tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8128598650087737063.post6459301816544000037..comments2023-10-28T23:27:11.116+11:00Comments on the rachel papers: Mother + artist = privileged?Rachel Powerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18076347414401820489noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8128598650087737063.post-53355598439317269042015-04-21T09:02:04.845+10:002015-04-21T09:02:04.845+10:00That reviewer is exactly the reason we need this ...That reviewer is exactly the reason we need this book. I am a stay at home mum and trying to build a small business making bags. It's not going well. But the compulsion to create is ever present, and to channel this into work I could do from home, thereby earning some extra money for my household, keeping me at home for our daughter, and providing me fulfilling creative outlet (notice I came last?) well, that would just be perfect. Hard work, certainly, priviledged, certainly not. I will have to head to an ordinary "pay the bills" kind of job in the meantime. I'll probably hate it, it will take me away from my daughter, and it will lessen the guilt of "not" working. Will that job be more important than one where I'm my own boss? Apparently so.<br />This particular problem is indicative of what all mothers face, it's just dressed in a more colourful outfit. Samhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18176168612075022125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8128598650087737063.post-83823338652148227512015-04-21T08:37:00.374+10:002015-04-21T08:37:00.374+10:00Yes, as westerners, the context we work in is a pr...Yes, as westerners, the context we work in is a privileged one. I think that is assumed - and, as you suggest, any discussion we have about the complexities of our lives has that assumption as its background, necessarily. In that sense, almost all Australians are extraordinarily fortunate. But my concern is that artist-mothers are being singled out here for particular privilege as if what they do is not real work.Rachel Powerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18076347414401820489noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8128598650087737063.post-29590299066134915162015-04-21T01:21:12.710+10:002015-04-21T01:21:12.710+10:00The concept of privilege is a very complicated one...The concept of privilege is a very complicated one to be sure. But in the feminist discourse of today I would interpret it to mean that "we" (feminist, artist-mothers, western) have the luxury of seeing the conflict between our work as artists and our work as mothers while a large portion of the world's population of mothers do not. They spend the bulk of their day just surviving in a system of violence and/ or corruption. Not something that you or I can control per se but something we should always keep in mind when considering our lot in life. But the importance of the issues in the book is undeniable as well.Jenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10732518701932988698noreply@blogger.com