Jane is Purple!

I went to the movies with a lady friend this week. It was spontaneous and fun. Of course, we saw a "chick flick", one I could never drag my husband to. And, who knew? Not only is Jane Austen a childfree woman, she remained single all her life. Look what she was able to create!

Becoming Jane

Purple Women^TM who did not skip English Lit class in high school will already know this. Now I might have to give her a read.

Technorati Tag: Childfree

Saints and Sinners

I have been riveted by the History Channel lately. Perhaps it's my late mother-in-law channeling through me. She was a history major; quite a lady. I am now living in the house she built and called home for 45 years.

Last night, the show focused on the speculation about Mary Magdelaine. Two Marys feature prominently in Christian culture - one a virgin, the other has been portrayed as a reformed prostitute. It got me thinking about women's identity in the present tense.

What polar opposites of stereotyping do adult women suffer from today?

The answer can vary depending on the setting you find yourself in, and what your personal experience has been. On the career ladder, women are often polarized as aggressive or passive. In the not so distant past, popular media has portrayed us as either knocking their heads against the glass ceiling (b****s), or as the ones answering the phones. Is there a confident, capable woman in between? More and more examples of the latter are cropping up in Hollywood and our awareness, thanks to more women in the workplace.

The experience of modern women is best represented as a continuum. At one end, we have SAHMs (stay-at-home-moms) and on the other are Purple Women^TM. There's a lot of room in between, and either end is hard to match up with a strict definition. There's a lot of room for self-definition.

Some readers of this blog have confessed to me that they don't like to be narrowly defined by whether or not they have given birth.

They don't identify themselves as childfree. That's one reason why I created a new color moniker for myself and whoever wants to adopt it!

What is the question?

That is the answer.

The question I ask is,

What lies in between

Career Women and Mothers?

I propose there are Purple Women™.

Technorati Tag: Childfree

Proud to be Purple Day

Sometimes a little red
full of passion
Sometimes a little blue
sad and serious
The color of the early night sky
or fresh and fun like posies and plums
A symbol of royalty
of ceremony
I am sometimes powerful
I am Purple

Special thanks to aka JeSais for permission to re-post her 2001 creation in honor of our first holiday. She made this art before I had even concieved of this blog and book project. I think I may have found the original Purple Woman!

It is nice to know we have readers and that what we are doing here registers with someone. Without comments or the occasional email as feedback we don't know how we are doing or how we can improve. If this site registers with you, please tell a friend. Send them a link.

There were no formal entries for the photo contest, thus no winners, no cash prizes, no purple duct tape, and no donations to women's charities. The poem and image above were worth the effort alone.

I know Purple Women^TM are out there making a difference -- living full lives. This holiday was created to celebrate our state of being. I am open to your ideas for how to celebrate next year. Please email Teri directly.

Technorati Tag: Childfree

Purple Haiku

I am Purple
that is me
all the books I haven’t read
lazy Sundays in my bed…
…I’m not dead


Technorati Tag: Haiku

Purple Women Koan

What is the question?
That is the answer.
The question I ask is,
What lies in between
Career Women and Mothers?
I propose there are Purple Women™.