THIS nineteenth century portrait by James Charles of Mrs. Alfred Illingworth might seem to modern sensibilities to be a portrait of luxury and its unearned privileges. But this interpretation cannot survive an honest appraisal of Mrs. Illingworth’s face. Every thing in the picture is a prop to the magnificent, communicative face. She is serene and self-effacing. Her gaze is steady, not defiant. Like Stoic Roman matrons immortalized in busts, or a weathered cliff on a lovely shore, she is a bulwark of receptivity. She is not beautiful, but she is highly feminine.

Feminists have often scared women with the idea that when their children are raised they will have nothing to do. What can I say, but how stupid this idea is? Nothing to do?  Does the cliff have nothing to do? Does a work of art have nothing to do?

What can a woman do after her children are raised? She need not do. But she must be.

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IN THIS AD, Republican women in the House of Representatives show off how pro-woman they are, as if we needed to know. They give the impression that the universe is female and never mention that jobs and businesses for men should be a far greater priority than jobs and businesses for women.

Can women in a modern democracy move beyond the politics of narcissism?

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ROBIN writes:

Carla writes: 

…And most important, if feminism is making women so unhappy why are women not embracing traditional role more?…

I would add to your excellent commentary only by suggesting that men are also not embracing traditional role more. When Betty Friedan and Margaret Sanger, et al, began their wicked, Marxist campaign, I believe they were well aware that they would influence men as well as women, eventually altering an entire society. 

As a reformed (and continually reforming, thanks be to God) feminist myself, I can confidently say that I have the utmost respect for men. I am far from a man-hating feminazi, so to speak. However, I will say that there exists a sea of men in America who are quite comfortable with their feminist wives. Not happy, mind you, but quite comfortable – some even encourage feminist qualities in their wives!  (more…)

AT HER blog Camera Lucida, Kidist Paulos Asrat recently posted photos of Niagara Falls.

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  A READER writes: I was persuing the IKEA catalogue on this very hot summer day when I came up with my own additions to the merchandiser's Swedish names for sofas, bookcases, cabinets and tables: Rïppoff Häardtoassembel Faallapåart Päartikalbørd Lostscrü Missingpåart Kollapsprøn Wherdidwepäark Løstyœngestchild

    SAMSON writes: Since you've had a few recent posts on the changing face of medicine, may I recommend a painting? It dates from 1887, by a British painter named Luke Fildes. It's called "The Doctor." To me, it conveys gravitas, dedication and the sanctity of the profession.

JAMES N., a physician, writes:

I just googled “physician burnout” and got 3,600,000 hits.”Resident burnout” got 5,580,000 hits. “Medical student burnout” got only 228,000 hits.

Prior to, say, 1990, “burnout” as applied to medical students, residents, and physicians was not a concept in general use.

What is different? The question answers itself. As the blogger Dr. Helen points out here, women often are surprised or shocked at what is actually involved in holding a job, never mind in constructing, developing, and holding a career. The low number of “medical student burnout” hits is probably because medical school is the last place a bright and studious girl can get by with her exemplary social (teacher pleasing) and academic (studying hard) skills that she has been crafting since kindergarten. (more…)

PATRICK HOLDEN writes:

One aspect of the Michele Bachman controversy over gay reparative therapy struck me as odd. Opponents of gay reparative therapy criticize it as cruel and inhumane. My understanding is that the therapy consists of reading the Bible, praying and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). In addition, celibacy was recommended as an alternative to engaging in homosexual behavior. I see nothing wrong with a competent adult deciding to attempt to live a life of celibacy based on the very traditional belief that homosexuality is wrong. I also don’t see anything wrong with obtaining psychological services in furtherance of this goal. 

