The Medium Of Money And The Women Who Wield It Thesis By Marianna Mott Newirth

The Medium of Money & Women Who Wield It
Axis of Understanding Ways Women Relate to Money

Marianna Mott Newirth

The New School for General Studies | Master’s Thesis in Media Studies

June 2008
mmn104@gmail.com

______________________________________________________________________________
Master’s Student Date

Professor Peter Haratonik
______________________________________________________________________________
Primary Thesis Advisor Date

Professor Barry Salmon
______________________________________________________________________________
Second Reviewer/Academic Advisor Date

Professor Shannon Mattern
______________________________________________________________________________
Director of Graduate Studies Date

Signature Page

The Medium of Money and the Women Who Wield It

For my mother, Janet French Cramer

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Abstract

This thesis is an investigation into money as a medium of communication and how

women construct identities and relay messages in the world. Money is intricately

intertwined into every element of Western culture. As women achieve unprecedented

levels of power and influence so too does their use of money. In examining what is

popularly referred to as the Three Waves of the Feminist Movement1, the theory of

money as a medium of communication2, and case studies conducted in New York City, a

matrix is constructed and an axis revealed which helps frame an important inquiry for the

current and rising generation: “How does woman change the contours of society as a

result of direct access to and control over her own money?”

1
Eisenberg, Bonnie & Ruthsdotter, Mary: National Women’s History Project 1998 http://www.legacy98.org &
http://thirdwavefoundation.org/about/growth
2
McLuhan, Marshall: Understanding Media - The Extensions of Man The MIT Press 1994
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Table of Contents
1) Introduction: Emerging Cultural Attitudes of Women and Their Money

Thesis Proposal
2) Feminism and the Cumulative Effect on Cultural Thinking

Introduction

Turn-of-the-Century: Emerging Feminism – Giving Voice to an Idea

Feminism 1940 to 1970: Icons of the Working Woman

Turn into the Twenty First Century
3) Theory on Media, Money & Women

Introduction

Media Theory

Money as Metaphor
• Metaphor
• Money
Feminist Theory: Women and Woman
4) Woman - Early in the Twenty First Century

Introduction

On-line Survey: Forty-two Women in the Greater New York Area

Case Studies: Six New York Women
• Jennifer: Choosing to be Frugal
• Linda: Truth & Justice
• Maria: Don’t Worry Be Happy
• Victoria: By Trial and Error
• Esther: Taking Care of Business
• Miriam: Sleeping Beauty Gets a Cold Shower

Findings from the Case Studies
History
Present

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Analyzing the Data

Introducing the Axis
Relationally Oriented Wealth
Wellness Oriented Wealth
Material Oriented Wealth
5) Conclusion: Axis of Understanding Ways Women Relate to Money

6) Recommendations for Further Study

Appendix 1 Victor Hugo
Appendix 2 Executive Order 10980
Appendix 3 On Line Questionnaire
Appendix 4 Interview Protocol

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Chapter One: Emerging Cultural Attitudes | Women & Money
This thesis is an investigation into the intersection of money as a tool of

communication, women’s studies, and cultural attitudes in our society. The topic of

women and money is an evolving media story as businesses focus on women as the next

economic growth area. Programs such as Key4Women with the Cleveland based

financial institution, Key Bank, are established to encourage and support women as well

as men in starting and sustaining their own business. Organizations such as Catalyst, a

not-for-profit company that works with global corporations to foster the advancement of

women in the work place, are thriving. Women in America are present in the work force

more than ever before in history.3

Standing upon the shoulders of former generations, young American women enter

the work force today confident and in command of their careers4. They are capable of

using their money as they see fit and free to choose what they will do with it. This

freedom can give an individual the ability to express herself and her opinions through her

actions as a consumer as well as a contributor to the gross national product. Women in

the early days of the feminist movement had their voice to change the world. Women

today have their voice and their wallet get the job done. This is a realization that is just

beginning to be understood and embraced.

