The comment you posted in 2009 about southern women passive aggressive and abusing themselves was difficult for me to understand then. Less so after reading Caitlin Flannagan's To Hell With All That- Loving and Loathing Our Inner Housewife.

I believe this lady does an excellent job of explaining the inner conflicts and outward pressures well. In many towns in the south, outward expression is subdued. We have not been able to have controversial matters out in the open because "it isn't lady like."

Not everyone is subject to this of course.  It has been difficult to find solutions because of the suppression. Now, however, more women are publishing. Some focus on demure oriental practices exclusively, though, and other pleasures are lost.

Do you think I am missing something with this line of thought?

Don Marotta

marottadonald@gmail.com