Thomas Eakins "The Agnew Clinic" from 1889, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Thomas_Eakins,_The_Agnew_Clinic_1889.jpg

Note the female patient, male students and doctors, and female nurse (I'm assuming she's a nurse, given time period when painting was done).

Could be Rammstein's album cover is a version of The Agnew Clinic painting...??

By the way - I think the Rammstein album cover is horrendous - however, I immediately thought of The Agnew Clinic painting...in which a masectomy (1889) is being performed.

Make of it what you will.

Re: "Even the Draper kids look reasonably happy camped out on the couch in front of the TV set with big glasses of chocolate milk, the housekeeper (who's far more nurturing than their own mother, after all) perched between them. The only character whose fate feels slightly tragic is Betty."

Wait - isn't the housekeeper one of the characters? So...you're a black woman back then, whose job opportunities consist of...housekeeping...for white people...and you're not perched on the couch between your OWN kids, oh no, you're perched on the couch between your EMPLOYER'S KIDS...and somehow...that's not even a "slightly tragic" fate??? I think it's extremely tragic, one of the classic American tragedies...and Havrilesky just skips over "the housekeeper" (the character's name is Carla CARLA, "with CARLA the housekeeper perched between them") - also, the whole idea of black women EMPLOYEES being "more nurturing" than their white EMPLOYERS...it's her frickin' JOB to be "nurturing."

look, here's a whole Q&A with Deborah Lacey, who plays THE CHARACTER Carla on Mad Men:

http://blogs.amctv.com/mad-men/2009/05/deborah-lacey-interview.php

I hope Mad Men will expand Carla's storyline on the show...not how she relates to the Drapers, but her own family, relationships, aspirations, frustrations...

I had a friend who was black and female, and her understanding of racism/sexism was that, the closer you get to power, the more intense it is...i.e., she experienced MORE racism and sexism, the further she moved ahead in her graduate program.

bell hooks has some very interesting (useful, honest) things to say about being nonwhite, non upper class in a graduate program in US.

I also am interested in anything anybody has written about MFA programs in US, as far as "outcomes" for their graduates, 10 or 20 years down the road...

Re: "I bet that a group of writers that I would gather would have different cultural backgrounds from the Salon staff which would result in a much different list. The problem is the gatekeepers; their decisions reflect a lack of diversity."

I agree with you 100%.

re: "broomstick-skirted college students who talked about their periods too much going to see a bunch of white ladies you could hear in your dentist's office"

Who cares if they "talked about their periods too much?" I thought, according to Salon, we were all past the taboo and negativity of menstruation. So wouldn't that mean, some women would talk about their periods A LOT, some none at all, some occasionally? And it was okay because, women are different, their relationship to their menstrual cycle varies, and so...why does it matter at all? Who cares?

And it's quite strange that someone writing for Salon, which is quite white-centered (white dominated? Oh right, we don't say that anymore) in its focus, pointing out someone else's over-whiteness - and white ladies - oh, totally un-hip then...

and if you can hear their music in a dentist office...I do believe there are also a bunch of "white gentleman's" music you can hear in dentist's office as well. Meaning, dentist offices play music to the taste of their patients...which is generally a cross-section age-wise. Big deal that a dentist office chooses less propulsive in-your-face music while you are getting a dental procedure done.

My problem with Lilith Fair (I bought a CD a while back) is the low level of MUSICIANSHIP overall - a lack of musical chops. Like any art form, music is hard (regardless of talent, you still have to put the HOURS in), you have to put forth creative effort, and so do the people you are collaborating with in the creation of your music, if you are collaborating. My impression from the Lilith CD I purchased, was that they weren't putting the time and effort in to play/songwrite at a certain level.

You don't need to bash period-interested white women to make that point.

at http://www.moltx.org/smcoco.html, compliments of Menstrual Monday (that's a May holiday, but costumes are costumes).

I think the more pertinent question is, "Are women as a group union-averse?"

I am in the astounding situation (to me at least) of working in a female-dominated field, where the pay and benefits have dramatically dropped...people "complain" and "commiserate" - but I don't hear anything from anyone about a UNION. You know, when you go on strike, and demand what you are worth...

I don't want to stereotype all women. But I am astounded by the lack of "labor awareness" among many of my coworkers - who recognize they are getting screwed - but don't feel like they can do anything about it.

I also hate to sound like an old commie - no fan of the Soviet Union - but hell, workers of the world unite - that means American women as well Chinese workers, etc!