Okay, this post means nothing in the grand scheme of things. I really should have my nose buried in a report on consolidation in the agriculture sector, or be working on a real article. But ever since I read Caitlin Flanagan’s oh-so-contrarian rant against school gardens and the women who volunteer for them (which I responded to here), I’ve become a bit (a very little bit) obsessed. Flanagan, as anyone who cares now knows, has made a career out of tweaking women for leaving home and hearth to work when they could be feathering some (presumably well-off) bloke’s nest. Above, bedecked in pink, she spars with Colbert back in 2006, promoting an anti-feminist book called To Hell With All That. Colbert demands to know precisely what pre-feminist golden age she pines for. She tentatively settles on the ’50 and ’60s, but seems much less than convinced. Then there’s this hilarious Gawker slam, also from ’06, that offers insight into Flanagan’s rep in New York publishing circles. It refers to her as “the rich lady who’s made a career of telling you what a bad wife and mother you are for needing to work.”
