Darien seems to be obsessed with their image. Every which
way you see people wearing the latest Versace jeans (I’m not a fashion kind of
guy so that could potentially not be a thing), carrying their pumpkin spice
latte from Starbucks (that is a thing though, it’s kind of a big deal), and
just generally stressing about looks. If that is the case, then why is one of
the most frequently visited shopping centers in town called Goodwives Shopping
Center? How can Darien of all places
allow such a name to be accepted into our society? The misogyny presented by
such a title is unacceptable, especially in a town where image is everything.
Can you imagine someone walking into town from, I don’t know, let’s say Iowa or
something, and they see that this town is really nice. Then they see the
Goodwives Shopping Center and immediately realize that this is one of THOSE
towns. They then go back to their hometown and share stories of this horribly
sexist town where gender profiling is alive and well. What does this do to the
image of Darien? It certainly doesn’t do anything good, I can tell you that for
sure. One can argue that the history aspect of the name, but the history itself
is pretty bad. A woman (ironic) in Wilton coined the name to go with the river
right behind the center in 1966. The river itself was named “From the Indians because
the wives of the early settlers were kind in many ways to the Indians during
those difficult times.” I pulled that quote off a newspaper article from
December 7, 1966, and let me just say, the inclusion of the term “Indians” just
drives the point even further home. If that doesn’t scream “outdated” to you,
then I don’t know what will. This “tribute to the women of the area” seems to
be more like a command than a commendation, saying that you must be a good wife
in order to properly fit into society. The image created by that notion is
awful for the town, and needs to get fixed.
Brian, I applaud you looking up the history of the naming of the river--but actually the history of the name "Goodwife" goes back even further. (Sorry i didn't make that more clear in class.) "Goodwife" is a Puritan term of address for any married woman. It was their form of "Mrs." Men were called "Goodman"--as in "Goodman James." So you'll probably want to think through that part of the argument, too....how does that play in? Is it still offensive?
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