Many questions can be asked in relation to these changes. Does the shifting

cultural norms of women and money lead to a fundamental shift in the way money is

regarded, utilized and taught as a tool of communication? Is the current social use of

3
US Department of Labor Women’s Bureau Statistics & Data 2007
4
US Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics
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money influenced by the fact that women have greater earning potential than ever before

in modern history? In what way are women changing how they rely on men? Given the

accomplishment of women in the work force over the last century5 are they starting to

relate to the concept of money in a way that is fundamentally different from what it has

been historically? How is increased control over money contributing to women

constructing new identities; individually and collectively? There is no simple equation to

use which will help answer these questions.

Certainly “women & money” is a topic with many important avenues. Questions

about race, gender and economic equality have great influence over people’s attitudes

and behavior about money. For the purpose of this study I focus on three things: the

economic path women have been on for the past 100 years; theory on money, media and

women; and a snap shot of contemporary thinking. I delimit my study to middle class

women over the age of forty, living and working in the Metropolitan New York area. I

base this on the idea that the middle class is – as its name dictates – the midway range

between extremes in economy and thinking. The goal is to construct a matrix to outline

and display a process of shifting attitudes and how one particular medium - money - is

undergoing a change in purpose.

The selection of women over the age of forty is significant. The median age of

women in the American workforce is currently 41. It is projected to be close to 43 by

20186. Regardless of marital status or the number of dependents they declare, women

5
Census info here
6
US Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics; Employment Projections www.bls.gov/emp/emplab08.htm
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over forty are in their peak earnings period.7 With retirement age looming closer, the

decades of ages forty, fifty and sixty are critical in women’s professional lives.

Chapter Two begins with a brief look at the history of women in and out of the

work force beginning around 1848. I chronicle the path and landmark events that usher

what would come to be called the Women’s Movement through to the new century. The

purpose is to cite a few key people and popular icons of the era that drive the cause of

women’s earnings forward.

In Chapter Three I explore select theories on media, money and women. Basing

my theory on the writings of Marshall McLuhan, Gregory Bateson and Chandra Talpade

Mohanty (using Georg Simmel’s seminal work, The Philosophy of Money, as a

foundation,) this chapter lays a particular ground work from which to interpret the topic

of women and money. This serves to give a clear understanding of my point of view from

which I study the women currently living and working in New York; those presented in

chapter four.

Chapter Four describes the case studies conducted for this thesis. Two studies

were made, one as an on-line survey and one as face to face interviews. From these two

studies I create a matrix to reveal what I anticipate as framework from which to develop a

new set of questions to ask and explore. It is not necessarily answers that will be helpful

in breaking up current reality but the questions which will lead to a new understanding of

the world we are in control of.

7
Women at Work: A Visual Essay - Monthly Labor Review, October 2003
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Chapter Five brings together these ideas and contextualizes the framework which

I form in chapter four. Chapter Six is a listing of recommendations and suggestions for

further study on this topic. I consider next steps to continue expanding on the ideas

presented.

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Thesis Proposal

In the first quarter of 2007 I submitted a thesis proposal. During the course of study, a

path emerged which I could not have predicted. Summary of my proposal is included

here to show the origins of this thesis.

________________________________________

Money is a powerful medium historically handled by men. In the last fifty years the
acquisition and control of money has become considerably more egalitarian. I want to
look at the message money conveys today and how this medium is taught, wielded and
used to shape the future, not only as a means of economic change but as a powerful social
force.

“The personal and social consequences of any medium –
that is, of any extension of ourselves – result from the new
scale that is introduced into our affairs by each extension of
ourselves, or by any new technology.”8

This study takes a glimpse into a very specific group; a cross section of forty-year-old
women living in the New York area representing three distinct economic classes. My
goal is to provide a deepened awareness of the messages of money that are relayed in our
society and how they differ or converge depending upon gender and class. Based upon
the assumption that money is a medium with equal strength to any technology, where
does the transformation occur from money being merely a means of economic exchange
into a powerful social force? Using a foundation from academics including Marshall
McLuhan, Gregory Bateson, I will do a series of case studies involving women in their
forties in three specific class groups; upper, middle and lower class. In this instance I will
conduct interviews and gather background particular to these groups. The intention is to
a)determine the assumptions these women have about money, b)learn what their
education about money was as they grew up, c)observe how money has formed the
reality for these groups and d)examine the commonalties and differences among these
women. The result will be a comparative study of the perception of money and the
messages it sends as generated by women in three economic groups in New York.

