Posted on 03/25/2006 10:40:38 PM PST by Pikamax
Young, successful, well paid: are they killing feminism?
A controversial article by an academic argues that a new breed of 'elite women' is creating rifts in female ranks and fundamentally changing society. Anushka Asthana and Denis Campbell report
Sunday March 26, 2006 The Observer
Chiara Cargnel wants to have it all: a high-flying career and a successful marriage. So far she is halfway there. At 26, she is an investment banker in London working over 70 hours a week and earning more than £80,000 a year. Cargnel, like many other young women, is excelling in a world many thought governed not by their rules, but by rules set and enforced by men. For the first time in history these 'elite women' can succeed in any career they want. According to a remarkable thesis that has blown open the debate around feminism, sexism and the future role of women, a new generation of bright, rich professionals have broken through the glass ceiling and have nothing to fear from the men around them. They will be just as successful.
The thesis was expounded in a highly controversial article for Prospect magazine by Alison Wolf, a professor at Kings College London and author of Does Education Matter? She argues that the meteoric rise of this new generation of 'go-getting women' who want high-powered, well-paid jobs has dire consequences for society. Wolf says it has diverted the most talented away from the caring professions such as teaching, stopped them volunteering, is in danger of ending the notion of 'female altruism', has turned many women off having children - and has effectively killed off feminism.
(Excerpt) Read more at observer.guardian.co.uk ...
WAAAAAAH! The girls aren't buying our class-warfare schtick anymore!
(/lefty whining)
My wife makes considerably more than I did in my peak years before I retired. That's the kind of feminism that I like.
According to a remarkable thesis??!! Give me a break. What B.S. is this? I am supposed to stop, and believe that a, "Remarkable Thesis" is changing things for women?? This article is just additional reason not to buy or read anything that comes from the "MSM."
Being an old-fashioned guy I just don't want a woman who strives to be a man. The opposite would be men who strive to be the prettiest, best manicured, in the office. A lot of women looking for that?
It's late and I'm tired so, forgive me, but how does this kill off feminism? And aren't they about 20 years behind the curve believing that woman can't become CEO's and such? This glass ceiling stuff has far more to do with many women detouring their careers in order to bear and raise children than it does men keeping them out of the boardroom.
I also have trouble believing that, at 26 years old, a woman has solved these crises women always complain about. The biology clock has conquered many a headstrong lass who thought they had it all figured out.
Smart, successful, and pretty is really sexy IMHO.
I'm due to have a grandson in July, and I want him to grow up in a world where men are not considered disposable (and unnecessary) commodities.
Feminism a short lived political movement, out distanced by Biology.
"Uh, ma'am, you've got that jockstrap on backwards."
My 38 year old daughter works 60 hours a week most weeks, married, no kids, big house, and she is so frazzled she can't sleep when she finally lays her head down. I worry so much about what she's doing to her health. Her hubby is ticked. Even the two dogs are ticked. Where's the gain?
"Liberalism .. the art of standing on your head and telling everybody else THEY'RE upside down."
Having quoted that, I believe the the feminists are being put back on their feet.
That's the thing: the whole thesis is that women have already broken through the glass ceiling and that the old feminist cries of oppression are outdated and worthless.
I don't think they're arguing that the lives of women have been changed at all by this thesis. Well, except for the man-eaters who have to feel that they are oppressed by men and can't succeed because bigoted men won't let them. Those are the dinosaurs who are on the verge of becoming fossils.
Yep. I'm going to be a doctor down the road, and realizing I'm going to inevitably have to work some odd hours, nothing would make me happier than to find a woman with some interesting hobbies who wants to raise a family and who can create her place in life through roles other than a time-consuming career.
Or, if she wants to bring me home the gold and let me work a few hours per week to keep the license functioning, I'm happy with that, too. I'll take care of the kiddos and enjoy my hobbies.
I prefer option one for many reasons, but whatever works. I just want a family that's well-taken care of.
Sadly, yes. I just saw nightly wrinkle reducing cream for men at my grocery store. Have you checked out the array of men's body washes at the store? How about men getting pedicures and waxes? It's all happening so fast it makes me want to puke. Where are all the men who'll hold the door open for my daughters????????????
This article is supremely stupid.
Feminism was about respecting women's choice... to be a mom (and to be fully respected in that role) or to be a CEO or to work as a clerk and make the same salary as the male clerk working at the next desk.
I'm a hardworking high earner with no kids and my husband and I are supremely happy. Not everybody is cut out to be a parent (and there are plenty of people who can't for medical reasons). The author of the book has a huge chip on her shoulder.
Relative incompetence and lack of commitment to one's job seem to be two of those "difficulties." I work with a few women who are in this situation. Their performance and dedication are subpar.
It is disingenuous for women to blame the marketplace for their inability to compete against superior workers.
You got to hand to lefists/liberals/socialists, only they would complain about people being to successful.
You got to hand it to lefists/liberals/socialists, only they would complain about people being to successful.
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