Anyone who thinks that the girl market is a mystery or that girls are not interested in toys should visit an American Girl store where girls from 2-20 pay big bucks for dolls and accesories. I don't get it since I never liked dolls, but my daughter and her friends love them. On a recent Saturday the store was so crowded you couldn't move and there were people lined up to the door. She did extra chores to save for Josephina's pet goat. Go figure.

Let me get this straight as it’s quite confusing. We are supposed to work up until our due date to prove how seriously we take our work, then we should birth at home (with a doula or midwife) so that we are not supporting the patriarchal medical establishment, and then we are to feed the infant breast milk so that we are not supporting the multi-national plot to make money on formula, but we need to pump this milk because we are to return immediately to work to show how serious and liberated we are. We are not to be taken in by the artificial construct called “motherhood” but we are to fully embrace the equally ludicrous construct called “work week” and if we do not we are taking the easy way out. If you get a c-section, feed your kids formula, work part time, stay at home, go to work, gain too much weight, gain too little weight…then you are lazy, stupid, underachieving, overachieving, servant, bitch, whore, frigid, too vain, not sexy enough. You should attend school functions, but too many. You can like your job…but don’t tell people you love it. Applaud the woman who puts her child in daycare to go and teach but deride the woman who chooses to teach her own children. We want to hear about the daughters of frustrated housewives but not about the latch key daughters of driven workaholics. Vacuuming in demeaning, but getting botox so that you stand a better chance at a promotion isn’t. Mothers who work are selfish, money hungry shrews; those who stay home are deluded bon bon eating morons. We really are dupes and instead of true liberation we have, sadly, settled for an ersatz facsimile.

I find it ironic that a member of the generation that could be likened to a plague of locusts would call the next generation (the one they created and raised) “a blot on humanity”. I am not sure how the author can claim that boomers support “activism, idealism, community” unless you consider insurance coverage for impotence drugs, “activism”, rampant consumerism and unbridled capitalism, “idealism”, and gated Mcmansions, “communities”. Your “natural openness and honesty” is actually an endless, droning monologue about you and your outdated and outmoded opinions. You think that you’re endlessly fascinating but you’re just not. You’re not wise, or hip or whatever you believe yourself to be. You’re just a stale relic of a failed social experiment and you should find a job where you’re made to feel more relevant. As for Xers being “militantly post-feminist (embrace your inner slut), post-hippie (I care only about my family -- fuck the community)…” we do not reject feminism nor do we reject community we just reject YOUR definitions. It's not that we don't understand...we do...and it informs our complete rejection of your choices. If you weren’t so busy getting botox injections and hair plugs you’d realize that all across this country Xers are raising globally aware and compassionate children, building strong communities and neighborhoods, volunteering, etc. The boomers are quick to recall their activism of the 1960’s but it fades in the subsequent decades of greed, unparalleled ecological destruction, and a pervasive “me generation” narcissism that disallows any true introspection. Of course the problem is with Xers…it couldn’t possibly be your fault.

I am an artist and you sound like a first year student who whines that critiques are mean and hurt peoples feelings. I have endured scathing critiques of my work. I have read awful reviews of my shows. But I am grateful. Without honest critique it is far too easy to settle into complacent mediocrity. Your friends and associates cannot or will not always see (or share) the shortcomings in your work. Imagine being a musician and having a crowd boo after you've played your heart out. That's way worse that a few snarky posts. Writers have been insulated from this type of feedback and I would think that you'd be thrilled to see how your work is received. Don't you wonder if you're getting your point across? Aren't you interested in what people outside of your comfort zone think of your work? Or does that not matter as long as you feel good about it? It is difficult to get past the knocks to your ego but if you want to create something truly meaningful (to someone other than your mommy) then you need to be humble enough to listen and admit when you've just maybe missed the mark. So if you're tired of the criticism...bring a better game. Of course you'll have to separate the wheat from the chaff but the process should make you a better writer and a stronger person.