The relevance of this study to the field of media studies and media practices is the
illumination of a system that has great influence over people’s decision making. Like any

8
McLuhan, Marshall. Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man. Cambridge, MA MIT Press 1994 p.7

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medium, money has the power to affect attitudes, beliefs and behavior. How people relate
to and use money has a profound impact upon the field of media. If but one segment of
our vast society were to grasp the system that drives our culturally obsessive cycle of
earning and spending then there is an opportunity for us to realize a greater purpose for
this power medium and put it to healthy use.

Money is a driving force and by examining money as a medium – as an extension of
ourselves – we can begin to notice the unconscious way we wield money as a
replacement for who we take ourselves to be. The focus on women and class helps to
hone in on one half of the population that is growing in economic power and financial
control. Women – in modern history - have always used money. Now they are making
money and there are significant shifts taking place in the messages they deliver. It is
worth studying those messages for clues to the future of our growth as a society.

I begin with a survey sent electronically to 500+ women in the greater New York area
early this summer. Given a probable 2% response rate I can anticipate hearing back from
a total of ten women. Each of my interviews will consist of the same questions. My
observations will be logged onto a spread sheet that will begin to reveal the similarities
and differences of the women’s responses. I will also track my own personal observations
of money as media during this process.

I expect to draw together a sociological overview of women and money - from the
restricted focal point of New York City - to better understand the existing taxonomies
applied to women and finances and discover potential new extensions of themselves that
they can forge with their money, their media.

I have been in the work force for over twenty five years as a not-for-profit, for-profit and
self employed individual. Working full-time and raising two children, I took my studies
at The New School very slowly. During this extended academic period I have enjoyed a
wide range of study opportunities while my career has evolved in surprising ways. This
thesis is a culmination of my educational and life experience over the last four and a half
years; it represents my greatest academic challenge to date.

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Chapter Two: Feminism and the Cumulative Effect on
Cultural Thinking

Woman will always be dependent until she holds a purse of her own.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815-1902)

Introduction
It is a human trait to assume that the way things are, are the way things always

will be; to operate out of the idea that the current situation is the norm. Noticeable change

only comes once in a great while in the form of a cathartic, disruptive event worthy of

great works of art. It was a common remark after the attacks of September 11, 2001 to

say “everything’s changed,” perhaps as a way of making reason out of such unreasonable

acts. Change, for better or worse, is a natural force in life and has been at work every

moment throughout history. Cultural attitudes and assumptions that appear to have “long

shelf lives” do in fact change and drift with each successive generation. The nature of

being for a Human Being, it can be said, is in balancing the need for stability with the

inevitable force of change. It is in this balance that I look at the changing economic

condition and attitudes of women in Western society.

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Turn-of-the-Century: Emerging Feminism – Giving Voice to an Idea
Historically, by the turn of the 20th century,

a great deal of awareness building and activism had

already been taking place in terms of women’s

rights. A periodical published in Brattleboro, VT,

circa 1888, quoted Victor Hugo on the cover: “The

Nineteenth Century is Women’s Century.”

America had boomed with the Second Industrial

Revolution and was drawing people from around

the world to the land of opportunity. Seeing this

rise in economic prosperity, many women realized

that not only were they ignored as a vital part of

the plan but entire groups, fiscally and racially different, had not even been considered.

This was unacceptable in the eyes of a few extraordinary people.

Lucretia Coffin Mott was a distinguished abolitionist, founding member of the

women’s rights movement and my great, great, great, grandmother. She wrote many an

impassioned article and worked with like-minded individuals to advance awareness and

foster change on the condition of human rights in America. Among her most noted works

was a document drafted with Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the Declaration of Sentiments,

inspired by the United States Constitution. Mott, Stanton and others presented this

declaration to an audience of women and men at the first Women’s Rights Convention in

Seneca Falls, New York on July 19, 1848.

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The opening statement to the Declaration of Sentiments is based on a familiar and

famous statement:

We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men and
women are created equal.9

The declaration listed a number of grievances, among them;

He has monopolized nearly all the profitable employments,
and from those she is permitted to follow, she receives but
a scanty remuneration10

and;

He has taken from her all right in property, even to the
wages she earns.11

This event marked, perhaps, the first time an organized group of women stood up

to declare their economic autonomy in modern Western civilization. Their disruptive

document launched a movement that continues to present day.

