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The author is self indulgent and weaves her fantastic state of friendship affairs in and out of historic discusssion of the evolution of feminine friendship as represented on television. I read to avoid television and reading this book is like watching all the television shows I’ve avoided . The author replays way too much of mentioned show episodes, and as a premise this hardly reads as a sociological analysis but more as a bunch of chicks bonding over favorite TV shows as they daintily throwback a glass of Prosecco . It’s a shame because I think this analysis is meaningful to make and value can be gained for those whom may struggle with female friendships, groups of women, or just don’t fit into the shiny new Stepford gal personae. Perhaps the author can submit this book to TV guide and gain the response they’re seeking for this effort.
They believed the family unit superseded other relationships, and my early thinking that female friendships were superfluous came directly from their example and that of other families like ours in my hometown. The author, Kayleen Schaefer, does an excellent job of weaving her own memories and stories of her friends in with an exploration of female friendship in the 20th century . She ties in interviews with women she has known throughout her life, including her high school "Queen Bee," her mother, and her current best friend, as well as media examples, such as the movie Mean Girls and the book it was based on. This started out promisingly, celebrating the benefits of friendships between women and the love and affection that women can have for each other.
Audible.com.au reviews
I'm positive all the quotes you've found about women saying they "loved" each other in letters in the 1800s were just saying it as friends. I have the personality that I like to see something all the way through to the end but I just couldn't spend my time on this one. This was our June book club pick and I really wanted to like it but I just didn't. You'll note there are two stars up there, rather than the -1 I'm making it sound like this deserves. I even sent a text-shot to my own BFF It sparked a good, and maybe a bit weepy, conversation which I think is what this book was meant to do.
She therefore misses out on stories that could illuminate what friendships look like in a state of economic insecurity, when friends might take on support roles we normally peg to families. Schaefer also offered a limited sense of what friendship looks like for women in their 60s, 70s and beyond — women who are less likely to have families and work to consume their worlds, and for whom friendship might be ever more crucial. She includes a wide range of historical and cultural sources, but this would have been a stronger book had those choices been matched in scope by her interviews.
by Kayleen Schaefer
And just within the past 18 months, Chaz Bono has entered the public consciousness as the most high-profile transgender person ever. This is Tori's opportunity to define herself on her own terms. Here, for the first time, Katie opens up about realizing at the age of 28 that she is gay. In these poignant, funny essays, she wrestles with her shifting sexuality and identity, and describes what it was like coming out to everyone she knows (and everyone she doesn’t). As she revisits her past, looking for any "clues" that might have predicted this outcome, Katie reveals that life doesn’t always move directly from point A to point B - no matter how much we would like it to.
Like, obviously female friendship is extremely powerful and rewarding and my best friend is basically like my life partner but this book didn’t really illuminate anything for me and I just didn’t care for the style or treatment of the topic. This should have been a 500 hundred word blog post that I still would have skimmed the regretted clicking the link on twitter. From Girls to Parks and Recreation to Bridesmaids, the female friendship has taken an undeniable front seat in pop culture.
Text Me When You Get Home: The Evolution and Triumph of Modern Female Friendship
We “broke up” over ten years ago and haven’t seen each other since. We were in our thirties and forties at the time, so this wasn’t teen angst. Both experiences were as traumatic for me as breaking up with a boyfriend. A journalist examines the nature and impact of the friendships women form with each other. Pre-publication book reviews and features keeping readers and industry influencers in the know since 1933.
When the women came over to her house, my mom remembers them talking and laughing around a card table set up in the living room. This is not just a compilation of her experiences, though. She shares the insights of many, many women who value female friendship. The bulk of these women are white and under 35, many in their 20's. It also sounds like they're successful, well-educated, and probably upper middle class.
Currently Reading
One tells the story of your life as it is, along with another book for the other life you could have lived if you had made a different choice at any point in your life. While we all wonder how our lives might have been, what if you had the chance to go to the library and see for yourself? In The Midnight Library, Nora Seed finds herself faced with this decision. When Blume lived in New Jersey with her husband, Mary lived in New York with hers, and the couples didn't socialize. The writer Judy Blume, who is in her seventies, also moved away from her friends when she married, at twenty-one.
Again, I love the girls who are close in my life and will always cherish their friendship. They're important but so are my other relationships. If you're looking for a lovely memoir outlining the joys of one woman's personal friendships and the connections she has made with friendship images in the media and if you enjoy contradictions, this is your book. She talks about mainly white women who have been portrayed as friends in media.
Evolutionary psychology really shouldn't have had a place in this book. I would much more interested in a historical contextualization of women working together as a community, and how that idea has changed over time post-industrial era. In addition, there was very little challenging of heteronormativity here, including a shockingly small mention of the LGBTQ community, who have traditionally been at the front of the found family concept. Where was a mention of The L Word, which revolves around a group of female friends just like Sex and the City? Even when discussing a straight and lesbian best friend pairing, little exploration was done into the context, which was surprising.
Friendship doesn't always look like #squadgoals, though it certainly can. #squadgoals, however, always looked like women who were in freshman dorm or summer camp together finding out they liked each other and showing their enthusiasm for their unit to the world. It lacked a sense of permanence, focusing solely on youth and exuberance and exciting moments. I did a lot of eyerolling at her un-self-aware stories. But, honestly, this isn't even a new thing, mean girls have always existed.
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