They want to play at being mothers. So let them. Expressing tenderness in their own way will not prevent girls from enjoying a successful career in the future; indeed, the ability to nurture is as valuable a skill in the workplace as the ability to lead.
Anne RoipheI've told the same story twelve different ways, but I think that's just part of what writers do. Once may not be enough.
Anne RoipheI believe that it is our human right to be parents and women. And there's no contradiction between feminism, which means women should have all that they are entitled to, all that they can do, all the opportunities that they can take advantage of they should have.
Anne RoipheI know that family life in America is a minefield, an economic trap for women, a study in disappointment for both sexes.
Anne RoipheMany writers do write about their families and their immediate loved ones and love experiences, either as children or as adults. And very often people get offended by it.
Anne RoipheOur mythology tells us so much about fathers and sons. ... What do we know about mothers and daughters? ... Our power is so oblique, so hidden, so ethereal a matter, that we rarely struggle with our daughters over actual kingdoms or corporate shares. On the other hand, our attractiveness dries as theirs blooms, our journey shortens just as theirs begins. We too must be afraid and awed and amazed that we cannot live forever and that our replacements are eager for their turn, indifferent to our wishes, ready to leave us behind.
Anne Roiphe