The year following the Seneca Falls Convention Mott published “A Discourse On

Women.” In it she critiques a lecture given by a fellow Quaker and member of the

Society of Friends, noting how it was “fraught with sentiments calculated to retard the

progress of woman to the high elevation destined by her Creator.”12 She made an

impassioned argument against restrictive thinking among “intelligent and refined”13

company which resulted in a deadening of the spirit among all capable woman. She

understood the pull of human nature and challenged the assumption that “the present is

9
Declaration of Independence; Stanton, Elizabeth Cady (1849) http://www.nps.gov/archive/wori/home.htm
10
ditto
11
ditto
12
James and Lucretia Mott: Life and Letters; Hallowell, Anna Davis, The Riverside Press - Houghton,
Mifflin & Co. (1884) p.487
13
ditto p. 488
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the original state designed for woman”14 making the point that it was indeed, not. She

presented a scenario wherein woman and man together rose to their true and proper

position as fully functional adults in society both contributing the highest of their

potential and denying the allure of “mannish” or “womanish” affectation. Being Quaker,

vanity was looked down upon as it lessened the potential of the individual. Mott was a

humanist who saw the elevation of the status of woman a benefit to society as a whole

and not as a diminishing of man’s role in the world. Indeed, she did not support the

efforts toward a women’s right to vote, having what appeared to be a particular loathing

for politics. She was content to remain focused on the betterment of human kind. Lucretia

Mott had an inherent (one might say naive) trust that the natural goodness of mankind

would shine through. She did not think that it would require policy, laws and enforcement

to maintain intelligent thinking. Alas the pull of entrenched behavior and thinking never

fully goes away.

A great enemy of progress is justification of the existing social order; believing

that the way things are will never change. Mott knew she had to alter the thinking of the

day and took on that task by delivering her message again and again and again as her

relentlessness dictated. She understood the tools required to cross the chasm of societal

norms and wielded them with what precision and passion she could yield, which appears

to have been considerable. Quoting the King James Bible, Mott was known to have often

said; “Good to be always zealously affected in a good thing.”15

14
ditto p. 492
15
www.quaker.org/mott/
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Mott was not alone. Late nineteenth century maverick, Walter Matthew

Gallichan, and his 1910 publication, Modern Woman and How to Manage Her, was an

attempt to throw down long held beliefs. The title is misleading to the words he wrote.

The Christian English gentleman, reared in the doctrine of
St. Paul concerning the subjection of women, can scarcely
imagine a state in which women are the directors of
legislation, the heads of families, the dominant sex. He tells
you that such a condition is unthinkable; it never has been,
and never will be. The average Christian English gentleman
is, however, not addicted to deep reflection upon social
problems, and in nine cases out of ten, he knows next to
nothing of the moral codes, manners, and marriage customs
of other nations. His eye is fixed upon England, and usually
upon one little corner of it. He talks about “thinking
Imperially.” He is anything but cosmopolitan in his outlook
on human life. Men of this parochial bias vehemently
oppose the elevation of women, and fear the rule of woman
as a final social catastrophe. They are ignorant of the fact
that, among many of the most civilized of ancient races, the
Matriarchate was the custom of the country for hundreds of
year; and that the headship of woman is in existence today
among many peoples of the earth.16

Gallichan was a man ahead of his time. Ten years after he penned this passage the

Women’s Bureau of the US Department of Labor was formed via a Congressional

mandate to “represent the needs of wage-earning women in the public policy process.”17

16
Harvard University – Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America / Gallichan, Walter
Matthew. Modern Woman and How to Manage Her. New York: J. Lane Co., 1910
17
US Department of Labor Women’s Bureau Historic Overview www.dol.gov/wb/info_about_wb/interwb.htm
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Feminism 1940 to 1970: Icons of The Working Woman
By the time America was into the Second World War, what would come to be called the

Second Wave of the feminist movement was emerging. Many factors lead to a

breakthrough in the early 1960’s which brought about a change in popular attitudes

towards women, changes which are now taken for granted. After a century of women and

men speaking up, the notion of quot;women's workquot; was truly starting to show change. By

the 1930's huge advances in women's lives had been made. Medical and law schools

opened their doors to women, the American Medical Association had been admitting

women for nearly twenty years, 10% of doctors across the country, and about 2% of

lawyers and judges, were women. As the world spun into World War II nearly 300,000

women served in the Army and the Navy. This horrific time in history offered great

opportunity for women in this country. The work force had no choice but to open its

doors to women in hard labor jobs. “Rosie the Riveter” had arrived and that powerful

image of strength, femininity and capability transformed the realm of possibility for their

future employment. This was a very important time in women’s history, serving to dispel

a number of myths about the notion of feminine limitations and masculine identity.

