I'm very much an "out of the box" thinker and rarely fit in. So I don't think that explains it. To me, sheer stupidity is a likelier explanation. Combined with not understanding how fortunate she is.

I've spent quite a lot of time over the years reading books on "feminist"-related topics, etc. I fundamentally disagree with the strong emphasis put on promoting women's careers (at the expense of children -- America is doing a terrible job with regards to its children in so many ways). My general understanding is that cultures where women sought more hands-on support for helping raise kids and practical accommodation for the burden of bearing children (which is unique to women -- as far as I know the "Junior" scenario is still science fiction) have generally done better by women. The American feminist "don't tread on me"/"get the fuck out of my way and I'll show you!" approach simply fails to address reality.

My sister and I both graduated high school as STAR student and national merit scholarship winners. I was inducted into Mu Alpha Theta (math honor society) and she was inducted into some other honor society. I, whoops!, was fertile Myrtle and had my first child the day after I turned 22. She went through years and years of fertility treatments and finally had a kid in her mid thirties. We have compared notes and she did a lot of reading with regards to women with fertility issues. Her conclusion: "Career women" are often the result of someone simply being unable to conceive (as was her case). Personality-wise, my sister was much more of the "I would love to stay home and raise kids variety" than I was. And, in fact, she left a very serious career to stay home for five years. The main reason she has a much more serious career than I have is that I happen to get pregnant a helluva lot easier than she does. My oldest son arrived 7 years earlier than I wanted and we skipped birth control like twice to get our second child. (I had to call my sister and tell her I was pregnant yet again while she was going through fertility. Ugh.) I was surrounded by women saying "we tried for 8 months for this one (pats belly)" or "we tried for two years for our second child, that's why they are so far apart".

I have the brains. I have the drive. I didn't have a supportive situation for doing both family and career. My husband used to joke that the kids didn't get the memo when we were "planning" when to have them (and he also used to tell people "if you don't want them, keep it zipped"). We were already married so it wasn't some tragedy that I turned up pregnant, but it also wasn't the way I had intended for my life to go. And in some ways, I am still paying for that. So I sometimes wish someone would put a muzzle on Ms. Trunk.

Anyway, thanks for your response. If I sound wrapped around the axle, rest assured any venom isn't intended to be aimed at you. Have a great evening.

> To me, sheer stupidity is a likelier explanation.

I mean, I was trying to make that point obliquely (and somewhat more charitably), but yeah, basically.

> Combined with not understanding how fortunate she is.

To be sure, Penelope seems a bit oblivious to her privilege. It's nice when you have an ex-husband who's stand-up enough to do his share of the parenting. It's extra-nice when you can hoodwink the investors of your also-ran, cash-burning social startup into paying you an absurd salary as a founder. Having both career and family, even with just those advantages, becomes way easier.

I understand the frustration. We'll come up with a secret anti-Trunk handshake or something. Seeing her held up as in any way credible makes my blood boil a little more than it should.