My friend works in a nursing home. One of her favorite patients is Anna, a former "Rosie the Riveter".
Anna told her about the first day on the job at the plant during WW2, someone had ordered all the doors on the women's bathroom stalls removed.
In the meeting with the newly hired ladies, the commander asked if they had any issues, Anna stood up and said, "we would like the doors put back on the restroom stalls"
He said, "why would that bother you"
Without missing a beat, she said, "It is very hard to change your kotex without in a bathroom without a door.
The commander turned all shades of red, and the next day, the doors were put back on.
My sister was one of the first paratroopers at Fort Bragg and had a small write up in Newsweek. She was promoted and received a commendation for sneaking into enemy's territory and stealing parts for her company jeep. She retired over a decade ago as a decorated officer.
My family comes from a whole lineage of military people, both male and female, and I'm extremely proud of all of them.
@clearsight: I have a book about the women who did her job here, and also about women spies, and I think they did parachute. Seems to have taken the authorities a while to realise that the gilrs could handle it. They did, however, send them out without some navigational equipment, which made their job insanely hazardous.
This is totally like in 3rd grade P.E. when they said we were going to do "Parachute" and I got SO excited thinking I'd get to jump off the side of the gym, but they really just meant stand in a circle and wave a parachute to make waves. LAME.
This article is obviously made up. Because if this were true, why on earth would people still be debating women's (in)ability to serve in the military? That'd be crazy.
@HeatherNumber1: I don't think anyone really debates womens ability to be in the military...they debate in what capacity they should serve, and if the tradeoffs of allowing them to serve in some roles (most notably those where there is a high chance of capture->gang rape->babies) are worth it to the overall mission.
@LaFemme: I don't think its the enemy the women have to worry about. After hearing all the stories about rape and murder in the military I am more worried about hyper aggressive men on our side taking it out on fellow female soldiers.
@HeatherNumber1: Really? Pretty much every conversation I have had people will agree on a co-ed draft where everyone has to serve in some capacity, be it care-giving for soldiers, spending time on construction for the war effort, volunteering to help with single family households, learning to guard public places, or being trained to go into combat. The point of contention is usually the "should women be in combat" part, not "should they be involved in the military."
I do find it irritatingly pretentious when conservative Christians attest there is something special about them believing in Jesus and act like they're a minority, in a country where they so clearly have religious privilege to the extent that every viable presidential candidate has been a member of their religion or at least forced to fake it. But even as a secular liberal, I was shocked when I started college last year (I'm in a school in Baltimore, with lots of uber-liberal New Yorkers, Bostonians, and Californians) by how intolerant some on the left can be of their right-wing counterparts. I'd grown up around a mix of liberals and conservative evangelicals, and while my conservative friends would often argue with me over my beliefs we could still be friends after it was over and find things to discuss that we agreed on. My equally-liberal parents always had friends who were gun-toting, Fox-News-watching Bushies. But some "liberals" won't even give you the time of day if they perceive you as "redneck" or a "Jesus freak." And liberals who only grow-up around like-minded people can be just as ridiculously sheltered as conservatives who never experience other opinions; I remember stifling laughter at the girl from New York who attested that no one REALLY is against abortion, because everyone she knew would get an abortion if they got unexpectedly pregnant.
So I can really see how Bauer would have trouble fitting into the New York literary/artistic scene, when I've seen firsthand how judgmental people can be found on both sides of the aisle. And she hardly sounds like she's a fire-and-brimstone type; she just has strong beliefs and doesn't want to change them to fit in.
I will probably read this, if only as research for my own book proposal, which will also be a memoir that has to do with religion.
However, I do have to wonder about the narrative of the book. Usually what attracts people to memoirs is the promise of redemption or of some sort of transformation on a personal level. Good writing is necessary, of course, but there has to be something else to make it compelling.
The NYT ran an article about a similar memoir, which seems to be one about contentment. I just have to wonder, what possible story arc is there when your narrative is focused around trying to stay exactly the way you are.
