TheBanyanTree: renaissance woman or feminist reject

[Jena Norton]

My mother was the oldest of 9, her father a tyrant and her mother worn out
by child-bearing. Her father was a Methodist minister and they moved every
couple of years to another rural town. A love of education was there. My
mother was forced to quit school in her senior year to help take care of the
younger kids and her pregnant mother. This killed her dream to become a
teacher.

A couple years later, she met my father. By this time she was working in a
cotton mill and living in the parsonage in the mill village. I've never been
sure if she loved my father or he was her ticket out. My father had gone to
an agricultural and mechanical high school. It was a boarding school and
there was one in every congressional district in GA. Later, he took a few
courses at GA Tech, but never enough for even an AA degree.

But both wanted my sister and me to have an education and a career. My
mother wanted us to never feel we were dependent on a husband. This was  not
because of her own situation, because they were happy together, but because
my mother in particular had known too many women trapped by lack of
education and skills. My father wanted us to be able to keep a checkbook and
maintain a car, as well--skills my mother never mastered.

My sister became an RN. I went off to college for a year, then came home to
work for a year to learn the value of money and understand what it means to
work. The plan was I would go to night classes to stay on track, then return
full time, older and wiser. I wound up working and going to school, then
dropping out (the 4 year break between my junior and senior year, as I call
it), and finally returning to finish at my parents' insistence and with
their help.

I was always a tomboy but found in home ec I did like to sew and cook,
although I didn't cook much at all after that. But for many years, I did
sew. And as many of you know, I now love to cook, especially do canning and
preserving.

I think we're renaissance women. We're feminist because we support women
being all they can be. But we don't reject femininity or how each woman
chooses to express hers. You want to be president? Great! You want to stay
home, being a wife and mother? We need moms at home! You never want to marry
but want to climb the corporate ladder? That's cool! You want it all? Good
luck! You want to be a combat fighter pilot? Why not?

The point is, we should all always have choices that are not restricted by
gender. And really, that isn't feminism. It's  what's right for all people,
regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, or gender.

Jena Norton

-----Original Message-----
From: thebanyantree-bounces at lists.remsset.com
[mailto:thebanyantree-bounces at lists.remsset.com] On Behalf Of Gloria
Sent: Sunday, October 12, 2008 6:23 PM
To: banyantree
Subject: Re: TheBanyanTree: renaissance woman or feminist reject

Laura wrote:
But, by golly, it's MY choice, and isn't that what the feminist movement was
all about?  
[Jena]