“Last spring, my good friend Nancy Kirk (’59), who lives in New York, emailed me and told me that her good friend Alison Baker had written a book and was going to do a reading at Barnes & Noble in Philadelphia. She said that I should spread the word among Bryn Mawr alumnae, that I should go and hear Alison, and that I should buy a book. And being a good Bryn Mawr person, I did all of the above, and I went and heard Alison and I bought a book. And I thought then and there that this deserved a wider discussion, not just limited to the class of ’62, but including all our voices, how all of us are affected by where we are in history.”
“The panel was Jane’s idea, and I think a brilliant idea. . . . I’ve asked our panelists to reflect on some of the themes of the book. They’re not meant to represent a decade, or Bryn Mawr, or anyone but themselves, just to talk a little bit about how they see their place in history, and also whether there was a coming-of-age period that shaped them and left an imprint that has been important in their lives. Also perhaps to say a few words about feminism as they perceived it at Bryn Mawr and as it has been a factor in their lives.”
“The piece of history that I think affected us most was not the war, and not the assassinations of the ‘60s. I thought it was the generation gap. People in the 70s, I think, when they got out of college, didn’t feel they could go home. They were so different from their parents. . . . Unlike the 60s grads, we didn’t feel we could go home and regroup. We kind of grabbed whatever job came our way, because we had to make money so we could get out of the house. I just think that generation gap was the thing that impacted us the most.”
“By and large, we are the children of the class of ’62. Most of our mothers were born in 1940. . . . But many of our mothers didn’t have the privilege of going to college right after high school. . . . So our mothers, I think, were far more diverse in their experience of what it meant to be a woman of that generation than the women of the Bryn Mawr class of ’62.”
“Feminism put me in a position to be able to choose what I want to do with my life. . . . Bryn Mawr gave me the confidence to let go of my life, in certain ways, to just go where it seems to be going. . . . A lot of my friends and I don’t see it as choosing between work and family. We are trying to think of when to do some of these things, and not just whether to do them. The idea of having it all might be having it at different stages in life.”
“I was really nervous at being asked to participate in this panel, because the conversations that I and my friends are having are all about: ‘I have no idea where I’m going to be next year.’ A job? Grad school? Fulbright application? All these possibilities are up in the air. It’s hard to imagine where I’m going to be in June, after Bryn Mawr is finished.
“I would recommend this book so much. To be reading it as a senior. . . I was so proud to go to Bryn Mawr. I think you should all read it before you come as a freshman, and you should read it again as a senior. There were so many points where I feel really connected to past classes. A couple of moments: One member of the class of ’62 mentioned that she and her friends had grown up reading Nancy Drew, who was this smart, independent mystery-solver. And I thought that I and my friends grew up with Nancy Drew too. And my cousin and I went to see the Nancy Drew movie just last summer. And another connection: A member of the class of ’62 mentioned that one of her pastimes, growing up, was going to see the Rockford Peaches play in the women’s baseball league in Illinois.
And I have a really vivid memory of watching that movie, A League of Their Own, at a birthday party when I was in 4th grade. And now it’s a staple in my DVD collection.
“We were sophomores in high school when 9/11 happened. Indirectly it had an effect on me: I’m a political science major with a concentration in Arabic and Middle Eastern studies. So 9/11 indirectly has opened those doors . . . to students now.”
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Radio Interview, Joey Reynolds Late Night Radio Talk Show
David Brooks Op Ed: The Kennedy Mystique
This OpEd helps explain why Obama's message resonates with me and Hillary's does not (somewhat to my surprise). We (the class of '62) are a very different generation from Hillary (class of '69), and the Kennedys (Caroline and Ted) and Obama talking about "the high road versus the low road; inspiration versus calculation; future versus the past; and most of all, service versus selfishness," reminds us of coming of age with JFK and the New Frontier..
On April 24, Nancy Kirk (BMC '59) hosted a very lively
gathering at her New York City apartment, where I was joined by
Marion (Coen) Katzive and Barbara (Paul) Robinson leading a
discussion of It's Good To Be a Woman. What was
wonderful about the evening, was that the book was just the
spark for people sharing their own stories, their own struggles
in the world.
In the course of the discussion, Marion Katzive mentioned
another book, Necessary Dreams: Ambition in Women's
Changing Lives, by psychiatrist Dr. Anna Fels. (New
York: Anchor Books, 2004), and the distinction that Fels makes
between recognition and praise. Later, she sent me the relevant
citation (p. 10):
“It's important to emphasize that
recognition is not synonymous with praise. Unlike recognition,
praise is often given for a trait or an accomplishment that we
don't care about. . . . Praise, in contrast to recognition, can
be experienced as false--in which case it has no impact. . . .
Praise qualifies as recognition only if its content feels
meaningful, deserved, and accurate.”
I am delighted to announce that my new book, IT’S GOOD TO BE A WOMAN: Voices from Bryn Mawr, Class of ’62
has been released.
This is the first of an occasional note with links to
articles that seem interesting to me, and touch on the people
and themes of It's Good To Be a Woman.
2007 is turning out to be a great year for women’s college graduates. Nancy Pelosi (Trinity College, ’62) took up the gavel as Speaker of the House, Drew Gilpin Faust (Bryn Mawr, ’68) was appointed president of Harvard University, and Hillary Rodham Clinton (Wellesley, ’69) announced that she’s “in to win” the presidency. The women profiled in
It’s Good To Be a Woman were among those who showed the way, the vanguard of a feminist movement breaking down barriers for women entering the professions.
I hope that you will want to get It’s Good To Be a Woman hot off the press.
Order from Revolution Booksellers before March 31, and you will receive a special price and free shipping.
The official “launch” of the book will be on June 1-3 at Bryn Mawr, at the class of ’62 45th reunion. I am available for radio, tv, readings, signings and book club events before then, through all of April and the first half of May. (Some appearances are already scheduled – see Appearances/Schedule Web page) Any ideas? Please contact me (alisonbak@aol.com) or my publicist Carol McCarthy (carol@revolutionbooksellers.com).
Please help me spread the word – tell friends and colleagues about the book and give them the website address.