@Gorbachev: Once a religious kid asked my atheist high school self what, if I didn't believe in God, was keeping me from killing someone at any time. He later cheated on his wife, which I'm pretty sure God also doesn't look kindly on.
Living life doesn't entitle you to a memoir. I hope for her sake that the actual book is more interesting than the descriptions make it sound.
I, too, have lived an exceptionally good girl life, but I've harbored no illusions that my life was worthy of memoir. In fact, it's only the wacky, non-traditional and few and far between salacious parts of my life that would make for any kind of interesting read. Otherwise, hurray!, you're a vanilla human being and if you aren't somehow extraordinary - don't write a book.
@kungfutoday: I don't really understand this sentiment. If she is a good writer, isn't it possible her so-called dull life can be made into a compelling read? And conversely, another person's life of excitement and intrigue could lose all spark if the author is a shitty writer? If it's good, it will sell. If it's not, let everyone ignore it.
As someone who, until the age of 25, was herself virginal and rather a "good girl" (I'm still pretty staid, if no longer virginal) I think this narrative sounds like a big bucket full of yawn. You are only ostracized for such things if you let yourself be. Yes, you can be a princess about it and try to act like it's your own form of rebellion. But if you're happy with the way you are, there's no need to be a poser and act like your life choices (whether traditional or not) are some big dramatic thing. As long as you don't act self-righteous, it's highly unlikely anyone will care if your personal life involves faith, abstinence or whatever else.
@Flackette Goes Retro: I completely agree. I'm a practicing Catholic in the New York literary scene and nobody gives a damn because I don't make a big deal out of it. Sure, some new acquaintances are surprised when they find out I'll go to Mass some Sundays, but other than the (very) occasional (and usually drunk) theological discussions, nobody cares.
@Flackette Goes Retro: I'm glad you said this. I was a virgin until I was married at 21, I don't drink, I'm pretty conservative...and guess what? No one cares.
People mostly don't care what you do, or they're curious and respectful. People who get nervous about me not drinking are usually insecure about their own drinking, I've noticed.
I've never been attacked in the 15 years I've lived my faith in this way. And I always wondered how it would look if someone tried to pester me to drink at a party or something like that--that person would look like such a loser for not respecting my choices.
I try to point this out to the teens in our religious community whenever I can. If you really care about being cool, the coolest thing is to be confident in your own decisions.
I guess that when there isn't that foundational conflict between her present self and the way that she was brought up (since she remains in the religion of her childhood) she has to provide drama to her story by highlighting the tension between her religion and her social milieu. I definitely can see why it grates in context but also, it's a memoir, it's a way to create interest and a minimum of tension to hold up her insights... but maybe that just reaffirms that good girl stories are kind of boring.
Anyway there are plenty of Christians everyone thinks is cool, like Johnny Cash. You just have to be more convinced of your probable damnation than of your salvation.
I'm a bitter ex-Catholic who is convinced that the church completely fucked up my ideas of sexuality and women's rights. I don't know if that makes me "romantic," but it does make me completely uninterested in Hustad's epic journey to find her place in a country in which 75% of the population identify themselves as Christian.
@Yahtzii: Hey you! Stop being me! That is...actually exactly why I left the Catholic church.
Anyway, I totally agree that the idea of "finding your place" in a country where the majority of people agree with you is kind of dull, I do agree with lilbobbytales way the heck down there that as a society, we no longer value joy and earnestness as social values. And while I can't say that I'll be reading it, I do think it has its place on the shelves of virgins and Christians as aspirational literature where you can say, "she's living a bohemian life but with my values" as well. Ie. just because you're a good Christian girl doesn't mean you can't go live someplace more interesting than Peoria.
@Yahtzii: There was a girl in high school who was convinced that it so much harder to be Christian than anything else. I am Jewish. I live in Montana. There were 3 other Jewish kids in MY ENTIRE HIGH SCHOOL. I laughed in her face. That "Help, we're being oppressed" graphic says it perfectly.
