(Source: Hossein Zare)
Feminist debate is alive and well right now -- from Anne-Marie Slaughters' article on "Why Women Can't Have it All" to Sheryl Sandberg's new best-seller Lean In (i.e., the guide to how women can have it all).
Here is my question: Who has EVER "had it all"?
That's like saying in high school you were the valedictorian, head cheerleader, class president, 1st chair in orchestra, prom queen... and still voted "most liked" in the yearbook. Guess what, that only happens if you were home-schooled or have some freakishly good genes.
At the end of the day, most of us are just trying to be "good enough." Instead of debating if we can achieve some unrealistic perfection (i.e., it's like trying to get the proportions of a barbie doll without being forced to crawl on all fours), maybe we should evaluate what we really want to achieve in our 80 (if lucky) years on this earth.
If we stretch our minds, perhaps the societal goal of "having it all" is not we want at all.
PS - This is what Barbie would look life in real life... perhaps also a metaphor to what "having it all" looks like as well (hat tip)
Oh Tam, this is what I needed to hear. Thanks for reframing this for me. :)
ReplyDeleteYea! Glad to hear :) I've been following the whole work/life balance & women in the workplace discussion for awhile -- and, I think that's my final conclusion.
Delete100% for equal opportunities. 100% for changing the way our very traditional workplace around the lifestyles of employees today. 100% believe I will never "have it all," (at least in the way it's defined by the media)