Cute?

I saw ad on craigslist (it’s craigslist, go figure) with the following title “Busy office looking for Energetic Gal Friday”.

Three of the qualities that the company was looking for in a potential candidate were listed as the following : “Cute, Classy and professional demeanor”.

Cute?

First of all, being considered cute or attractive is entirely subjective.

Secondly, I thought the Mad Men days where women can only go as high as a secretary or an assistant were over. Last time I checked, it was entirely plausible that the job could be done competently by a male.

To clarify, the more formal term is Girl Friday. Back in the day, Girl Friday was layman’s terms for a female secretary or assistant. It is also the title of a very funny movie called His Girl Friday.

I know that we live in an imperfect society. Women still judge themselves and others by the external image that we share with the world. While the glass ceiling is slowly cracking, it has not come down completely.

I just wouldn’t put the word “cute” in a job advertisement.

What Do Women Want Book Review

Can women have it all? What do women want? Women have been asking themselves this question for generations.

Thanks to our fore mothers, my generation of women can have it all. We have unprecedented access to higher education and the career of our choice. Unlike our grandmothers and great grandmothers, marriage is a choice and not an economic necessity. If and when we have children, thanks to science and Roe V. Wade, we can choose when we wish to have children and how many we want to have.

Do we truly want it all? What happens if we should have it all? What do we truly want out of life?

Erica Jong’s 2007 book, What Do Women Want?, asks that question through a series of essays.  The topics of the essays range from Hillary Rodham Clinton, to the timelessness of Jane Eyre and the late Princess Diana.  What I like about this book is that Ms. Jong asks candid questions that need to be answered. In her usual up front, laying all cards on the table style, the questions are presented in a way that is both readable and asks the reader to formulate their own answer to the questions.

I recommend this book.