Nonviolent Revolution for a Family Friendly US
Redstocking Grandma
- Location
- Baldwin, New York,
- Birthday
- July 17
- Bio
- My name is Mary Joan Koch. The Redstockings were a NYC radical feminist group in the late 60s and early 70s. I have five grandchildren, 5, 3 1/2, 3 1/2, 2, and 1. Becoming a grandma has rekindled my radical feminism. I speak for the children.
MY RECENT POSTS
- Are Children and Elders Better
Off?
March 19, 2010 06:23PM - Is Your Babysitter a Guy
(Repost)
May 07, 2012 05:51PM - 1971, Age 25, Doubts about
Feminism
May 01, 2012 02:11PM - Tossing Pebbles and Making
Ripples
April 30, 2012 07:07PM - How to Cheat on the Mental
Mini-Status Exam
January 06, 2012 04:49PM
MY RECENT COMMENTS
- “I have been so sad all
day. Your post helped me
understand
why. Where the Wild
Th…”
May 08, 2012 05:53PM - “Brunhilde, You are
absolutely right that blanket
statements
about feminism are
u…”
May 04, 2012 03:26AM - “jlsathre,
I
totally agree with you. My
English husband is absolutely
appalled
at U…”
May 02, 2012 12:10PM - “As a childbirth
educator, La Leche League
leader, and mother
of 4, I
ferven…”
May 02, 2012 06:28AM - “I so enjoyed this
excellent, balanced post on a
subject that
evokes
suc…”
May 02, 2012 06:20AM
MAY 14, 2012 3:56PM
Are Children and Elders Better Off?
When I was a radical young feminist in the late 60s and early 70s,
I was profoundly disturbed by the middle-class nature of New
York feminism. Only a tiny minority of women could
afford to become doctors, lawyers, college professors, corporate
executives. The needs of women of… Read full post »
MAY 7, 2012 5:52PM
Is Your Babysitter a Guy (Repost)
Would you trust your children to any of these disreputable men? My youngest uncle, 9 years older, is smoking a pipe. Jesus's rates were low (my third brother). Emma loved her 15-year-old uncle's flute playing and would run from anywhere… Read full post »
I was very active in the feminist movement of the late 1960s
and early 1970s. Although I described myself as a radical feminist,
I always had misgivings. I explore them in this journal entry from
October 1971. Talking about a
20-hour work week seems preposterous now, but it
seemed
… Read full post »
APRIL 30, 2012 7:07PM
Tossing Pebbles and Making Ripples
I originally posted this two years ago. It seemed appropriate to repost it as I return to my OS home once again. I hope different meds, a different psychiatrist, a different therapist, a healed marriage will make it possible for me to stay home for good.
"We drop like
… Read full post »
JANUARY 6, 2012 4:49PM
How to Cheat on the Mental Mini-Status Exam
Given that researchers plan to diagnose Alzheimer's Disease ten or
twenty years earlier, no one is too young to practice cheating on
the Mini Mental Status Exam .
Make sure all the answers are on your smart phone before your
neurologist visit.
If the examiner asks you not to look at your
smart
… Read full post »
JANUARY 2, 2012 11:32AM
Duck and Cover, McCarthy, Assassinations, Vietnam, Jail
I was born the day after Trinity, the first atom bomb test.
From age 5, duck-and-cover, hide-under-our-desks drills in my
Catholic school were as frequent as tests. I was terrified of
nuclear war. We lived one mile away from an air force base.
Whenever I heard planes, I ran out into…
DECEMBER 24, 2011 8:11AM
To My Oldest Daughter on Her 13th Birthday, 4/4/86
THIS IS NOT COPYRIGHTED. I URGE YOU TO USE
IT.
Dearest Emma,
Dearest Emma,
Happy 13th birthday. This will be such an exciting year
of change and growth for you that I particularly want us to keep in
close touch with one another. Both of us are undergoing major
transitions, so I hope we
… Read full post »
NOVEMBER 23, 2011 11:36AM
NYC, 1974-1976, Nonsexist Childrearing in Action
Emma belonged to a Chelsea Manhattan playgroup for two years, from 1974 to 1976. She was 17 months when it began, 3 and ready for nursery school when it disbanded. Playgroup met 5 mornings a week in the basement of the Y on West 23rd Street. Parents had the option of/… Read full post »
OCTOBER 14, 2011 4:41PM
Diagnosing Children with Bipolar Disorder
I am concerned that gifted, creative children, who march to a
different drummer in our regimented society, are being misdiagnosed
with bipolar disorder and threatened with a lifetime of dangerous
medications and social stigma. Having that dire diagnosis imposed
on you at age 6 severely compromises yo… Read full post »
OCTOBER 14, 2011 8:47AM
Happiest Days of My Life
April 4, 1973, Emma
June 17, 1975, Michelle
November 8, 1978 at home, Jane
May 8, 1982 at home, Molly
May 9, 2007, Michael
September 12, 2008, Penelope
December 18, 2008, Miriam
September 13, 2009, Abigail
OCTOBER 12, 2011 11:09PM
1971, At 25 I Saw the Future
As I have mentioned, I was very active in the feminist movement of
the late 1960s and early 1970s. Although I described myself as a
radical feminist, I always had misgivings. I explore them in this
journal entry from October 1971. Talking about a 20-hour work week
seems preposterous now, but it… Read full post »
OCTOBER 9, 2011 7:56AM
"When I Whisper, Everyone Listens"
Machiavelli, the Whisperer, and
Her Baby Sister Jane. Wouldn't You Be Bamboozled?
