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You've got questions, she's got answers. Be among the first to read Elise Mac Adam's new etiquette guide.
Pre-order from:
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Smarts
I don't know if I can even begin to believe this after reading the whole Gendered Hat Controversy coming out of Park Slope or witnessing a Q&A session full of people who were so clearly of the "since you weren't directly talking to me or my highly specific situation I didn't bother to take in a single word you said for the last hour" at the preschool forum from earlier this week, but someone has trotted out a book that claims becoming mothers makes women more intelligent.
Well, smarter at least. The book in question is called (cloyingly) The Mommy Brain: How Motherhood Makes Us Smarter, and is supposedly chock a block with "science" that proves as much.
Sad to say, I don't really feel smarter. And what is this supposed to mean? Is it saying that my brain is more stimulated because it's hopping all over the place what with its new rations of pleasure and worry and ire and curiosity? Is SMARTER supposed to b a consolation? "Oh don't worry about that food on your shirt, or not getting the gig for which you stayed up too late on horrible postpartum nights writing a proposal, oh losing friends- you're SMARTER"
I shouldn't be bitter. I will take a boost where I can get it. But what about women who don't have children? Can they fake it by multitasking heavily, sleeping less, and getting a few extra pets?
If you're curious, here's the review I eyeballed this evening, in the Times UK.
But who am I to be so sharp? Apparently this book came out a year ago in the United States (when I was likely still deep in the postpartum swamp) meaning I may be ineffably more clever but am practically less au courant.
posted by Elise at 4:54 PM
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The premise of that book makes me angry. I have only read the review & not the book, but my scattered self now feels inferior for not being more witty & successful with my new "mommy brain power." Why do I suddenly feel defensive about where my life & career have gone since becoming a mother? Shouldn't I feel empowered by this author's idea(s)?
Motherhood is difficult period. Adding a career to motherhood is something completely different. The points outlined in that article ignore this. The list of scientific proof linking increased intelligence and motherhood seems to focus on marketable new skills that future employers might value. So is this the new validation for mothers? We're more marketable because we're better in the workplace? Why can't I be respected for JUST being a mother, isn't being a mother important? I have a career, I appreciate the respect given to working mothers, I will continue to rally for more support in the workplace, but I want to be recognized for my hard work as a mother. It's unlikely that mothers with careers will be granted fair opportunity or pay until motherhood itself is granted the respect it truly deserves.
4/22/2006 11:35 PM
said...
Sorry, I have another point to add to my rant, and then I must sleep. I read the review a second time, just to make sure I didn't miss the part where the praises of motherhood for the sake of motherhood were sung. I didn't find it, but I took another look at the list of ways the brain is enhanced during motherhood & it is seriously lacking. Granted that was a review, but there was no mention of enhanced creative capacity. Creativity is the foundation of intelligence. Okay, I'm biased as an artist, but if the author didn't acknowledge creativity as part of brainpower in the book, the reviewer should have acknowledged its absence in the review.
4/22/2006 11:54 PM
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