In the rabbit hole

a monthly column by A.C.E. Bauer

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August 2006

 

 

A list

 

Just a few of the things you can thank a feminist for:

sportsbras;

playing soccer;

wearing pants;

not wearing a corset;

running races;

playing water polo;

contraception;

voting;

getting medical care without having to get permission from your father or your husband;

being able to open a bank account on your own;

getting a job—the one you want;

writing for a newspaper other than in the Lifestyles section;

being paid equally to other employees;

having a credit card in your name alone;

being allowed to get an advanced degree—in any field you want;

the research done on breast cancer, cervical cancer, ovarian cancer, cancer of the uterus;

medical research being done on women’s heart attacks;

your daycare center;

Montessori schools;

comfortable clothes;

any hairstyle you decide you want;

walking alone down the street;

going alone to the museum, the cinema, the theater, if you want;

going to a bar on your own;

being seated at a restaurant on your own;

traveling without anyone’s permission;

opening a business on your own;

getting your driver’s license, your passport, your marriage license, without anyone’s permission;

being allowed up that mountain to ski;

being in that pool room to play;

being in the casino to gamble;

being allowed to drive a car;

owning your own property;

being able to will your property to whom you please;

being able to inherit;

that the money you make is yours to keep;

that you can own property;

that you can buy a car;

that the clothes you purchase are actually yours;

that your children are yours and his;

that if anyone hits you, that’s a crime;

and, God forbid, you have an ectopic pregnancy, no one has to be consulted before they can save your life.                              

A.C.E. Bauer has been telling and writing stories since childhood. She took a short break to write dreadful poetry in college, and then a longer one while she worked as an attorney, writing legal briefs and telling stories about her clients. She has returned to fiction, and now writes children's books and short stories for all ages. She was a finalist for the Tassy Walden Award: New Voices in Children's Literature in both 2001 and 2002.

One of her stories has appeared in Ladybug magazine, and a middle-grade, magical-realism novel is scheduled for publication in autumn 2007. Born and raised in Montreal, she spends most of the year in New England with her family, and much of the summer on a lake in Quebec.

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In the Rabbit Hole began in December 2005

Archives:

Copyright won't give you an hourly wage

How to ruin TV

Zealots

A love story

Breathing water and pine

"It's just a children's book"

Reconciling to the Impossible

 

 

Write to A.C.E. Bauer at

acebauer at gmail dot com