From: Norma Jean <nsawicki>
Date: Tue, 19 Jul 2005 19:09:57 -0500

Sorry to sound like a broken record and repeat my observation that books reflect the society in which we live. Following the climate of the sixties, of course there would be books in which girls/women were no longer stereotypes but there are still girls/young women who gravitate toward princesses, want to be queen of the junior prom, participate in beauty pageants, and win, etc. In recent years, women with terrific/successful careers have decided to resign their positions and stay at home to care for their child/children often with some stigma attached to the decision. In interviews, many of these women have said that to their way of thinking, there was nothing more important than raising a child. Several years ago a friend said her three-year old daughter preferred to play with dolls,/ a doll house, play dress up etc. rather than with the trucks, doctor's bag, games, etc. that she also owned. A woman with a terrific career, did to want her daughter to fit the stereotypical definition of a little girl yet that was the child's preference. Now a young woman who will soon head to college, she has other interests and a broader view. In the chair in which I sit,
"choice," is the ultimate goal. Women who elect to give up their careers to stay home to raise their children are no less important that women who enjoy their careers. Some years ago another friend complained that she was on overload...her job had to come first or she would be fired, her daughter came second, and her husband, third. In her view she did not have the " right amount" of time/energy for her job, or her daughter, and certainly not her husband ( they later divorced)...all three were short changed. In some ways, we now have/expect " super woman".

To my way of thinking, the "people" in a story should not be manipulated to fulfill a certain philosophy but reflect who they are. Norma Jean
Received on Tue 19 Jul 2005 07:09:57 PM CDT