Our reading list also includes a straightforward “easy reader” biography series called Rookie Biographies (I think they are a Scholastic Books imprint??). I like them because they are easy to read independently, but not dumbed down at all (explaining new or big vocabulary words), and include real archival photographs. We just read “Rachel Carson” and “Helen Keller,” but there are numerous other female subjects covered.
Children’s author David Adler also has an illustrated biography series for younger kids.

On the topic of recognition for women in the professions we all have a ways to go, also in Europe. The person I am married to has been an associate prof. of American Studies for about a year and a half now, but she is regularly treated as a part-timer by her male colleagues who can’t seem to wrap their ‘brains’ around the fact that she is tenured: “What, you’re an associate prof. just like us?” is one of the more memorable actual quotes from an elderly historian at her dept. “Does that mean you took Carl’s job?”, he continued… Another ‘fine’ moment ocurred when a colleague of hers assumed that since she was commuting to work from where we currently live (5 h. by train), she “must be a part-time lecturer…” This peculiar male form of ‘logic’ continues to mystify me…

In the macho publish/perish world of academia, all bets are off.

On the other hand, to mix metaphors, women physicians are often not taken seriously even by other women. They are often referred to as “lady doctors” (I s’pose as opposed to us be-phallused real doctors).

One of the nice things about primary care medicine is that it is actually possible to be a part time physician and mother without undue penalty. In academics there are obviously pitfalls, but out here in the real world, part time women physicians are more and more common, and just as respected.

There are other interesting, although expected, trends. My female partner does far more paps than I do. That can be viewed as a “ghettoization”, or simply that many women feel more comfortable with a woman doing their pap.

I could go on, but I’ll spare you.

Knitting Clio–well, she is dewily youthful and petite, but I don’t think that was the reason Professor McJerkface was confused about why she was there. After all, there are plenty of late-thirtysomething men in critical care, and I’m sure they don’t get challenged as much. I’ve only seen a man’s youth used to challenge his authority/position once, when a junior colleage arrived late to a meeting with our former Dean. She assumed he was an interloper, and said, “Excuse me, this is a meeting. If you’re looking for a class, it’s in another room.” However, I think that particular encounter said more about how that particular dean didn’t know who her faculty are, or how to read people’s body language and appearance. He was wearing a shirt and tie, and dressed and moved like he belonged in the meeting, so it was just an embarassment for her all the way around. (And, she was an idiot in more ways than one, so it was all of a piece with her.)

I think it is merely coincidental to Women’s History Month, but Bent has a new poston female Beat writers, Diane di Prima and Amiri Baraka.

Cheers