid without doing the blithe “God gives us nine months to prepare” fatalism. I’ve barely got time to do right by this kid, and my career’s at the mercy of her health and childcare. I suspect the people who say “oh, go ahead, have more,” either have extremely supportive/capable families living nearby or have jobs, not careers.
I’d consider it if, like Elizabeth, I had a husband willing/able to work part-time or less for the next 5 years or so, and never really go back to a career. Otherwise, no.
I don’t think I’m alone in still taking the “one kid, OK, maybe” rule seriously. You know Yiyun Li, the young Chinese writer who’s had a lot of success lately? Well, she had her first child before she got publicly serious about writing, and she was just plain cute. Very happy. Writing, but she had no other obligations, and her mother was here to help. I remember seeing her the winter before she had her second child, and I blurted out, “My God, again?” Because by that point she’d already been in the NYer, people were noticing her and she had a serious career going on. And she blushed & said yeah, that’s what everybody else said, too.
January 15th, 2006 at 11:43 pm
Whoops — sorry, Elizabeth, didn’t mean to imply your husband’s not going back to career eventually. I think for me it’d be a dealbreaker, though, until the kids were pretty well grown. Job, sure. Demanding career w/travel, no.
January 16th, 2006 at 11:13 am
while i was sittng in the recliner, relaxing with a cup of tea and reading cohen’s article, my husband was vacuuming cat hair off the couch. i don’t know what this says about the state of my feminism, exactly, but it did occur to me to be glad that i wasn’t the one vacuuming.
January 16th, 2006 at 12:50 pm
Hey Elizabeth. Cool about the mention, and I’m looking forward to you getting more readers (but how come ther was no direct link?).
But, I was unimpressed with the NYT article. It did neither Hirshman, nor the things you (and other blogs) have written justice on the issue.
bj
PS: I can’t remember — are you anonymous?
January 16th, 2006 at 1:55 pm
Congratulations on your mention! That’s so exciting. Yours is the wittiest, wisest, and most meaningful blog I read.
January 16th, 2006 at 3:00 pm
Congrats Elizabeth, very well deserved.
January 16th, 2006 at 11:48 pm
Good show, Elizabeth! But it would kill the New York Times to give you a link?
January 17th, 2006 at 9:49 am
Sunday morning. Me reading the magazine. Hubby the Week In Review.
Hubby: There’s another article on Hirshman in the Times.
Me: Oh God. Won’t that woman go away? I think we made a mistake talking about that article for so long in the blogosphere. We gave it too much attention. I don’t want to read it.
Hubby: They mention a blogger. Elizabeth from A Half —
Me: Really!!! Elizabeth!! That’s great. I know her well. Well, in a bloggy sort of way.
January 18th, 2006 at 11:23 am
I thought it was really cool when I saw your mention in the NYTimes this weekend. And week in review no less, if my memory serves me correctly.
“hey, I read her blog,” I thought.
And I wondered about what it did to your blog traffic. Did you have much of an upsurge in readership?