Editor:
I am not usually given to writing letters to editors, but I really felt compelled to jot this off to you. I received the latest issue of the North Seattle Herald-Outlook, and despite being very busy I set it aside so I could read the cover story ("Beyond the glass ceiling," Aug. 1) as soon as I have a moment.
Today I unfolded the magazine and was struck by the pull-out quote right on the first page, "We're not just staying home and breeding. Women are going for it."
What an incredibly insensitive thing for Ms. [Gayle] Nowicki to say, and how insensitive of your paper to give it such prominence. My reaction was to think the article is likely to be filled with other such ignorant stereotypes and not worth my time to read it.
First of all, what a crude and ugly term to use for women who choose to have a child. Second, even for those (presumably like Ms. Nowicki?), who choose not to have children, their future will be affected in large part by the children of today. Third, what an outmoded notion that women either stay home and "breed" or else, 'go for it' in the business world.
I had a very successful career as a corporate art director in New York for a decade before very consciously deciding to have a child. I have also gotten a master's degree and changed careers to medical social work. Most of my friends have at least one child and are also incredibly accomplished women in a variety of fields.
So why create a false conflict and diss all the amazing women in Seattle who choose to be either stay-at-home or working mothers? Not at all what I would expect from "enlightened Seattle women."
Doris Kogan Bryant
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