The story of women journalists in Gaza requires a new definition of courage. Many of these women are under 30. Several are young...
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A Daughter-in-Law’s Take on Mothers-in-Law
by Edwige Charlot, Guest Blogger This post is a response to “Why Do Mothers-in-Law Get A Bad Rap?” published on WOW on June 20th . From my time as the girlfriend, I knew that if my then boyfriend and I ever got married I’d be marrying into his family. By the time we were engaged, I was already well versed in the mother- in-law [...]
Pat Taub
Women’s Friendships, Beatrix at Dinner & Avocado Toast
The Magic of Women’s Friendships As I age I increasingly value my close female friendships. It’s comforting to grow old with women who can resonate with the challenges of aging and the settling in that accompanies it. I was reminded of the vitality of women’s friendships when I spotted these two old friends in animated discussion over [...]
Pat Taub
Why Do Mothers-in-Law Get a Bad Rap?
“A mother-in-law should be blind in one eye and deaf in one ear.” —Armenian proverb Without going to this extreme, many contemporary mothers-in-law make conscious efforts to monitor their behavior, but often to no avail. Once a woman becomes a mother-in-law she’s typically the butt of mother-in-law jokes and pejorative labels. [...]
Pat Taub
Learning a Different Voice: Feminism for Males
by Ed Mooney, guest blogger In my 20’s and 30’s, feminism seemed to open the door to reflections about being a male. It was the early seventies. Wanting to be close to the action, my wife and young son and I moved to Berkeley. It was a period of social upheaval and political violence marked by the Civil Rights struggle and the Free Speech, [...]
Pat Taub
Short Takes, no.2
“Short Takes” is my regular Friday post where I reflect on the past week, citing happenings of interest: a good read, social observations, and the like. Mother’s Day this Sunday: I attend a progressive inner-city church in downtown Portland led by a feminist minister. For our Mother’s Day service I will be among five women [...]
Pat Taub
Expanding Mother’s Day to Include Our Spiritual Mothers
I propose that we expand Mother’s Day so that we honor not just our biological mothers but also our spiritual mothers. Our spiritual mothers are the teachers, neighbors, aunts, family friends and others whose influence made an indelible impression on us. Frequently these women didn’t have their own children but lovingly nurtured and guided [...]
Pat Taub
Spring-Cleaning for the Soul
Spring is typically the time when we tidy up our living spaces, but what if we applied this same thinking to our interior lives? What if we engaged in spring-cleaning for the soul? What would that look like? It might involve reworking the formula in Marie Kondo’s bestseller, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, where you think soulfully [...]
Pat Taub
Practicing Gratitude in Crazy Times
With Thanksgiving approaching, if you’re like me, you’re consumed with cooking, hosting family, or traveling, making it easy to overlook that this is when we’re supposed to be thankful for our blessings. Living in such crazy times, where terrorist attacks occur with greater frequency, and where wars are off the charts and when many of [...]
Pat Taub