Parenting Propaganda and Mommy Porn

Adrienne Martini — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 17:00:00 GMT

Just when I thought I'd found a sister-in-spirit, a mom who understands how hard it is to juggle kids, jobs and life, she had to break my heart with some wonky interpretations of the data and a general inability to write a coherent sentence. I hate it when columnists let me down -- which means I'm in a perpetual snit.

Witness Penelope Trunk's latest Brazen Careerist column about parenting propaganda. Trunk starts strongly, with nods to celebs who make the whole working mom thing look like a piece of delightful cake. And I'm sure it is when you have a staff of 20.

But then Trunk starts to wander off into wackyland, weakening her own argument by citing data (the bit about childless women earning more than childless men) that doesn't mean what she thinks it means. Read the story for yourself right here.

Frankly, Trunk's column wouldn't phase me in the least -- lots of bloggers wander off into the logical underbrush every now and again -- but for one thing: this is a topic that hits my house in a big, fat way. And I'd imagine it hits your homes, too. It's too important to let get muddied by well-intentioned but imprecise and crappily written screeds.

Is it just me? Or does Trunk rub you in a weird way, too?

When a Marriage Falls Apart (in the Blogosphere)

Rachael Brownell (Redsy) — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 17:31:00 GMT

Well-known blogger Brazen Careerist, Penelope Trunk, is featured in today's New York Times talking about blogging divorce. What happens when exes blog their splits?

Tricia Walsh Smith (playwright, appropriately, of "Bonkers") posted an evicerating YouTube video about her ex- and suddenly the weapons of war have changed. The Internet, in particular blogs, provide a platform for the airing of grievances and accusations. People in the midst of divorces tend to blame, get bitter, and act like children. And now they're writing it all down for the world, and eventually their children, to read.

And of course not everyone stoops to the level of Ms. Walsh-Smith (see the video here):

The dissolution of a marriage doesn't have to mean the destruction of a family. But one wonders if the chances of an eventually peaceful outcome are made impossible by the new platforms available to angry spouses?

Strollerderby : penelope trunk

Parenting Propaganda and Mommy Porn

When a Marriage Falls Apart (in the Blogosphere)