Letting go of the go-getting

Apparently, hoards of young professionals, particularly women, are currently doing just that.  Climbing off the ladder, having an 'ambition comedown' (Grazia), stepping off the treadmill, the hamster-wheel or other euphemism for Corporate high-flying.

Is this really that new? I imagine that the economics of the last two years have made many people re-evaluate priorities, whether or not they have now decided to down-shift their careers. I'm sure the end of the eighties saw a similar exodus, caused by the soul-searching that inevitably follows a period of empty values such as greed.

On my first 'real' trip to Canary Wharf last week, the reality of the banking crisis and credit crunch was brought home.  Standing at West India Quay, looking at the HSBC tower, and others, the symbols of wealth and austerity were so overt it was vulgar.  Particularly when less than a mile away, there are some of the poorest communities in London, which I found out while getting lost on the way to my budget hotel.

 Don't get me wrong, I am not knocking corporate life.  I actually get a huge amount of satisfaction from being able to influence a company's direction.  For many people that just doesn't float their boat, and that's ok.  This doesn't mean they are letting go of the go-getting per se, just that their motivation comes from elsewhere, for example voluntary work, freelancing, being their own boss, or a stay at home mom.  And of course, these all are fine.

We all need a handful of things that get us out of bed in the morning.  Whether or not this means thoughts of smashing the glass ceiling, or perfecting Jamie's 30-minute meal Moroccan lamb, is all down to choice.  Both of equal importance, and perfectly fine by me, of course.

"We're women, not ladies!"

Really?????!!!!!

I ran a half marathon on Sunday with my husband.  Actually, it wasn't quite with, because he finished 15 minutes before me.  But anyway, on the journey home, we switch on Radio 4 to hear the last 20 minutes of The Reunion.  I first caught some of this show last week, when were in London for Notting Hill Carnival.  What a lovely day that was - sun was shining, calypso and samba were playing, the police van even belted out KRS One and Shall Marshall (google it).

Last week, the topic of said show was Hurricane Katrina, with the guests a mixture of survivors, officials and an army general.  A very moving and sombre recollection of the events and media portrayal.

This week, the topic was the 1970 Miss World contest, which was famously interrupted by a Women's Lib protest.  Unfortunately, the one fact that I cannot get out of my mind is that one of the guests felt it necessary to interrupt Peter Jolley (organiser) mid-sentence, when he refers to them as "ladies", to say, "We're women, not ladies".  Hello??!!

I am not going to attempt to get into the rights and wrongs of the women's movement, or beauty parades for that matter.  I am fairly sure that I, on balance, have benefited in many ways, from what these women stood for.  But since I heard the program, and listened to it again online, all I can think about was the fact that this guest felt it necessary to undermine her whole raison d'etre, in my opinion, by making a point of protesting against the use of a word which 99% of women have absolutely no problem with.

My friends and I - all career-minded, hard-nosed, corporate-thonged types - call each other ladies all the time.  My younger brother calls me Lady as a term of respect and endearment.  In the same way at work that I will address men as guys, gentlemen or even boys.  What would she prefer? bitches and ho's?? Because I don't see the Women's Lib storming the MTV and Radio 1 studios on a regular basis.

Times have moved on, and although there may have been a time when ladies was deemed to be patronising, or assuming fragility and delicacy (how awful!), it's everyday  meaning has perhaps moved on - this happens in the English language.  When I googled to find out why it was deemed so offensive, I struggled.

Surely we need to stop fighting yesterday's battles.  Instead let's focus on figuring out how to have it all, keep it all, close the gender pay gap, prolong fertility, master the menopause, halt the emasculation of men, and stop the shards of glass falling in from the broken ceiling.  All triumphs of the Women's Lib movement.