I like the dynamic around Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. Anthony, who was the better speaker and the one without kids who could attend the events, would come over and watch Stanton's brood so Stanton could write the speeches for Anthony to deliver. I liked the teamwork.
I think of Julian of Norwich (I'm always thinking about her, though). She never had biological children but wrote with such deep understanding of Our Lord as maternal. Both sides of our society dismiss the idea of being an anchorite, but I think we could gain a lot from listening to her.
I just finished On Being There by Erica Komisar this afternoon and was struck by a quote she included from Judith Shulevitz: “We need another feminism...it would demand dignity and economic justice for parents dissatisfied with a few weeks of unpaid leave.” It goes on and the whole third part is about restructuring the culture to allow parents (and mothers in particular) the flexibility and social safety net to prioritize their children.
I really appreciate Caroline Criado Perez's research on the physical problems that male-as-default thinking causes for women, like higher rates of occupational injuries because equipment doesn't fit (including higher rates of covid infection among healthcare workers, because the masks are designed for men!).
I really love her work, and it helped crystallize that some of the ways I think academia disadvantages women by having a career progression where the most critical years of your career are also the prime childbearing years for most women. It definitely feels like the expectations in academia are structured around the experiences of the "median man."
I rarely buy first issue tech, but I have a reminder set to pre-order the iPhone 12 mini for exactly this reason. Small hands get cramped from and too often drop big phones. I also don't buy Yeti tumblers for the same reason. Obviously, safety items like masks and, say, space walk equipment are a higher priority, but this male-as-defualt assumption plays in everyday ways too.
20th century British Catholic philosopher, married to another philosopher with whom she had 7 children. She's known for publicly opposing Oxford awarding Harry Truman an honorary doctorate because of Truman's use of the atomic bomb, and also for catching an error of C.S. Lewis's when he read a chapter of his book-in-progress, Miracles, at an intellectual club they were both participating in (he revised the book to address her objections). Also managed to get arrested in later life protesting outside an abortion clinic.
Some women I've admired for living out aspects of this vision include the philosopher Eleonore Stump, the poet Jennifer Reeser, Tanya Berry (Wendell Berry's wife), Annette Kirk, Edith Schaeffer, Shannon Hayes (author of 'Radical Homemakers'), Alice von Hildebrand, St. Frances of Rome, Edith Stein, and Katharine Drexel. And I'll gladly second Julian of Norwich, Dorothy Day, and Elizabeth Ann Seton! I'd like to get to know Elizabeth Anscombe's life and work better, but I've been intrigued by what I've read of her so far.
A woman in STEM whom I admire greatly for both her contribution to science and the way her vocation to science interacted with her primary vocation is Sr. Mary Kenneth Keller, the first American woman to receive a PhD in computer science. There is a small piece about her on wikipedia, but I wish I could find more about her life!
On the same topic of vocation to science and vocation to family interacting fruitfully, I remember reading an article a few years ago about the career of a prominent female mathematician who said that she got many of her ideas while nursing her baby at night. I tried hard to resurface this article, but couldn't :( . Perhaps someone in this group might realize who I'm talking about.
I love that about nursing her baby! I've found also that postpartum time is a time for creative thinking and writing--so much time sitting and nursing, rocking, is conducive to reflection. And perhaps bc of hormones and the profundity of birth I feel things especially deeply.
I second that observation, Amber! My time at home nursing my first child especially was a momentous time for me creatively—the forced leisure time wherein I could reflect helped quite a lot. Also, the poet Carolyn Forché has a beautiful essay, “Emergence,” where she writes about how she became a different writer in the midst of first carrying and then tending to her son.
Do you have a link to the essay? I'd like to read it but a quick google search didn't turn it up. "Forced leisure" is such a good way to put it. I'm currently nursing my fifth child, but it's been a different experience for us this time around because she had trouble catching on to breastfeeding. During the day she is nursing every two hours and typically takes about 45 minutes to nurse! I'm trying to embrace the time instead of feeling frustrated and antsy.
I found the essay in the anthology 'Writing Creative Nonfiction' (Gerard and Forché, eds.), and sadly can't find it online, but I'll see if I can dig something up!
Of contemporary women, Erika Bachiochi and Angela Franks are high on my list— whip smart and with lots of kids.
Historically, I love the quirky smart ones who just went about doing what they were good at even if it meant being One of the only women in a “mans world” or an unmarried childless woman in a time when that was strange: Flannery O’Connor, Caryll Houselander, Dorothy Sayers, Edith Stein... I could go on.
I like the dynamic around Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. Anthony, who was the better speaker and the one without kids who could attend the events, would come over and watch Stanton's brood so Stanton could write the speeches for Anthony to deliver. I liked the teamwork.
I think of Julian of Norwich (I'm always thinking about her, though). She never had biological children but wrote with such deep understanding of Our Lord as maternal. Both sides of our society dismiss the idea of being an anchorite, but I think we could gain a lot from listening to her.
