Amanda, I love that we both were noodling on Ambition this week but from different perspectives. It is worth unpacking what we mean by ambition which, you are right, can mean different things to different people. This line, I loved: Perhaps what we mean by “ambition” is a woman’s simple desire to feel human? A woman’s right to participate in public life? To leave the home at all?
Yes, I think that is what I am touching on, not that I become a CEO or earn a 6 figure income, but my daring desire to put my voice out into the world, whether through writing, or in community, or in conversation with others. Also, your phrase: "the trauma of American motherhood." Holy shit. Can we have a whole post about that please? I can offer my own case study!
And I agree that right now, we have so little in between career life and home life. Could some of this be a component of the pandemic? What happened to valuing community service, fun, travel, volunteering except the opportunities disappeared during the last two years and we've forgotten what it was like to have more than work/home life?
Also that Brandon Taylor quote. And thanks for sharing the Sarah Manguso essay. Reading it now!
I'm so looking forward to your class on writing and Silvia Federici!
Amanda, I love that we both were noodling on Ambition this week but from different perspectives. It is worth unpacking what we mean by ambition which, you are right, can mean different things to different people. This line, I loved: Perhaps what we mean by “ambition” is a woman’s simple desire to feel human? A woman’s right to participate in public life? To leave the home at all?
Yes, I think that is what I am touching on, not that I become a CEO or earn a 6 figure income, but my daring desire to put my voice out into the world, whether through writing, or in community, or in conversation with others. Also, your phrase: "the trauma of American motherhood." Holy shit. Can we have a whole post about that please? I can offer my own case study!
And I agree that right now, we have so little in between career life and home life. Could some of this be a component of the pandemic? What happened to valuing community service, fun, travel, volunteering except the opportunities disappeared during the last two years and we've forgotten what it was like to have more than work/home life?
Also that Brandon Taylor quote. And thanks for sharing the Sarah Manguso essay. Reading it now!