Good morning,

I enjoyed this article about the origins of the phrase “hav[e|ing] it all”. There are also some horrifying extracts from the 1982 book of that title, please let me know your least favourite:

“Having it all,” at least as it applies to women and work, has a relatively limited pedigree. Ruth Rosen, a scholar who has written extensively about the history of feminism, told me that you can’t find much archival evidence of the phrase before the tail end of the 1970s — and even then, it wasn’t so much a feminist mantra as a marketing pitch directed toward the well-heeled “liberated” consumer.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/04/magazine/the-complicated-origins-of-having-it-all.html?_r=1

A useful piece on preparing your daughter for the adult world. Parents, you will probably want to bookmark this one.

As your daughter starts developing into a young adult, she may start asking questions like, “What is sex?” “Why does my body feel different?” and, “What are those ominous green creatures that are trying to lure me into the woods?”

http://reductress.com/post/how-to-talk-to-your-daughter-about-puberty-sex-and-goblins/

As a little light relief on a similar topic, have an article about Christina Rossetti’s “Goblin Market”.

Rossetti's work is pervaded by Dantean–Petrarchan themes of earthly love beatified. That the culpable sister in Goblin Market is called Laura may not be coincidence. This Laura is not the object of carnal love, but she is, perhaps, its conduit.

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/jun/25/poem-week-goblin-market-rossetti

I hope the first full week of the year treated you well! Enjoy the weekend,

Alex.