Pop Rocks and Coke: A Handmade Tale
Kathy Bates
Issue date: 11/19/09 Section: Arts
"I could do that myself" is a phrase I often casually throw about. By "it," I mean everything. Knit scarves. Crochet hats for any friend that asks. Make jewelry. Cook from scratch. Sew. You know, the basic list of "women's work."
There are probably things I'm forgetting, but essentially I'm talking about craftier activities - things that, as a woman, I would likely have been expected to know how to do if I had attended Smith in the fifties.
And so, as a strong and independent woman of the 21st century with a bright future ahead of me, endless opportunities and theoretically equal rights to those of any man, I am shamelessly defying what women for so many years before me have fought against.
For those who don't know, Smith was home to several powerhouse women including Gloria Steinem, Nancy Reagan, Barbara Bush and Sylvia Plath - to name a few. But perhaps one of the most famous alumnae was woman's rights advocate and author of The Feminine Mystique, Betty Friedan.
When I think of Betty Friedan, I think of the extreme. I think of radicals and bra burnings. I envision women throwing off those aprons and pearls and fighting to get out of the kitchen - at least, that's roughly what I remember of 10th-grade history. I had no idea at the time that I would come to find myself attending the same school that was also home to a founder of this movement.
So what is it that I am going against? Well, the industrial revolution for starters. But I suppose I'm denouncing Betty as well because I genuinely like doing things that were considered "women's work."
Strangely enough, it appears that quite a few other people are beginning to feel the same way. And so I'm realizing that the "Do It Yourself" trend is on the rise and that I am highly contributing to it.
I do not mean DIY as in the page of your Teen Vogue that depicts a shredded T-shirt and a nifty "how-to" on achieving a similar look. I'm talking about knitting your own scarf or maybe asking your parents for a sewing machine for Christmas - yes, Santa, that's what I wanted, and what I got.
There are probably things I'm forgetting, but essentially I'm talking about craftier activities - things that, as a woman, I would likely have been expected to know how to do if I had attended Smith in the fifties.
And so, as a strong and independent woman of the 21st century with a bright future ahead of me, endless opportunities and theoretically equal rights to those of any man, I am shamelessly defying what women for so many years before me have fought against.
For those who don't know, Smith was home to several powerhouse women including Gloria Steinem, Nancy Reagan, Barbara Bush and Sylvia Plath - to name a few. But perhaps one of the most famous alumnae was woman's rights advocate and author of The Feminine Mystique, Betty Friedan.
When I think of Betty Friedan, I think of the extreme. I think of radicals and bra burnings. I envision women throwing off those aprons and pearls and fighting to get out of the kitchen - at least, that's roughly what I remember of 10th-grade history. I had no idea at the time that I would come to find myself attending the same school that was also home to a founder of this movement.
So what is it that I am going against? Well, the industrial revolution for starters. But I suppose I'm denouncing Betty as well because I genuinely like doing things that were considered "women's work."
Strangely enough, it appears that quite a few other people are beginning to feel the same way. And so I'm realizing that the "Do It Yourself" trend is on the rise and that I am highly contributing to it.
I do not mean DIY as in the page of your Teen Vogue that depicts a shredded T-shirt and a nifty "how-to" on achieving a similar look. I'm talking about knitting your own scarf or maybe asking your parents for a sewing machine for Christmas - yes, Santa, that's what I wanted, and what I got.
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