book!

76. Lifting a Ton of Feathers: A Woman's Guide to Surviving in the Academic World by Paula J. Caplan

This book gets a post all of its own, as it has been a real eye opener to me. I mean, of course women are discriminated against and all that, but I had never seen it written out in black and white how this would specifically affect me in academia. A lot of the book is about the "maleness" of academia, and how women are socialized differently and therefore unable to fit in easily. The parts that most spoke to me were about women generally being harder on themselves, and assuming that if they are not a perfect teacher, they are a bad one. When in actuality they are most likely a good teacher who is not perfect. There is also a lot about the way academia isolates women, making them feel like they are crazy if they notice any of these problems. I have totally been made to feel like I am crazy many times, and this book really helped me see I am more normal than I thought. Seriously, if you are a woman in academia, or know a woman in academia, or probably even if you are a man in academia, you should read this book. If I ever get to have grad students I am going to give this to them. It has really helped me look at how I think about myself and my work, and to feel better about it.