What’s so wrong about a happy ending? Everybody who loves “chick lit” knows that it has an entirely undeserved reputation for being frivolous and silly. It seems this label is bestowed by those who don’t read books in the genre. They, whoever they are, take one look at the mauve or pink book jackets and […]
Girls and women are still under tremendous pressure to define themselves and their public identities relationally, in ways that men aren’t. Last year, after a seven-hour drive with a carful of children, I arrived at a hotel where, despite having used my credit card to secure a room, I could not check in. We were […]
As we become more dogmatic about our political views, we become more likely to wall ourselves off from any reminder of an opposing viewpoint, even down to where we choose to live. Recently, my husband and I put a contract on a home in Charleston, South Carolina. I’m thankful that we found a suitable place […]
When female athletes are powerful, tough fighters, sweaty or bloody, or just simply muscular, the media reduces them to animal-like caricatures, as if attempting to shame them into their proper place as ladies. Dear Media, Heads-up: Athleticism is not gendered. Did I really just read this sentence by HuffPost sportswriter Justin Block, in an article […]
The sexism and discrimination women face in the workplace is often a compilation of little acts; subtle things that, on their own, seem insignificant, but when taken as a whole, point to how our culture still enforces outdated stereotypes. When Ellen Pao, a California business woman, faced gender discrimination at work, she decided to do […]
Sometimes in life, you have to take a stand. I typically don’t allow my young sons to amass large amounts of conventional media. As a result, it shocked my 7-year-old when I recently told him to sit down and watch the news with me. I wanted him to see the story of a heroic woman […]
I grew up playing team sports, and I don’t know where I’d be or who I’d be today without them. A crowd gathers at the airport outpost of a local brewery at Boston Logan. Leaning against rollerboards, strangers marvel together. It’s 4-0, 16 minutes in. A sign spotted behind the net reads “Let’s Party Like It’s 1999.” […]
People often ask me if it’s worth all the hard work, all the tears, all the patience, and all the persistence. You bet it is. After my first complete year of teaching in the college classroom came to a close, a mentor of mine from graduate school, an old professor, asked me, “What’s the best […]
