Stress

Inequality as it impacts women’s daily lives is often called ‘stress’. This chapter explores two different women’s descriptions of the challenges of trying to live a good human life in today’s United States. Brigid Schulte, a professional woman, describes a life of being pulled between the insatiable demands of both modern work and modern motherhood. She discovers a new ‘gospel’ of self-efficacy and learns to pay attention to the present moment. Linda Tirado, a poor working woman, illuminates all the ways that the stresses of the poor differ from those of the non-poor. Because these experiences can be so different, simplistic calls to self-improvement and stress management can completely miss the mark for poor people. The burgeoning commodified contemplative practices available to the middle class may really help them cope with difficult social circumstances. But, in their current forms, they lose their ties to justice and leave the poor devalued and denied the possibility of both full membership in society and stable lives free from fear.