OCTOBER 9, 2011 4:43AM
What Is Your Birth Order?
To Only Children: Being the oldest child dooms you
to the responsibility chip, whether you have no siblings or 7.
Until both your parents die, you are being parented by people who
have no clue what they are doing. They get better with younger
children, but they don't know… Read full post »
OCTOBER 8, 2011 1:41PM
Parental Anxiety and Children's Wings
OCTOBER 6, 2011 1:45PM
What Is Wrong with My Three Year Old?
I am distressed by how many parents of preschool boys worry that
their sons are autistic when their sons' behavior would never have
been considered autistic even ten years ago. The autistic spectrum
seems to become ever wider, capturing many more children in its
diagnostic net. I have known, am…
SEPTEMBER 13, 2011 3:51PM
Do We Have to Wait 33 Years for the First Woman President?
My granddaughter Abigail, the daughter of my oldest daughter, turned 2 today.
SEPTEMBER 11, 2011 12:54PM
Two Towers
My daughter Katherine, then 22, wrote this on October 6, 2001
They were, as we always say at times like this, so very young--finished in 1976, only two years older than me. I only learned that afterwards, though; I always assumed they were several decades older. Maybe this is because I… Read full post »
SEPTEMBER 6, 2011 11:54AM
Twitter Is a Librarian's Paradise
Three months ago, my two tweeting daughters helped
me discover the real value of Twitter. I tweet
as @RedstockingGran.
It is a librarian's paradise. I don't twitter about personal stuff,
but about feminism, building a family friendly society, inequality,
poverty, family-work balance./… Read full post »
JUNE 20, 2011 11:25AM
Dylan, My New Muse and 24/7 Grandbaby
This was written during
our honeymoon with Dylan, the Villain, who could give Michelle a
run for her money in strategic planning. We need three water
pistols to avoid being consumed by the tiger.
I have had cats almost all my life. Our senior cat Fibi died
peacefully two years ago,… Read full post »
MAY 19, 2011 11:30AM
Drugging Kids Instead of Changing America
I
am a psychiatric social worker and children's and young adult
librarian. As the oldest of 5 brothers and 45 first cousins, the
mother of 4, the grandma of 4. I am also a manic depressive. It
took ten years to find a medication that helped; I read about it
on
… Read full post »
APRIL 14, 2011 9:44PM
Confessions of Misogyny
I wrote this at the height of the 2008 primary.
You have undoubtedly gotten the wrong impression of me because all the crap dumped on Hillary elicited my Joan of Arc persona and I was in full polemic mode. My four daughters would reassure you that I am one of the worst…
You have undoubtedly gotten the wrong impression of me because all the crap dumped on Hillary elicited my Joan of Arc persona and I was in full polemic mode. My four daughters would reassure you that I am one of the worst…
APRIL 1, 2011 12:24PM
What Is Your Problem, Mr. Rashkolnikov?
My MLS in library science has enabled me to help more clients than
my MSW in social work. Shrinks put diagnostic DSM numbers on
people; librarians only label the books. Matching someone up with
the perfect book for his present crisis can save years of meds and
shrinkage.
A friend of mine,…
A friend of mine,…
FEBRUARY 7, 2011 6:13PM
My Brilliant Daddy
I never outgrew calling my father daddy. He met me at 7 months old when he returned from the army in Europe. Tragically, he died in 1987 of Alzheimer's Disease. This profile is from his college yearbook.
NOVEMBER 14, 2010 8:59AM
Phil Ochs Is My Favorite Protest Singer
Protest singers were a vital part of every anti-Vietnam demonstration.
NOVEMBER 10, 2010 9:00PM
Is Your Babysitter a Guy?
Would you trust your children to any of these disreputable men? My youngest uncle, 9 years older, is smoking a pipe. Jesus's rates were low (my third brother). Emma loved her 15-year-old uncle's flute playing and would run from anywhere in my pare… Read full post »
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