tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1624614653537130690.post2489495761480414936..comments2024-01-02T15:19:12.921-08:00Comments on My Little Corner: A Woman's Placesandra seamanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09786095189231150008noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1624614653537130690.post-92034073129191272882012-04-11T14:55:27.704-07:002012-04-11T14:55:27.704-07:00As I said in response to Patti, I've tried Mad...As I said in response to Patti, I've tried Mad Men but just can't get past the commercials that dote on sex, cigarettes and booze. It's not the world I remember from the fifties and sixties.<br /><br />Yeah, it probably did sound bigoted but that's my world. I know things are changing but for those of us who've lived this life, it's not going to change.<br /><br />Yes, I had an editor tell me that he loved the country noir I submitted but it wasn't noir enough. Which begs the question - how noir does noir have to be? :)sandra seamanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09786095189231150008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1624614653537130690.post-72609425581107000552012-04-11T10:13:18.368-07:002012-04-11T10:13:18.368-07:00Sandra, you're entirely mistaken about "M...Sandra, you're entirely mistaken about "Mad Men"; either you haven't seen it, or haven't paid attention.<br /><br />And I'm annoyed by sexist statements like "Women can take everything a man can and with more grace ... A man gets sick and he drops on the couch ..." Bigoted bullshit.<br /><br />Otherwise, good piece. (Did someone actually tell you your words aren't as powerful as a male writer's would be? That's ridiculous.)<br /><br />I like good female protagonists; often I write them. And I like good fiction, regardless of the genital configuration of the author. Find stereotypes tedious.Manuel Royalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00392229225958688128noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1624614653537130690.post-15553861902278871632012-04-10T15:47:01.908-07:002012-04-10T15:47:01.908-07:00I watch the commercials for Mad Men and just shake...I watch the commercials for Mad Men and just shake my head, Patti. The women in their pearls just remind me of the fantasy life of "Leave it to Beaver". I did try watching when AMC put the show on Sunday mornings but I just couldn't like any of the characters. People I know, didn't live like that and I just can't seem to relate to them.<br /><br />I remember the Richard Speck murders. Hard to forget the name of a man who committed the crimes he did.sandra seamanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09786095189231150008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1624614653537130690.post-55294026981337526902012-04-10T14:16:13.057-07:002012-04-10T14:16:13.057-07:00I disagree a bit about MAD MEN. I think a critique...I disagree a bit about MAD MEN. I think a critique about that sort of thinking/behavior goes on nearly week as Peggy and other female characters wrestle with the sixties mentality. Now we have the first black woman and the canvas is stretched. <br />I think there is a difference between portraying things as they were and endorsing them. Betty Draper is probably the only continuing character who would fit that stereotype and she is nearly comatose. This week dealt with the Speck murders and how that played out. When was the last time we thought of that. <br />It takes a while to get under the skin of MAD MEN. But worth it for me.pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1624614653537130690.post-19114535982610163042012-04-10T11:38:22.879-07:002012-04-10T11:38:22.879-07:00We all have those blinders, Thomas, in one way or ...We all have those blinders, Thomas, in one way or another. I can see changes in my sons' generation but when I look back to my grandparents and parents lives, the changes don't seem very big considering they encompass four generations.<br /><br />Maybe the problem is that women, at least many of my generation, are willing to settle for whatever they can get without rocking the boat. Which makes it easier for men to set aside their opinions and worth.sandra seamanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09786095189231150008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1624614653537130690.post-28958280838116891802012-04-10T11:02:37.887-07:002012-04-10T11:02:37.887-07:00I grew up with three women and I still catch mysel...I grew up with three women and I still catch myself wearing sexist blinders at times.<br />You linked to some excellent reading. I often prefer reading women in the crime genre. They have a better perspective, sometimes.<br />I wrote on the the livejournal post that I think the last few generations of men secretly feel left out of the Mad Men era, when White Man was not only king, but undisputed and without any competition. Today we have to share a meager amount of the spoils, and we react like we're victims. It's quite pathetic.