The article we read about Lean In referred to an op-ed by Maureen Dowd...so I figured I should probably read that. I think the article we read accurately described her issues with Lean In, but I want to dig a little deeper into what the book tries to be and how it is critiqued. I think Dowd's comments are accurate and I appreciate her analysis, but I also feel like she takes the book as a type of manifesto. I don't think we can do that. I think that reading it as a memoir, as Sandberg's experiences and as Sandberg's advice to a very specific group of women is the most valuable way to read it. I'm not saying that's how we should have to read it, but I think discounting on the basis of a failed manifesto means that we avoid some of Sandberg's most influential points and best advice.
Thanks for sharing, Sarah! I think you're exactly right to point out that flaw in the critique. Do you think maybe part of the reason she interprets Sandberg's work as a manifesto is because she is one of the first women to write from this specific positionality? It's almost as if she is becoming tolkenized as the most professionally successful woman in America. Perhaps if there were more people writing from her point of view, it would be harder to claim that she is writing a manifesto for all women.
ReplyDelete