Clips Archives - Page 9 of 26

A World Not Made for Us

Published at Women in Higher Education on July 3, 2019. When I began writing about sexism, I confronted evidence about how things are actually designed for men: seat belts, air bags, the dosage of medicines, particular medical interventions and policies on hiring and advancement. And yet, the fact that the world is not made for women isn’t at […]

There Are No Bears

Published at Women in Higher Education on May 31, 2019. My partner developed a system to help me cope. It’s simple. It’s all about bears. Really. When I started to panic about letting my work into the world (or anything else, minor or major, that I was afraid to do), he would say, “What’s the worst that […]

a wilted daisy against a black background

Coming to Terms With Mental Illness

Published at Women in Higher Education on April 30, 2019. My periods of being low—which I had experienced for at least a decade—were longer and more intense. Sometimes, my mood lifted, and I kept frantically busy as if my life depended on it. The low always returned. And this time, I couldn’t shake it.

Navigating (or Not) the Tightrope

Published at Women in Higher Education on March 1, 2019. I have been told I am difficult at work, in organizations and online and off. Men (and some women) called me difficult when I didn’t meet their expectations of how I should act or how women should act more generally. I was difficult because I stepped […]

Failing Perfection

Published at Disability Acts on February, 14, 2019. I sighed and followed her. I found myself hoping again that she can avoid the pitfalls of being like me. Or that I can avoid the pitfalls of one of the adults who raised me.

The Productivity Trap

Published at Women in Higher Education on February 1, 2019: By the end of the month, I would self‐assess and usually decide that I wasn’t living up to my true potential. I pushed myself harder. My worth was being determined by word counts and bylines. Being productive became what mattered most, even as I knew […]