@Zombie Ms. Skittles: But that's part of my problem. Why does religion have a monopoly on "conventional" values like earnestness and joy? I'm as square as they come. I go to bed early every night so I can get eight hours of sleep before going to the gym. I got married at 23. I'm a homebody. But just because religion makes me ill and I want gay people to be able to get married, does that mean I get labeled as a godless hedonist?
09/01/09
Anna told her about the first day on the job at the plant during WW2, someone had ordered all the doors on the women's bathroom stalls removed.
In the meeting with the newly hired ladies, the commander asked if they had any issues, Anna stood up and said, "we would like the doors put back on the restroom stalls"
He said, "why would that bother you"
Without missing a beat, she said, "It is very hard to change your kotex without in a bathroom without a door.
The commander turned all shades of red, and the next day, the doors were put back on.
I love these early feminists.
09/01/09
My family comes from a whole lineage of military people, both male and female, and I'm extremely proud of all of them.
09/01/09
If you are in good health and can lift your legs on your own, it's not too late.
Love,
A proud female parachutist.
09/01/09
In the article, she says she didn't just want to parachute, but parachute behind enemy lines.
I assume there had to have been several female women trained to parachute since there apparently were several female pilots.
09/02/09
Spitfire Women by Giles Whittell.
09/01/09
09/01/09
09/01/09
09/01/09
09/01/09
09/01/09
09/01/09
09/01/09
08/01/09
So I can really see how Bauer would have trouble fitting into the New York literary/artistic scene, when I've seen firsthand how judgmental people can be found on both sides of the aisle. And she hardly sounds like she's a fire-and-brimstone type; she just has strong beliefs and doesn't want to change them to fit in.
07/30/09
However, I do have to wonder about the narrative of the book. Usually what attracts people to memoirs is the promise of redemption or of some sort of transformation on a personal level. Good writing is necessary, of course, but there has to be something else to make it compelling.
The NYT ran an article about a similar memoir, which seems to be one about contentment. I just have to wonder, what possible story arc is there when your narrative is focused around trying to stay exactly the way you are.
07/29/09
07/29/09
07/29/09
Here's a novel idea: a person who is emotionally secure and mature, for whom religion is a non-issue.
Did you know there are people in the world who don't even think about religion, and yet, still have a strong moral bearing.
07/29/09
07/29/09
07/29/09
I, too, have lived an exceptionally good girl life, but I've harbored no illusions that my life was worthy of memoir. In fact, it's only the wacky, non-traditional and few and far between salacious parts of my life that would make for any kind of interesting read. Otherwise, hurray!, you're a vanilla human being and if you aren't somehow extraordinary - don't write a book.
07/29/09
07/29/09
07/29/09
07/29/09
07/29/09
People mostly don't care what you do, or they're curious and respectful. People who get nervous about me not drinking are usually insecure about their own drinking, I've noticed.
I've never been attacked in the 15 years I've lived my faith in this way. And I always wondered how it would look if someone tried to pester me to drink at a party or something like that--that person would look like such a loser for not respecting my choices.
I try to point this out to the teens in our religious community whenever I can. If you really care about being cool, the coolest thing is to be confident in your own decisions.
07/29/09
07/29/09
07/29/09
07/29/09
07/29/09
07/29/09
07/29/09
Anyway, I totally agree that the idea of "finding your place" in a country where the majority of people agree with you is kind of dull, I do agree with lilbobbytales way the heck down there that as a society, we no longer value joy and earnestness as social values. And while I can't say that I'll be reading it, I do think it has its place on the shelves of virgins and Christians as aspirational literature where you can say, "she's living a bohemian life but with my values" as well. Ie. just because you're a good Christian girl doesn't mean you can't go live someplace more interesting than Peoria.
07/29/09
07/29/09
07/29/09