The CWA (no, not the union)

Thanks to Feministe I've been engaged in a discussion about an article that concerns Gil and Janice and a couple of mops.

Mad at my Mop is an article written by Janice Shaw Crouse about her sudden realization that she had been following her husband's advice on how to mop a floor for 20 years and that she was pissed off about that. The article is posted on the site of a group called Concerned Women of America.

One of the wonderful comments posted at Feministe was written by Amanada from Pandagon. I visited her blog and she has yet another sweet little article by the very same mop-conflicted Janice Shaw Crouse. I couldn't help but comment in the dicussion and I'm reposting it here so all my readers (both of you) can catch up:

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It's so funny that I'm reading this, because I happen to be the woman in the airport that Mop-Loving Janice was talking about!

Let me remind you of Janice's story:

I watched as he looked everywhere but at her; aloof and detached, he never even glanced in her direction. She, on the other hand, would glance at him and then look away. She would lean toward him and make a hesitant, brief comment with a slight, tentative smile. He would nod, but never did even turn in her direction or make eye contact....Equally apparent was the fact that the man held all the cards in their relationship.

Janice is right. I was restless. In fact I was searching the airport for my gal pals. We were on our way to our annual summer reunion at the castle we built in rural Michigan with male slave labor. We FemGang Warriors(tm), had recently taken over several Fortune 500 companies and were due for a vacation. I didn't want Veronica and Jennifer to miss the flight!

I'm so pleased that Janice liked the looks of George, my own personal boytoy. He is not allowed to speak or even make eye contact when we are out in public. The consequences are severe and he obeys me entirely. My brief comments were mere reminders of the rewards waiting the poor boy if he behaved appropriately. After all, I don't normally let him out of the home where he cleans and cooks for me every day. Good Georgey Boy!

My galpals and I are having a good laugh at Janice's misreading. If I had any time away from my slavish men, my obedient children and my enjoyment of corporate perks, I might fill Janice in on her errors.

I hope you all can join us at the castle next year. We really enjoyed our time there. The chef is a genius!

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For background on who the Concerned Women of America are, see Concerned Women for America: A Case Study. Here's a snippet:

Though CWA is a multi-issue organization, its "special role" in the Christian Right has been that of an exemplary foil to the women's movement: the good, pro-family, "spirit-controlled" women, who, in LaHaye's words, are "truly liberated" because they are "totally submissive" to their husbands (The Spirit Controlled Woman, [Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 1976], p. 71). CWA activists, though they may appear to be showing dangerous signs of independence, are in fact doing the will of their husbands and their Christian duty to promote pro-family values.