Women entered the work force, their numbers grew every decade and the money they

earned was now legally theirs.

No longer taboo, the topic of women in the work force was a given and with it, a change

of attitudes on what was deemed socially acceptable. But there remained a very long way

to go. With the barriers brought down, or lessened at the least, the challenge to woman

was just beginning; inventing one’s self image. There was a great deal to learn and those

who knew were not so eager to teach.

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There has long been a feeling that women, besides bearing
other handicaps, are most seriously inconvenienced
because of their lack of wealth and income. More recently
there has been much idle talk about the notion that in
reality a large amount of the wealth and income of the
country is, after all, in the hands of women. This study
shows that the economic position of women is relatively
high and that women do own, control, and receive large
amounts of wealth and income. Women ought to be
conscious of their economic status in a world in which
financial control is so predominant a factor. A high
economic position and economic independence have been
important elements in shaping the freedom of action of
women in this country. It is unmistakable that the economic
status of women has much to do with defining and
establishing their social status, social privileges, and
immunities, and also in giving them the power to gain
greater opportunities for themselves.18

Well into the 20th century women were earning and wielding an impressive amount of

money though the perception remained of “a man’s world” that a woman must conform

to. Who were the one’s keeping this perception alive? It is quite possible that women

themselves held most staunchly to the attitudes and ideals that kept their status in place.

Again the tendency to maintain the status quo was strong. The move toward

independence was fraught with resistance and it remained easier to just keep things they

way they were rather than push out for change – though change was happening anyway.

Icons of the day illustrate this conflict. Marilyn Monroe, for example, was a successful,

rich, influential and independent woman who made a name for herself as a symbol of

subordination. One could say that her overpowering message of sexual vulnerability

lulled the establishment into allowing her to create and practice her own brand. She

wielded what she had and ultimately opened her own production studio in 1956. Over six

years she managed to recast herself from dumb blond to complex female lead and 20th

18
Branch, Mary Sydney; Women and Wealth: A Study of the Economic Status of American Women – The
University of Chicago Press 1934
- 18 -


century icon. Looking at her in the context of this paper, Monroe gave the world a classic

rags to riches princess story. She was not more than a sex symbol she was a success

symbol. Contrast Monroe’s image with the 1945 image of Rosie the Riveter, strong,

capable and patriotic. It’s an interesting side note that Monroe was discovered in 1944

while working on the assembly line at the Radio Plane Munitions factory in Burbank,

California. Rosie the Riveter emerged simultaneously with Marilyn Monroe but with a

very different message. WWII brought about a paradigm shift in the perception of

feminine power and potential. Far from “mannish” as Lucretia Mott so eloquently

penned, there was a redefining of femininity and strength. By 1962, a year after

President Kennedy signed Executive Order 10980 establishing the President’s

Commission on the Status of Women, Marilyn Monroe was gone and the nation was into

a different kind of war. A year later Betty Friedan published The Feminine Mystique and

the nation responded.

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19

20

21

19
Eisenstaedt, Alfred; Marilyn Monroe 1953 Gelatin Silver © Time Inc.
20
quot;Richmond Weldersquot; Courtesy of the Family of Margaret Fong http://www.rosietheriveter.org/
21
Rockwell, Norman; Rosie the Riveter 1943 The Saturday Evening Post, May 29, 1943 (cover)
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In the late fifties, a sociological phenomenon was suddenly
remarked: a third of American women now worked, but
most were no longer young and very few were pursuing
careers. They were married women who held part-time
jobs, selling or secretarial, to put their husbands through
school, their sons through college, or to help pay the
mortgage. Or they were widows supporting families. Fewer
and fewer women were entering professional work. The
shortages in the nursing, social work, and teaching
professions caused crises in almost every American city.
Concerned over the Soviet Union's lead in the space race,
scientists noted that America's greatest source of unused
brain-power was women. But girls would not study
physics: it was quot;unfeminine.quot; A girl refused a science
fellowship at Johns Hopkins to take a job in a real-estate
office. All she wanted, she said, was what every other
American girl wanted--to get married, have four children
and live in a nice house in a nice suburb.22

At home, men were ideally considered the bread winner and much energy was put into

reinforcing that notion. In upper and middle-class homes, women’s earnings most often

went to the husband for management; his wages continued to hold far more significance.