Contrast this with the reaction to sex reassignment surgery, which is never condemned in leftist circles as cruel or inhumane. (more…)

CARLA writes:

Reading your blog makes me wonder. If older generations were happy with the traditional role of women in society, why was feminism embraced by the later generation? Maybe you think it was propaganda, but why did the propaganda take hold? Were women discontent with their role to begin with? Was feminism offering something women thought they were lacking? And most important, if feminism is making women so unhappy why are women not embracing traditional role more?… Just curious. I think is a fascinating topic. (more…)

DEPARTMENTAL
  —  Robert Frost

An ant on the tablecloth
Ran into a dormant moth
Of many times his size.
He showed not the least surprise.
His business wasn’t with such.
He gave it scarcely a touch,
And was off on his duty run.
Yet if he encountered one
Of the hive’s enquiry squad
Whose work is to find out God
And the nature of time and space,
He would put him onto the case. (more…)

  A FRIEND  recently showed me photos of Air Force One on her cell phone. She had taken the photos on the tarmac of our local airport, where she went to watch the plane's descent and to catch a glimpse of The One. Her eyes still glowed in the aftermath of this experience. My friend, a middle-aged, married professional, said that she found Obama overwhelmingly attractive and that even babies are drawn to his magnetism. Lawrence Auster writes that Obama love is the psychological antithesis of Bush-hatred and "is, for the Obama lovers, a constant ecstatic force in their daily psyche."

  A FRONT PAGE article in today's New York Times examines Michele Bachmann's remarkable fight in Minnesota against same-sex "marriage," for which she is sure to face increasing venom in the weeks ahead even though she has downplayed the issue since announcing her candidacy for president. Bachmann has not just opposed same-sex "marriage," but stated that homosexuality is immoral and harmful. The Times quotes a Minnesota Democrat as saying that Bachmann resorted to "junk science and debunked claims that being gay is a choice." Given the amount of hatred she will encounter for her stance on this issue, Michele Bachmann is heroically courageous.

WRITING in Chronicles magazine on passage of same-sex “marriage” in New York, Patrick Buchanan says,

We are entering an era where communities will secede from one another and civil disobedience on moral grounds will become as common as it was in the days of segregation.

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  FOR THE first time in American history, troops and veterans openly participated in a gay pride parade on Saturday. About 200 service men and women from various branches of the military marched in the San Diego parade to cheering crowds. Even though "don't ask, don't tell" is still officially on the books, last year's Congressional repeal of the policy which forbids openly homosexual soldiers from serving is expected to go into effect soon. Military contingents will now presumably be regular features of gay pride parades.

GRACE A. writes:

My cynical elderly father once said to me that everything comes down to money and when you cannot figure out why someone is doing something, look for the money. Unfortunately, he is right about that all too often, and I thought of his words when reading your post about the “Spirited Woman Awards.” There are many financial interests behind Spirited Women.  (more…)

The Music Lesson, completed in 1877, is another sensuous mother-and-child painting by Lord Frederick Leighton. (Click on the image to see it in greater detail.) Notice the pleasure of the mother in holding and teaching her child at the same time. She reaches around to tune the instrument without disrupting their embrace. The dangling bare feet extend from their luxurious clothing, emphasizing their humanity without pretense and suggesting hours of fruitful idleness. The classical column in the background and the lute joins the pair with the ancient world, further capturing what motherhood is at its highest, the transmission of a culture, the furtherance of the thoughts and habits by which a civilization strives for the perfection it will never fully realize. 

By the way, Leighton, president of the Royal Academy in England for 20 years, was a bachelor and had no children of his own. Such is the mystery of masculine genuis that an unmarried man can convey motherhood in this way.

Here is an excerpt from an address by Leighton to young artists in 1893: (more…)

GREG JINKERSON writes:

Today I found and greatly enjoyed an older post of yours with the title, “Questions on Race and Christianity.” That was an excellent discussion of a volatile topic. At one point you said this, “The command ‘to love one’s neighbor as one’s self’ is exaggerated by modern liberals to mean that whites should participate in the destruction of their own nations. Loyalties that should be applied to individuals or small groups are broadened to encompass all of humanity.” This instantly reminded me of Thomas Fleming’s brilliant analysis of this phenomenon, which he has called “the pornography of compassion.” (more…)

WHILE IT maintains that it offers the best of everything and values individual choice, our feminist society actually glorifies and celebrates only certain choices. All societies glorify and celebrate certain choices. It is not possible to reward pure freedom or to approve of choices that are inherently opposed. If being a Vitalist Woman who does everything is good then being a woman who adopts a a traditional role is necessarily not good.  

Here, in illustration of the ceaseless glorification of the Vitalist Woman, are the three categories in 5th Annual Spirited Woman of Baltimore Awards, which might be renamed the 5th Annual Exhausted Woman Awards or the 5th Annual Charlotte Perkins Gilman Awards, named after the famous feminist who was one of the world’s worst wives and mothers: (more…)