I missed yesterday’s question, so I’m doing what any sensible person would do and combining two questions into one post.
Today, July 13th , we continue the discussion for the Beyond Busy Global Monthly Book Club’s fourth book.
Anyone who has read our current discussion book can participate by commenting. You can also join our public BBGMBC Facebook group, if you would like to join us in reading one excellent quality book per month and then discussing it here.
And without further ado, let’s keep the discussion of Imagine: How Creativity Works by Johah Lehrer going.
I had a major disappointment with this book. There were no examples of creative women in the book. None. How many examples of creative men? And no women. He mentioned Julia Child in passing. Why not use her as one of the examples?
Lehrer could have interviewed Karen Karbo, an author who is working on her fourth book tackling the subject of creative women. Thus far she has covered Katherine Hepburn, Coco Chanel, Georgia O’Keeffe, and now Julia Child. Don’t any of these creative women sound like they could have expanded the conversation around a book like this?
I am disappointed in the author. But moreso I am disappointed in the editors and the publishing house. Surely there was a woman working at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt who noticed this oversight.
No?
Seriously?
So therefore the conclusion that we are to draw from this book is that creativity, or at least the only creativity worth talking about on a global level is accomplished by men and corporations. I guess we are out of luck, gals. And frankly I think that stinks. And I hope the author will amend this mistake the next time he writes a book for people not just men and corporations.
What about you? Did you notice that the book did not use women as examples of outstanding creative thinkers? I believe the few who were mentioned were mentioned in passing and were employees of corporations. But check my work. I’d love to be corrected.
Okay. Having said all of that. I still like the book. I think it’s well written. I think it’s thoughtful and creative. I was pulled in to stories about corporate creativity despite myself. And I agree with most of the conclusions.
So question number one is did you notice that there were barely any women cited in this book as examples and question number two is what do you think about this and how does it make you feel?
I think we are all clear about how I feel about it. Maybe I need a reality check, though. You tell me.
I am not interested in attacking Jonah Lehrer. I believe he has been attacked enough in recent days. And I would also suggest that this is not merely an issue in this book but an issue that seems to permeate the entire industry.
I’m interested in your thoughts and comments!
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No, you do not need a reality check. I usually get frustrated even reading the business ection of our paper- mostly it is still old white men.
So it is odd that I did not notice lack of women- expect because it is so corporate focused- and we all know how scarce the female population is represented there. Guess it is more a sad reflection of my having accepted that is what corporate world tends to look like. I kept hoping he’d give me examples from places other than cublicle world.
Good comment about the editors- you would think that would stand out.
I will look at the author you mentioned. I wonder if there are differences in male vs female creativity- is anyone looking at that?
I hadn’t noticed that there were no female individuals discussed as examples, probably because there were several female researchers quoted along with the quotes from women at Pixar. He also spends a good amount of time on Jane Jacobs and her defense of Greenwich Village, but then he uses the research of a man to solidify what he refers to as Jacobs’s “speculations.”
In flipping through the book just now to find Jacobs’s name, I found a list of “impressive graduates” from the NOCCA school that was started in 1973, and he doesn’t list a single female there, either. I also came across a short list of entrepreneurs we idolize: “Bill Gates and Richard Branson and Oprah Winfrey.”
I really wonder why I didn’t notice the lack of female examples. And, just from the tiny bit I was able to glean about who Johah Lehrer is from his writing style and his bio, I don’t think he’s the kind of person who would purposefully exclude women (he’s young, educated, married, and just had a daughter). I think maybe I am used to writing that is skewed toward a male point of view and that Jonah has a really big blind spot.
Somehow, I don’t think it takes away from the book, though. I still learned a great deal and enjoyed the writing.
Thanks for pointing out something I completely missed!
I have to be honest the lack of women in this book didn’t hit me until you mentioned it. I just assume it is about women too, unless it states specifically that it is for and about men. It’s my Dad’s fault. He was always telling me that there are no limits; I can do anything.
It was likely a mistake not something done because he thinks we women are not creative. Most women are outstanding creative thinkers out of necessity. It comes naturally to people who have to multi-process, juggling their lives and those of their family. It is a survival skill for women, especially for those who are mothers.
One of my co-workers gave me post it notes with a quote she thought applied to me and I love it. No disrespect gentlemen, but it has helped me through some tough times at work. “Women who think they are equal to men lack ambition.” It reminds me that I can do anything if I apply myself.
I agree. I saw myself in the examples he cited. When he talked about poets, the fact that they were male didn’t even register because I count myself as a poet and was just thinking about what happens when you write a poem. I have had experiences like Bob Dylan’s where a poem just popped out of me fully formed and blew my mind and, much more often, experiences like Auden’s where I had to spend full days shaping what’s already on the page trying to find the sculpture in the stone.
When I mentioned to my husband that I hadn’t noticed the lack of female examples that had been so clear to Christina, he was at first shocked, but then said, “Well, you have always thought of yourself more as a man than a woman any way.” So, like you, I guess my dad always telling me I could do anything I wanted to seeped into who I am on a deep level and I don’t see gender disparities until they are pointed out. I have always been surrounded by more men than women and this just didn’t register.
Hi, Sue. I’ve been thinking about your question about whether there are differences in male vs. female creativity, and I think it’s very interesting.
My feeling is that the research cited in the book that was done by university researchers will hold for men and women equally. Since most research is done with undergraduate students, and right now females outnumber males in college, the samples were probably well balanced across gender.
Where the differences might occur, it seems to me, would be in the creative together section. Women and men communicate differently, organize themselves differently in groups, and are probably affected–often without even realizing it–by stereotypes, so I would imagine that men and women might have varying levels of creativity in different group settings.
Kristine- great thought about the mix of undergrads. I can see there would be differences in how men & women interact in a group for creativity. It is a different dynamic if it is all one gender, or even mainly one. It is an idea that interests me. Back when I worked (outside the home), I had several jobs in male dominated industries then one in health care where the management was highly female. I felt more open in the female friendly atmosphere and more “heard”.
Love that quote!!!
It’s nice to know I’m not alone on this one. Some of my friends give me strange looks when they hear that quote.
Thanks for the feed back!
BTW I saw Jonah Lehrer on Charlie Rose a few nights ago. He seemed a sincere young man. I doubt if he realized the lack of women in his book. He looks to be around the age of my sons, 40 someting, so he wasn’t around in the 60’s-70’s when the women’s lib movement was in high gear. And look at all of us we are doing quite well at the moment!
Believe it or not, he’s only 30. 😉