Pig movies, farmer's wives, and empowerment

Babe the pig, Farmer Hoggett, and his wife, Mrs. Hoggett

Growing up, one of my absolute favorite films was the pig movie called "Babe." Actually, I'd say it's still one of my favorite movies, though I haven't had the opportunity to watch it for a while. I mean, whose heart wasn't warmed by that tale of the little pig who could?

Anyway, I'm nearly certain that this movie inspired one of my earliest career aspirations: to be a "farmer's wife."

Not "a farmer," but "a farmer's wife." I'll repeat myself: "a farmer's wife."
As a very small child, not having come across many real farmers (I grew up in the suburbs, and generally the closest thing I came to a farm/rural experience was the annual trip to the u-pick farm), I guess I thought all farmers were male. (I now apologize to my female friends who grew up on farms - I hadn't met you all yet.)

Ok, so eventually I came to learn that many little girls grew up raising cows and goats and other livestock for 4-H, and it was due to my lack of experience with such, that I didn't know girls could be farmers. The end.

However... after having had a bit more experience in the Real World of careerwomen and females who don't need men, I have been struck with the realization that perhaps, I wished to be a farmer's wife not because I didn't know girls could be farmers, but because I thought I needed a man to help me achieve my dreams.

"No, dear," cry the voices of the Real World, "you don't need a man. Not anymore. Mrs. Hoggett is from an outdated age, and if she were starting her career of animal-raising today, she'd be Ms. Maiden Name, and perhaps Farmer Hoggett would be a farming colleague, or better, a subordinate."

Nellie Bly (1864-1922)
Yes, I think what she did was cool.
No, I don't walk around every day
mentally thanking her for making my
career choice possible. 

"Dear," they add, "you didn't have a very empowering childhood, did you? You really should be grateful for women like Nellie Bly who made it possible for you, a woman, to become a professional journalist."

Excuse me, but even though I haven't thus far followed through with that original career plan and become a farmer's wife, I think it's perfectly acceptable to be one, and it doesn't mean you missed the Empowerment Express. Let the people who want to be farmer's wives, be farmer's wives.

No offense to Nellie Bly devotees, but I think Nellie became such a strong example in her day not because she was a woman breaking out of traditional roles, but because she was a person merely doing what she wanted to do. And yes, many people were inspired by her, including many women.

This whole gender/empowerment war wears me out. And I think it's more a red herring - women keep complaining that they are mistreated because they are women, while they really should be focused on teaching people to treat each other equally, regardless of who they are.

And if I one day wish to stop being a professional journalist and switch to being a farmer's wife, by golly, no one's going to stop me.

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I could offer another, similar rant on the belated realization that because I am technically part minority, I really should have grown up jaded that there weren't enough people on TV or in kids' fiction that looked like me or had a related ethnic background. Actually, I always thought I grew up with quite a healthy sense of my ethnicity, and never felt excluded by the dolls and other toys that looked Decidedly More American Than I Do. But that's for another day.