Inbox

A Woman of Many Colors

I was very pleased to read your cover story but disappointed that amid the well-deserved attention being paid to the American woman, she is continually displayed as white or simply all-encompassing [Oct. 26]. As an African-American woman, I am all too aware that feminism has not been inclusive of the issues of women of color--who have long been heads of household, sole or co-breadwinners, single parents, and caregivers to children and seniors. While many of our white counterparts were fighting for workplace equality, we were already working--as their maids and nannies, as well as outside the domestic sphere. Black, Latina, Asian and American Indian women suffer from discriminatory practices unique to their own sets, and their struggle for equality has been underreported for quite some time. I applaud TIME's vital look at the American woman and challenge you to explore her in all her colorful, varied glory.

Brittany Packnett

HILLCREST HEIGHTS, MD.

Your article concluded that as women's power and wealth start to surpass men's, men and women increasingly share the same interests and concerns. But that has not been my experience. Working in a female-dominated profession, I repeatedly hear women express frustration that there don't seem to be many real men anymore. Men express confusion that their efforts not to be domineering leave them disdained by those women. The irony is that many men today try to be the sensitive, nonabrasive types that the women's movement said women would want. But in fact, many women do not want these new men and are sometimes willing to saddle themselves with jerks just to avoid them.

Bob Troxell, DAYTON, OHIO

TIME cites the "paradox" that women are still unhappy, even with all their current "equality." Then it states that the poll showed women often contribute to household income yet take on more of the responsibilities for the household, children and sick or elderly parents, while earning 77¢ on the dollar compared with men. Maybe there's a correlation.

Missy L. Haney, LEESVILLE, S.C.

Ms., May I Have My Ring Back?

Nancy Gibbs' humorous essay really hits the mark on the difficulty women face in choosing their titles and surnames [Oct. 26]. It makes no difference to me whether a woman keeps her name or takes her husband's. I wonder, however, in the interest of consistency, if Gibbs received an engagement ring from her husband. After all, if we can dispense with one outmoded patriarchal tradition, why not dispense with them all?

Mike Migliaccio, CROTON-ON-HUDSON, N.Y.

Keep It Real, Karl

Karl Lagerfeld's rejection of the "round woman" in Verbatim reflects his strange bent toward ultra-gaunt models [Oct. 26]. But then one look at Lagerfeld is an experience in weirdness. Kudos to the German magazine Brigitte for featuring real women and recognizing female beauty as something other than a skeleton.

Louis C. Kleber, LAS VEGAS

Take This Job and Try to Love It!