I just finished On Being There by Erica Komisar this afternoon and was struck by a quote she included from Judith Shulevitz: “We need another feminism...it would demand dignity and economic justice for parents dissatisfied with a few weeks of unpaid leave.” It goes on and the whole third part is about restructuring the culture to allow parents (and mothers in particular) the flexibility and social safety net to prioritize their children.
I really appreciate Caroline Criado Perez's research on the physical problems that male-as-default thinking causes for women, like higher rates of occupational injuries because equipment doesn't fit (including higher rates of covid infection among healthcare workers, because the masks are designed for men!).
Yes! I really appreciate her work. She helped me think about this as all part of one pattern.
I'm astounded by how little research and how little is actually known about the science of pregnancy and breastfeeding. Seems related.
Yes, and morning sickness! We can put a man on the moon, but we can't provide better help for mothers?
I really love her work, and it helped crystallize that some of the ways I think academia disadvantages women by having a career progression where the most critical years of your career are also the prime childbearing years for most women. It definitely feels like the expectations in academia are structured around the experiences of the "median man."
I rarely buy first issue tech, but I have a reminder set to pre-order the iPhone 12 mini for exactly this reason. Small hands get cramped from and too often drop big phones. I also don't buy Yeti tumblers for the same reason. Obviously, safety items like masks and, say, space walk equipment are a higher priority, but this male-as-defualt assumption plays in everyday ways too.
Yes! I'm about to switch carriers because my current carrier isn't compatible with the Xperia Compact.
Yes! I learned about the bias in car crash dummies from her book.
I wear mine under my arm, which is a big no-no for safety, because I can't stand the choking. :(
I mean, everyone is probably going to say Elizabeth Anscombe, but...Elizabeth Anscombe....
Er, I'm not familiar with her...can you write more?
20th century British Catholic philosopher, married to another philosopher with whom she had 7 children. She's known for publicly opposing Oxford awarding Harry Truman an honorary doctorate because of Truman's use of the atomic bomb, and also for catching an error of C.S. Lewis's when he read a chapter of his book-in-progress, Miracles, at an intellectual club they were both participating in (he revised the book to address her objections). Also managed to get arrested in later life protesting outside an abortion clinic.
Wow, thank you. I'm realizing in retrospect this is info I could've gotten by simply going to her Wiki so thanks for your patience!
👑👑👑
Some women I've admired for living out aspects of this vision include the philosopher Eleonore Stump, the poet Jennifer Reeser, Tanya Berry (Wendell Berry's wife), Annette Kirk, Edith Schaeffer, Shannon Hayes (author of 'Radical Homemakers'), Alice von Hildebrand, St. Frances of Rome, Edith Stein, and Katharine Drexel. And I'll gladly second Julian of Norwich, Dorothy Day, and Elizabeth Ann Seton! I'd like to get to know Elizabeth Anscombe's life and work better, but I've been intrigued by what I've read of her so far.
A woman in STEM whom I admire greatly for both her contribution to science and the way her vocation to science interacted with her primary vocation is Sr. Mary Kenneth Keller, the first American woman to receive a PhD in computer science. There is a small piece about her on wikipedia, but I wish I could find more about her life!
On the same topic of vocation to science and vocation to family interacting fruitfully, I remember reading an article a few years ago about the career of a prominent female mathematician who said that she got many of her ideas while nursing her baby at night. I tried hard to resurface this article, but couldn't :( . Perhaps someone in this group might realize who I'm talking about.
I love that about nursing her baby! I've found also that postpartum time is a time for creative thinking and writing--so much time sitting and nursing, rocking, is conducive to reflection. And perhaps bc of hormones and the profundity of birth I feel things especially deeply.
I second that observation, Amber! My time at home nursing my first child especially was a momentous time for me creatively—the forced leisure time wherein I could reflect helped quite a lot. Also, the poet Carolyn Forché has a beautiful essay, “Emergence,” where she writes about how she became a different writer in the midst of first carrying and then tending to her son.
Do you have a link to the essay? I'd like to read it but a quick google search didn't turn it up. "Forced leisure" is such a good way to put it. I'm currently nursing my fifth child, but it's been a different experience for us this time around because she had trouble catching on to breastfeeding. During the day she is nursing every two hours and typically takes about 45 minutes to nurse! I'm trying to embrace the time instead of feeling frustrated and antsy.
I found the essay in the anthology 'Writing Creative Nonfiction' (Gerard and Forché, eds.), and sadly can't find it online, but I'll see if I can dig something up!
I see elements of this lived out in the lives of three women I admire: Elizabeth Ann Seton, Clare of Assisi, and Dorothy Day.
St Clare! When people tell me men and women can't be friends, I always have to trot out her story.
Of contemporary women, Erika Bachiochi and Angela Franks are high on my list— whip smart and with lots of kids.
Historically, I love the quirky smart ones who just went about doing what they were good at even if it meant being One of the only women in a “mans world” or an unmarried childless woman in a time when that was strange: Flannery O’Connor, Caryll Houselander, Dorothy Sayers, Edith Stein... I could go on.
Also I love the logo! Did you design it yourself?
I worked on it with my husband :)