Veil of Roses

I really thought I hadn't read Veil of Roses before, but as I started reading it, it felt rather familiar, and by the almost end, I was positive I had read it before.  Regardless, I think Laura Fitzgerald's Veil of Roses is a good, and important read. 

Veil of Roses introduces us to Tamila from Iran. Her parents have sent her to America.  And if she can find a husband, she can stay. No more veil.  No more oppression.  She can finally be free. 

I liked Veil of Roses because Fitzgerald keeps it light, but still obvious that women in Iran are oppressed   It's a good introduction to the subject; it serves as the setting, not the conflict of the novel.  It's made me interested in learning more about the Iranian and Islamic cultures.  I recommend this book to older YA readers and adults, especially women who are interested in a simple introduction to the differences in their lives form the women in Iran. 

let's talk about princesses

There's a modern movement, especially among feminists, against princesses. According to them, princesses teach our daughters to be spoiled, selfish, to let the men "rescue" them.  People don't want to expose their daughters to princess any more.  They want to get them away from all things pink and girly, exposing them instead to strong women role models. 
If you can't tell, I disagree.  And not because I'm kind of a princess myself or because I don't want my daughters to be strong women. My daughters can be whatever, whomever, they like, as long as they are good people. 

If my daughters love pink and princesses (which may be genetic at this point!), okay. I'm good with that. But good princesses are polite. It's the step-sisters who are snots.  Cinderella remains a lady despite her treatment by the stepsisters. Princesses have responsibility   They have to set a good example.  They have to take care of their people. 

There are also examples in real princesses. Princess Kate, who's technically only a duchess, is one of The Hundred Most Influential People in the World according to Time Magazine. She supports many charities and is to volunteer with the Scout Association in North Wales. She always appears ladylike and professional in public. She doesn't dress like a tramp. She doesn't act like Paris Hilton or Snooki. She acts like a princess and is a great role model! Why wouldn't I want my daughters to act like a princess? 

I'm a Feminist & You Should be, too

Hi. My name is Jayme and I'm a feminist. 

("Hi, Jayme!") 

Now, before you get all bent outta shape because you think feminist is a dirty word, you should know that it's not. A feminist isn't a bra-burning, hairy-armpit-ed, man-hating lesbian.  That woman can be a feminist, but you don't have to be her to be a feminist. It's like how all squares are rectangles, but not all rectangles are squares. 

A feminist is, simply put, any person who wants equality between the genders, anyone who believes women should not be submissive and subservient to men. Anyone who wants to give women a choice and a voice.  

Being a feminist is embracing my womanhood without diminishing my husband's manhood (heh. That sounds funny).  Being a feminist isn't about woman being better than man, it's about equality, opportunity, and choice. It's allowing women the same rights and choices we allow men.  It's that I can be a doctor or a lawyer, if I want. Or I can be a stay-at-home mom if i want. It's about the freedom to do what I want and be who I want to be and allowing others the same choice. 

So really, should we all be feminists? 

3 Lives

I'm being a bit of procrastinator with the packing, and Cassidy is still in bed, so I thought I'd do a little book post. It's a little book-report-y, 

but I hope you enjoy it! 

"Three Lives, more radically than any other work of the time [1909] in English, brought the language back to life. . . . life as it was lived by everybody living in the century, the average or normal life as the naturalists had seen it" -- Donald Sutherland, in Gertrude Stein: A Biography of Her Work

Madame Cezanne portrait that inspired Stein's Three Lives

Three Lives was the first published work of Stein, and consists of the stories, or studies, of three women: "The Good Anna" is a kind but authoritative German servingwoman; "Melanctha" is an uneducated but sensitive black (or mulatto) girl; and "The Gentle Lena" is a pathetically feebleminded young German maid. Overall, the writing style, straightforward and sometimes repetitive, really reminded me of Joyce, which is inline with critics who call Three Lives an American Ulysses. 

"Melanctha", the longest of the three, has given me much more to talk about than the other three. It was a little racist and Stein used many antiquated terms, but was it racist for the early 1900s when Three Lives was published? I don't know. But it does include many stereotypes. It's also interesting to note that she has no adjective to her name as the other women do. Not only about race, "Melantha" is also about depression and the role of women. She considers suicide multiple times throughout. It really was the most memorable for me. 

Overall, I liked Three Lives. it took some time to get used to the writing style, both of Stein and the vernacular of the early 1900s, and to adjust to the higher literary level of the novel versus the majority of today's. Once I got used to it though, I really did enjoy the story. It  was interesting to see how their lives were so different from ours today, but women problems are still women problems. The characters were fairly relate-able and memorable. It was a very literary endeavor, but well worth the undertaking. 

The Help

I may be the absolutely last person in the universe to have read The Help, but if, by some chance, I'm wrong and you haven't read it yet, you really should. 


It was amazing and touching. 


What gets me most is that it's the sixties. The sixties. And in the south, they still have their colored help. This is Bewitched. And it's civil rights. It's like my momma could be Mae Mobley, and "the help" has to use a seperate bathroom! They're good enough to raise kids, but not much else. They know how to keep house, but they're "too stupid" to take care of themselves? I'm confused. Which, I suppose, is part of the point of the book. I also liked how it tied in feminism. Everything, all these changes, were just starting. People thought things were fixed. They thought things were fine. Women could vote. Blacks could vote. Everyone got to go to school. Separate but equal. Activists knew better. And because of these people, life is different today. 


Last thought? I don't know why, but I had to check if stockett was white or black. She's white. However, she had a history quite like Miss Skeeter, so that's the connection :) 

Queen's Own Fool

As ya'll know, I'm a fool for historical fiction, and I'm kind of on a YA FIC kick.

Also, I love Jane Yolen. 

The Devil's Arithmetic? My favorite Passover book.

Briar Rose? So creative! I love the mix of fairy tale with the Holocaust.

I used to read a lot of Holocaust novels.

Turns out, I've actually read this book before. I still enjoyed it though.

I wouldn't really recommend it to a kid who struggles with reading, but it's a great  book for a nerd like me. Mary Queen of Scots? She's a total powerhouse. I've read non-fiction about her! So yeah, Queen's Own Fool was great. Not my favorite Yolen, but still a good read!

Do Men Make Better Bosses?

I vote yes. In my personal (and possibly limited) experience, I have found I like and respect my male managers more than their female counterparts.

Women seem to take everything much more personal than it is meant. I have had women managers tell me I need to be nicer to male cooks -- who cared not because I was being rushed and efficient. Not rude. I have always felt that please and thank yous should not be given simply because someone is doing their job. Many women, however, appear to value manners and friendliness over execution of a job well done.

A somewhat interesting accompaniment to this is that my male managers have consistently been more aware of the busy-ness of the business and allow breaks or slow-downs after or In lack of a rush. My female managers care only that we "stay busy".

Conflict resolution, I have found, is also easier with the boys. They can be a outsider look and solve problems between two employees. The female has a favorite, or a side she favors. Even in problems with managers, i have been able to sit down with him, discuss, resolve, move on. The girls want to know irrelevant details. They want to talk about it days later. And you show up in a bad mood one day and they take it super personal. Dude, it's not you. Now get to work so I can.

I know I prefer male managers a million to one.

What do you think?