Are Women Getting Angrier?
Eliza is reading the new Liane Moriarty book "Nine Perfect Strangers". One of the themes is women's rage and frustration with life. It's a recurring message in Moriarty's novels which explore the complex lives of suburban mums. Eliza thinks the anger stems from the crunch between personal career ambitions and private domestic duties. It leaves little time for joy.
Somehow, the notion of "having it all" has been re-cast as greedy. Women are told they shouldn't aim for personal and professional bliss all at once. "You can have it all, just not at the same time" has become the common refrain. Which may be true, but prompts Eliza to wonder what women are willing to give up?
Eliza believes motherhood is a lot more fun when you give yourself time to enjoy it.
Geraldine believes women are angrier now than in previous generations. Or maybe they’re just more willing to be honest about it. But she also acknowledges that there are many societal pressures making that work/life juggle harder than before.
It wouldn't be a Long Distance Call without discussion of international news and politics. This week Geraldine and Eliza have been horrified by the grizzly murder of a Saudi journalist at his own Consulate in Turkey.
LINKS
The poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-43643025
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/may/23/yulia-skripal-we-are-so-lucky-to-have-survived-attempted-assassination
Thomas Friedman: Praying for Jamal Khashoggi
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/08/opinion/jamal-khashoggi-missing-saudi-journalist.html
Jamal Khashoggi’s Saudi Arabia - Saturday Extra
https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/saturdayextra/jamal-khashoggis-saudi-arabia/10371604
Nine Perfect Strangers – Liane Moriarty
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39280445-nine-perfect-strangers
The Magazine Interview: Liane Moriarty – The Times UK
(Note – this article sits behind a paywall. The full text is on the Facebook page Long Distance Callers)
#MeToo, One Year On – The Economist
https://www.economist.com/leaders/2018/09/27/metoo-one-year-on
The Female Eunuch – Germaine Greer
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Female_Eunuch
Intimacy & Solitude – Stephanie Dowrick
http://stephaniedowrick.com/published-works/books/intimacy-solitude-3/