assorted links with commentary
I loaded my friends page to catch myself up quickly before beginning work, but I was thwarted by a succession of fascinating posts. Is being a housewife a valid feminist choice?Nadine (ripresa) linked to a recent Linda Hirshman article contending that the battleground for feminism must move from the workplace to the home. In short, it addresses the discrepancy between women's majority in educational institutions and minority in the institutions of power, and it traces this discrepancy to women's tendency to leave the work force and enter the domestic sphere. For me, this issue boils down to whether these women choose their path freely or whether patriarchal mores impose a merely illusory choice. (A related issue is the effect of this phenomenon on the perception of working women as a whole, which must include some women who actually do have higher professional aspirations than domestic ones.) Although I fundamentally agree with David Brooks' rebuttal to Hirshman, it ironically led me to wonder at the absence of masculinists, who would presumably insist on men's right to leave the workplace and stay at home. This absence may point to an inequality in the actual desirability of the two gender roles (or the two sexes' relative freedom to pursue individual desires), although potentially it suggests rather that the male gender role is even more rigidly entrenched.The Downfall of PittsburghKirstin (klari) linked to a recent article that serves both as a paean to the Steel City's founding role in American industry and as a dirge lamenting its current foundering between a political Scylla and Charybdis. I lived in Pittsburgh for four years almost completely oblivious to the local politics, but even now I remain inordinately fond of the city, the first that I loved. I am filled with sadness at the prospect of its picturesque vistas and heritage-imbued neighborhoods falling into ruin.Ekta Kapoor's SoapsNalini (masti_hk) wrote a brief satirical article listing the questionable values promulgated by Indian soap operas. I found it really funny, since otherwise I would have to seriously consider the analogous values evident in American television.Ah, sometimes I wonder how I remain so optimistic in life. At least I know why I don't get any work done.