Things were going well for me at Oxford. As I wrote to my mother, “I have been nominated as one of four graduate students to sit on the Joint Hebdomadal Council, which is a body composed of all the headmasters of the various colleges and twenty of the senior faculty members. This body is similar to the body called “Regents” at an American university. Unfortunately, I am not at liberty to say much about what the council does because virtually all material covered at the meetings is confidential. Many of the matters deal with pending legislation in Parliament and sensitive university affairs.” It was at this point that I began to think of myself as an “insider” at Oxford.
In some ways, Naomi Wolf reminds me of Camille Paglia, in her capacity to write about issues, offering fresh opinions completely "out of left field". Unfortunatley, time and again she makes statements that are inadequatley researched, and so she earns the title "conspiracy theorist". We desperately need novel insights into political and social issues, but so many of her statements have been proven completely false, she has lost credibility. Example from Wikipedia: "Wolf pointed to $1 million she said Fauci had received from the state of Israel. It was actually the Dan David Prize, a prestigious private award that Fauci received in 2021 for public service."
May 15, 2022·edited May 15, 2022Liked by Lynn Childress
Not all feminists agree with each other. And feminists made it possible for you to gain your degree: For women to be permitted to study and take examinations at Oxbridge at all, and subsequently for them to be awarded degrees, was a long and hard-won fight led by feminists. I have no idea who Naomi Wood is, but I do know people who graduated from Oxbridge who were not public school products, and I can assure you that if, indeed, you never knowingly encountered elitism or sexism at Oxford, you are very fortunate.
Reminds me of the maxim from financial writer Jason Zweig. There are 3 ways to make a living. 1. Lie to people who want to be lied to, and you'll get rich. 2. Tell the truth to those who want the truth and you'll make a living. 3. Tell the truth to those who want to be lied to, and you'll go broke.
Naomi Wolf takes her own personal experience (or a few random facts) and makes generalizations about how Oxford (or men or the world) is. This is a fairly common thing to do. The problem is that she is a public intellectual with a large platform and many followers. Thus, she is in a position to influence many people’s opinions.
I did not experience either elitism or sexism at Oxford (both of which would have been considered bad form). I had two supportive mentors (the college chaplain and my supervisor). In addition to the Overseas Research Scholarship, I received an annual Bursary from my college and the first ever Meyerstein Child Care Scholarship (which paid for Helyn’s preschool care at Balliol College nursery). In short, I had a lot of support and encouragement.
We were both graduate students in English at the same time at Oxford. We had two different experiences. That is really all that can be said—no generalizations about Oxford, one way or the other.
As for the beneficial work of early feminists, I am grateful. However, I believe in accepting the world as we find it and trying to see things as clearly as possible (not as we wish them to be). Therefore, I would not have been a feminist at any point in history, but possibly a Stoic.
In some ways, Naomi Wolf reminds me of Camille Paglia, in her capacity to write about issues, offering fresh opinions completely "out of left field". Unfortunatley, time and again she makes statements that are inadequatley researched, and so she earns the title "conspiracy theorist". We desperately need novel insights into political and social issues, but so many of her statements have been proven completely false, she has lost credibility. Example from Wikipedia: "Wolf pointed to $1 million she said Fauci had received from the state of Israel. It was actually the Dan David Prize, a prestigious private award that Fauci received in 2021 for public service."
Not all feminists agree with each other. And feminists made it possible for you to gain your degree: For women to be permitted to study and take examinations at Oxbridge at all, and subsequently for them to be awarded degrees, was a long and hard-won fight led by feminists. I have no idea who Naomi Wood is, but I do know people who graduated from Oxbridge who were not public school products, and I can assure you that if, indeed, you never knowingly encountered elitism or sexism at Oxford, you are very fortunate.
Reminds me of the maxim from financial writer Jason Zweig. There are 3 ways to make a living. 1. Lie to people who want to be lied to, and you'll get rich. 2. Tell the truth to those who want the truth and you'll make a living. 3. Tell the truth to those who want to be lied to, and you'll go broke.
Naomi Wolf takes her own personal experience (or a few random facts) and makes generalizations about how Oxford (or men or the world) is. This is a fairly common thing to do. The problem is that she is a public intellectual with a large platform and many followers. Thus, she is in a position to influence many people’s opinions.
I did not experience either elitism or sexism at Oxford (both of which would have been considered bad form). I had two supportive mentors (the college chaplain and my supervisor). In addition to the Overseas Research Scholarship, I received an annual Bursary from my college and the first ever Meyerstein Child Care Scholarship (which paid for Helyn’s preschool care at Balliol College nursery). In short, I had a lot of support and encouragement.
We were both graduate students in English at the same time at Oxford. We had two different experiences. That is really all that can be said—no generalizations about Oxford, one way or the other.
As for the beneficial work of early feminists, I am grateful. However, I believe in accepting the world as we find it and trying to see things as clearly as possible (not as we wish them to be). Therefore, I would not have been a feminist at any point in history, but possibly a Stoic.
Thanks for generating a bit of discussion.
Amazing. I think its all a big pendulum swing. For everything. Non stop forever.
Art Deco is Huge in NZ.
I of course left school at 16 and went to live on the streets... so I'm not really an expert..