A Really Great Post

~ Clarissa

I just found this really great post that I wanted to share with you:

It seems like elite women who came of age in the 1970s made much more intentional decisions about their lives with respect to feminist values than women like me who came of age in the 1980s and 1990s. Are these elite families aware of the similarities between them and evangelical families in the way they’ve chosen to arrange their household economies and to allocate the labor of adults? Is the shared value of patriarchal privilege in fact a feature, not a bug, even among so-called “liberal” families?

The women and men I’m writing about are the same demographic that Sheryl Sandberg addressed in her recent book, Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead. What, I wonder, do these elites tell their daughters about the importance of working hard in school and getting a college education? Don’t they ever wonder what kind of example they’re setting? Do they care? A woman at the reunion (no job, 3 kids) told me that a friend (no job, 3 kids) called her recently in tears because her daughter said to her, “Mom, if you went to such a great school, why don’t you have a job?”

I’m not the type to sympathize with a surly tween, but that’s not a bad question. What was the point of that college/M.A./M.S./Ph.D./M.D./J.D. degree if you’re not going to use it somehow? I can’t believe I’ve lived long enough to see my age-peers give credence to that age-old antifeminist claim that it’s pointless to admit women to college/professional school or to hire them “because they’re just going to get pregnant and quit. Why waste it on them, when their spot could go to a man who will use his education/opportunity?”

There is more, so make sure you follow the link and read it. In case you don’t like links, I will quote the most important part of the post:

Here’s a useful tip: if you have a college education and unemployment seems like a good idea, seek treatment. If you are educated for and capable of a decent job, the disinclination to work should be seen as a symptom of an underlying problem, not a lifestyle “choice.”

This is absolutely true. It is also absolutely true if we remove the “if you are educated for and capable of a decent job” part. Fear of being present in the public sphere is definitely unhealthy.

Published by Clarissa

21 thoughts on “A Really Great Post”

  1. “What, I wonder, do these elites tell their daughters about the importance of working hard in school and getting a college education?”

    This is even worse among men. Young women are more educated than young men in USA. In Canada, women (all generations considered) are more educated to men since 2011.

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  2. In the scarcity capitalism, the disinclination to work of some individuals is a good thing for those who are inclined to work. But because those who are disinclined to work and who aren’t married prostitutes have to work to live, those who are inclined to work are victims of jobs scarcity.

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    1. “By gender, 64.8 per cent of working-age women now have a post-secondary education, compared with 63.4 per cent of men. It’s the first time females have surpassed males in overall educational attainment. And the gender gap grows by leaps and bounds as the level of education increases.”

      – CBC is so stupid. This difference in percentages is within the statistical margin that means absolutely nothing. Only a bunch of sexists would see “leaps and bounds” and publish hysterical articles about this.

      “At the college level, however, the gap is quite small. About 20.6 per cent of aboriginal people have a diploma, compared to 21.3 per cent of non-aboriginal people. ”

      – Note how the same kind of numbers is discussed as a “quite small gap” when we are talking about aboriginal peoples. “Leaps and bounds” transform into “small gap” within a couple of paragraphs.

      “Females make up 62.2 per cent of the adults aged 25 to 34 with a medical degree — a dramatic shift from previous generations. Among adults aged 55 to 64, only a quarter of doctors are female.”

      – And how about this? Like there is no difference between holding a vague medical degree and actually being a doctor.

      As we always say, don’t trust the statistics you haven’t falsified yourself.

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      1. Statistics Canada is not Cuba statistics, this is more serious and this is one of the best statistics organizations in the world. I’m a very good statistician but I’m not good enough for Statistics Canada, so I can’t falsify their statistics myself.

        I agree that this is not the same thing as a mandatory census but I think the margin of error is very low if you take account of the very high sample size. “Leaps and bounds” is utterly exaggerated, but the tendency is clear if you compare with the precedent census: women are in the process to dominate men (at least, women and men are equally educated right now, statistically) in their education right now in Canada, and this is a good thing.

        “Note how the same kind of numbers is discussed as a “quite small gap” when we are talking about aboriginal peoples. “Leaps and bounds” transform into “small gap” within a couple of paragraphs.”

        I agree, this is raving lunacy. Good news for aboriginal peoples, though.

        “Like there is no difference between holding a vague medical degree and actually being a doctor.”

        For Statcan, only M.D. is a medical degree. So almost 100% of non-immigrant holders of a medical degree are actual doctors.

        “As we always say, don’t trust the statistics you haven’t falsified yourself.”

        That’s why I don’t consider as over the debate around anthropogenic climate change.

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        1. “For Statcan, only M.D. is a medical degree. So almost 100% of non-immigrant holders of a medical degree are actual doctors.”

          – Only if they are working as doctors.

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      2. About medical degrees:

        The journalist is wrong. We should have red this:

        “Females make up 62.2 per cent of the adults aged 25 to 34 with a medical degree — a dramatic shift from previous generations. Among adults aged 55 to 64, only about a quarter of females hold a medical degree.”

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  4. Er…you don’t have osteopathic physicians in Canada? Missouri is full of them. Most D.O.s are indistinguishable from other family practicianers with M.D.s.

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    1. “The murder itself”

      The point of the trial is determine whether someone was murdered or killed in self-defense. I can’t take an article about this that uses the word ‘murder’ in the title seriously.

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      1. Was he armed? From what I read he wasn’t and was followed by the man. Following a person seems to be the opposite of self defense.

        Besides, even with your approach, people’s reactions to her testimony show something and something very connected to the trial.

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  7. Ay, ay, ay, y’all just don’t get it. Of course you will use your degree if you marry a professional. You are going to help him do his job, for heaven’s sake! In all sorts of ways — actually helping with the work is only one; being a person who can talk about it with his colleagues and supervisors is of even greater value. This really is how things were done at mid 20th century. Ask anyone …

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  8. “Was he armed? From what I read he wasn’t and was followed by the man. Following a person seems to be the opposite of self defense.”

    One claim is (nb I have no idea if it’s true) that Martin was essentially sitting on Zimmerman’s and raining blows on him when he wa shot (or trying to take his gun). That would be self-defense or at worst manslaughter. Remember murder, manslaughter and self-defense are legal terms with specific meanings. There’s no doubt that Zimmerman killed Martin, the trial is to determine the legal status of that killing.

    “people’s reactions to her testimony show something and something very connected to the trial.”

    I’d say some reactions are just ugly ignorance and some others (her defenders) are infused by buyer’s remorse on social and political policies that cannot be questioned (by their proponents).

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