Why is no one talking about 'lean In'?

[princessx]

I've just read 'lean In' by Sheryl Sandberg and came on mumsnet to have a good old discussion about it. Alright, I may have missed the boat as it was published in March. But a search has brought up almost nothing plus no mention in any of the book threads.

New York Magazine review said:
'Call it lean in, call it consciousness raising, call it whatever you want. When was the last time anybody talked this much about a women's place in the world, period?'

Given that the book is talking about how to make motherhood and a career work for you, you'd think mumsnet would be the prime place to discuss it.

Has anyone read it? If so, what do you think?

(Or anyone self-promoting, if you didn't mean exclusively women.)

I think for me it's more self-promotion of everyone, not just women. I find it part of the patriarchial discourse. Talk about competition, getting ahead, achievement, rising to the top, etc.

I absolutely loved that book. Really, really enjoyed it.

Sheryl Sandberg is lovely (she is the COO of Facebook, don't confuse her with the horrid CEO of Yahoo).

I would think her a lot more lovely if she did not work for a company that chooses to be impotent in the face of misognistic, rapey content on a daily basis.

Autumn Okay, I can see that any kind of book about women's ambitions, careers, achievements etc is going to clash with that, so I guess Lean In is an extreme example in that case.

I have fundamental disagreements with the idea that women should always be communal - I wondered if you were saying that, but sounds like you're saying anyone agentic = bad, everyone should be communal? If that's the case, we still have a clash of axioms, so the only thing I can say productively is that I disagree.

Peace - why do you think Mayer is horrid?

I think Mayer is horrid because she lives in a privileged, white, first-world bubble. She said she didn't understand the "need" for feminism and doesn't identify with the movement at all. So the women in Afghanistan don't need feminism? What about the women in Yemen?
Her own country needs feminism! They don't even have laws for maternity leave or any system in place that makes childcare affordable for working women who aren't billionaires.
She is also a hypocrite. When she had a baby she got a nursery arranged right next to her office. The same year she announced that employees of Yahoo would no longer be able to work from home for any amount of time. Majority of the employees who benefitted from working home were women with children who weren't powerful enough to have a nursery arranged right next to their plush offices.

Her attitude is disgusting. She has also insisted that she achieved what she did because of her own brilliance and she had nothing to thank the feminists for. Will someone please tell her that had it not been for the feminist movement which made it OK for women to have a life and a voice, we would all be sat in a kitchen baking pies or on a table giving birth?

Hmm. Sounds charming! I see your point...

Interesting article here: medium.com/gender-justice-feminism/49b1e1017963

Discusses the media coverage of Lean In & criticises the tendency to polarize issues by framing them as opposing views, rather than potentially complementary approaches, both of which are necessary. Would be interested to hear what others on the thread make of it.