<br />The easiest thing in the world is to be a man born into a middle class family, but we expect medals for behaving like decent human beings.Thomas Pluckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17008022962076648740noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1624614653537130690.post-45839437373664418952012-04-10T10:57:59.362-07:002012-04-10T10:57:59.362-07:00What got me about that campain was the fact that t...What got me about that campain was the fact that they asked her to step aside so HE could win. She was within a hair's breath of beating him and had to take a back seat instead of letting it play out to the end. There was nothing fair or equal in that decision. Just politics as usual.<br /><br />And I certainly understand your grandmother's frustration. I don't think there's a woman alive that hasn't felt that at some point in her life.sandra seamanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09786095189231150008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1624614653537130690.post-66461750215059764152012-04-10T09:54:37.556-07:002012-04-10T09:54:37.556-07:00i was brought up in a household that included my g...i was brought up in a household that included my grandmother, who had been a traveling saleswoman back in the 40s. She was the top seller in her company but couldn't tell anyone because it would, in her boss' words, "Humiliate the men." Forty years later, she was still fuming about that and telling my sister and me not to accept that kind of limit. <br />Imagine my surprise when I hit the working world and discovered sexism was alive and well. Imagine my dismay during the 2008 presidential campaign when people who identified themselves as liberals vilified Democratic contender Hillary Clinton in very personal, very sexist terms. <br />You're so right Sandra. This shouldn't even be an issue any more. And yet... it is.Katherine Tomlinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09696623795926663895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1624614653537130690.post-35757230798597767162012-04-10T07:09:26.229-07:002012-04-10T07:09:26.229-07:00I agree, Al, a woman's strengh comes from insi...I agree, Al, a woman's strengh comes from inside. Which isn't to say they can't fight when they need to. :)<br /><br />It is ingrained, Heath, but I believe, in this country, only since after WWII. Think about it, women walked across the country to settle the West right along side the men. Women helped build this country, they worked in the factories to build airplanes during the war. Then suddenly they were the weaker sex. It just doesn't track.<br /><br />I know that, Brain. My son is a single Dad, too, raising two boys because their mother prefers being a weekend Mom. Things aren't always equal, no matter your sex. I come from the point of view of one female in a house full of men. That give me a totally different perspecitive from yours :) <br /><br />I read about the plastic surgery hoopla, but didn't know that she had responded. Thanks for the link! It's a sad commentary on our society that Marilyn Monroe would be considered fat today.sandra seamanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09786095189231150008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1624614653537130690.post-82844724045220417322012-04-10T06:37:07.219-07:002012-04-10T06:37:07.219-07:00As a one time single dad let me say not all men do...As a one time single dad let me say not all men do the flop on the couch cuz I'm sick routine (but I know many who do).<br /><br />Also, have you seen the Ashley Judd thing?<br /><br />http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/04/09/ashley-judd-slaps-media-in-the-face-for-speculation-over-her-puffy-appearance.htmlBrian Lindenmuthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02519203797661128049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1624614653537130690.post-7973933015663245122012-04-10T06:23:01.001-07:002012-04-10T06:23:01.001-07:00This is spot-on. I read the post in question and e...This is spot-on. I read the post in question and every word of it is true. As men, we are sometimes blind to the misogynistic nature of popular culture. Even us bloody-hearted liberals. <br />In my case, I was raised by women (like many young men of my generation) and I have a teenage daughter-- both of those things have given me a slightly different perspective. But despite that, I still find myself occasionally falling into old, patriarchal modes of thinking. It's just ingrained in our culture, isn't it? This lack of respect for women. I dislike this aspect of myself and men in general, and intend to focus more on changing it.<br />Great post, Sandra.Heath Lowrancehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07009721666729276126noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1624614653537130690.post-89830210623481911982012-04-10T06:05:12.229-07:002012-04-10T06:05:12.229-07:00I write a female protagonist partly because I find...I write a female protagonist partly because I find female toughness more interesting. It's more likely to take the form of endurance and resilience than punching ability.Al Tucherhttp://alberttucher.writersresidence.comnoreply@blogger.com