I feel humbled to appear briefly in this post as you integrate your many selves 💙
Your post and our conversation over Notes reminds me of how crucial our work as caregivers is, and how often I’ve felt to the need to publicly decenter my work as a mother in order to feel respected and seen as a “contributing member of society,” and as a writer. Thank you for helping me name this, Ryan.
I too feel humbled and grateful to get to talk about this with you! And I hear you on figuring out how to center or decenter our parent identities in each unique situation. It’s so hard when I know my own internalized misogyny colors my judgement. It reminds me of a running joke I have with one of my writing partners as we help each other through revisions: “Yes, but will it make me sound like a Literary Person?” (I find it helps if you ask that question in a very fussy British accent.) It’s our way of reminding ourselves that if we’re getting more concerned with being Literary vs being an actual human person, then we probably need to take a break and go outside or something.
I feel humbled to appear briefly in this post as you integrate your many selves 💙
Your post and our conversation over Notes reminds me of how crucial our work as caregivers is, and how often I’ve felt to the need to publicly decenter my work as a mother in order to feel respected and seen as a “contributing member of society,” and as a writer. Thank you for helping me name this, Ryan.
I too feel humbled and grateful to get to talk about this with you! And I hear you on figuring out how to center or decenter our parent identities in each unique situation. It’s so hard when I know my own internalized misogyny colors my judgement. It reminds me of a running joke I have with one of my writing partners as we help each other through revisions: “Yes, but will it make me sound like a Literary Person?” (I find it helps if you ask that question in a very fussy British accent.) It’s our way of reminding ourselves that if we’re getting more concerned with being Literary vs being an actual human person, then we probably need to take a break and go outside or something.
Totally! I definitely blame the misogynist who lives inside me who wants me do it all. Pretty sure they have a fussy British accent too.