From the incomparable Virginia Woolf: I went, therefore, to the shelf where the histories stand and took down one of the latest, Professor Trevelyan’s HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Once more I looked up Women, found ‘position of’ and turned to the pages indicated. . . . A very queer, composite being thus emerges. Imaginatively she is […]
Women’s History Month is coming to a close, but I wanted to make sure I included the poem “Heroines” by poet and lesbian icon Adrienne Rich in my series of quotes about women and history. I am cutting here for purposes of length and copyright, but that is doing some injustice to Rich’s work. I
Today’s quote about women and history, in honor of Women’s History Month, is from Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey. The protagonist, Catherine, is answering an inquiry from her friend Eleanor about the type of reading she enjoys: I can read poetry and plays, and things of that sort, and do not dislike travels. But history, real
I mentioned International Women’s Day (IWD) in my earlier post about mothers’ rights and LGBT rights. The U. S. workplace issues I describe there are important, but I also want to acknowledge that they fade in comparison to the hardships faced by women in many parts of the world: In Afghanistan, “Officials estimate at least
Sobering news for an otherwise festive holiday: The majority of cut roses sold in the U. S. were grown in Columbia, using harsh pesticides, according to the Associated Press. Industry workers, many of whom are single mothers, labor under often unsafe levels of chemicals, and many have become sick as a result. The AP also
The Family Pride Coalition is once again organizing a contingent of LGBTQ families to participate in the White House Egg Roll. They explain: With your help, on April 9th, hundreds of LGBTQ-parented families will fill the White House Lawn, rolling easter eggs side by side with our fellow citizens. At Family Pride, we believe that
I’ve always been fond of Groundhog Day. Maybe because it’s an underdog (-hog?) of a U. S. holiday, its February 2nd date following the noble Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and preceding the excessively commercial Valentine’s Day. It also seems to hearken back to a time when people paid more attention to natural signs (right
This coming Monday is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day here in the U. S. His work and the movement he led represent values that resonate with many of us, regardless of race. I thought it would be appropriate to honor the holiday by showcasing a number of books for young children about Dr. King. What
My partner took our son to buy me a holiday present this year. We want to make sure he understands the spirit of gift giving as well as receiving. Being three, however, he was unable to resist telling me before I opened it, “We got you a surprise, Mommy. It’s a bathrobe!” When I took
A very happy Kwanzaa to those of you beginning its celebration today, in its 40th-anniversary year. While Kwanzaa’s founder, Dr. Maulana Karenga, intended Kwanzaa to be “an African holiday created for African peoples,” he also said that “Any particular message that is good for a particular people, if it is human in its content and
