Law Students

Dowd and the Deepening Gloom

By jessie

The first time a friend emailed me Maureen Dowd's latest downer I didn't think much of it. Women are less "happy" than they were in the '70s and men aren't. I cynically dismissed this because:

1. Of course women are less happy than in the '70s. In the '70s women were either living up the age of disco or convinced that women's liberation had opened doors and they were headed to the board rooms and executive suites where life was much much better. Now disco is dead. They either never made it to the board room or generally discovered what most men already knew: work's a real grind. Plus, now they're on the hook for prep school tuition and a mortgage just like their ex-husband. 

2. This doesn't apply to me and mine. All my friends are happy. 

But then I got the email a couple more times from different folks and everyone else seemed to be taking this seriously. I thought I'd throw a link up on the website for more feedback. I looked for an accompanying photo. When I typed "sad" into the commercial image bank I usually use, the first three image results were of business women. That's when I knew this was for real.  That's when I started reevaluating my impression of all my friends' "happiness."

Among my friends and family members I can think of one or two I would describe as "unhappy." But when it comes to the women among them I can only think of a handful I wouldn't describe as "unhappy at work."

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Full post as published by Ms. JD on September 23, 2009 (boomark / email).