Why the Hell Was Nancy in the Wilderness?

OK. So I wasn’t really out in the deep, dark woods. 

I enrolled in a Women’s Studies class called “Women in the Wilderness” at the University of Michigan.

It was the only course under that umbrella that fit my schedule and wouldn’t be overly taxing during an already packed semester.

I’m more of a glamper than a camper, and so was another young woman who became my college bestie and is still a friend today. In short, we found each other in the wilderness!

Because I’m a crafter, I came up with a quirky final project: gluing legumes and seeds to a wooden tissue box. Seriously.

And I got an A, which was even more ludicrous. But if I were ever cast on “Naked and Afraid,” I’d be more terrified than nude.

Moving on to the main point…

I’ve been something of a feminist since the 1960s. My grandmother and mother were both rebels, and I was appalled that I could only take childcare, sewing, and cooking in middle school and was forbidden to wear pants to school, except when temps fell below freezing, in which case I would wear pants UNDER a skirt or dress. In short, it sucked.

I wrote my grad thesis on the status of women in publishing. I’ve worked in male-dominated industries for years, and I published a book about AI in 2017. I’m disrupting perceptions of women and aging, and talking about the $15T (yup, trillion) in spending that many advertisers are leaving on the table (or out in the woods) by not targeting my demographic.

Sometimes I feel today as if I really AM in the wilderness, surrounded by tech bros, ageism, and catty women and the male-built algorithms rather than wild beasts and poisonous plants.

I no longer have my tissue box (which would only have been good for wiping tears anyway). But I have my words and AI prompting skills. So here goes….

I’m not a man-hater. On the contrary. I love working with and for them.

But consider this my modern-day tissue box. Equally useful. And the beans have been replaced by a BOT.

Be aware. Know the facts. Let’s keep choice alive.

Find YOUR NERVE here.