She could help pay for the vacations, the dinners out and family gifts. Her money, while a

help to the family, retained a second class status. If her salary stopped coming in, the

perception was that the family would still survive and everyone would be fine. Whether

or not there was actually a man in the home was irrelevant. The popular perception of the

day gave the husband top ranking, if he lost his job that was cause for serious concern.

All this is pointing to the continued idea that women were not in charge of their money;

ownership was a tough idea to embrace for the every-day man and woman. The concept

that a woman could work had finally been accepted but the idea that a woman could work

and fulfill her true potential in life was still far and away from being an easy one to

accept. In fact, there came a point when women took a huge step back:

22
Friedan, Betty; The Feminine Mystique, Mass Market Paperback 1963

21


Turn into the Twenty First Century
It is too early to make generalizations about the working woman of the twenty first

century. Women who proudly claimed the title “feminist” in the last decades of the

twentieth century have granddaughter’s who, in the first decade of the new century, reject

that classification. Countless web logs and websites themed around women and feminism

are fueling a virtual debate over what is feminism today and reasons to be or not be a

feminist. Clearly the work started 100 years ago is making a difference in the lives of

everyone in this country today. The key is to keep the dialogue going. What was believed

to be entrenched thinking in 1908 is considered archaic today.

Money is an extension of ourselves; I am the money that I have. What is valued in our

society is the amount of money we possess. This is a time honored way for men to assess

their self worth which may explain why a man’s occupation and compensation have been

of such supreme importance for so long. In a society that has traditionally kept the

ownership of money away from women the dysfunction they have with the concept of

money is no surprise. No one argues the point that women are capable of managing

money. The roadblock is in their own relation to it. For a woman, her priorities differ

from that of her male counterpart. For women, their self worth has been wrapped up in

more than money for well more than 100 years.

We do not relate to it until we are in extreme, life-changing
situations in which we have no choice but to confront
money matters. Until then, we don’t apply [our] primal,
nurturing impulse when it comes to taking care of our
money—and by extension, ourselves...23

23
Orman, Suze; Women and Money, Spiegel & Grau New York 2007 p.12

22


Chapter Three: Theory on Media, Money & Women
“…Our money is indeed an extension of ourselves.” Suze Orman24

Introduction:
I open this chapter with the punch line from Orman’s quote on the previous chapter, as an

example of a theoretical concept about money successfully making its way into current

popular consciousness, particularly as it pertains to women. In fact, from the time this

thesis was started in early 2007, numerous publications have emerged on the topic of

women and money. A feature article in Town & Country magazine, which caters to high-

net-worth women, tackled this topic head on in February 2008 with The Town & Country

Guide to Women and Wealth by Joanna L Krotz. Her message was simple; “You can’t

live happily ever after if you don’t take care of your money – it’s as simple as that.”25

This chapter investigates three things; media theory, the concept of money as a metaphor,

and basic feminist theory. Its purpose is to build an alternate platform for regarding the

overall topic of women and money. As already discussed in the previous chapter, human

nature dictates a constant referral to past ways of thinking and behaving. This chapter

starts to open up our thinking about the position and usage of money from a behavioral,

causal structure. We talk about the economy driving our society; more to the point is our

society that is driving the economy. If we accept the thought that money is a medium of

expression we have the opportunity to look at money in a new light. As Marshall

McLuhan said, “The latest approach to media study considers not only the ‘content’ but

the medium and the cultural matrix within which the particular medium operates.”26

24
Orman, Suze; Women & Money Spiegel & Grau New York 2007 p.12
25
Krotz, Joanna L. The Town & Country Guide to Women and Wealth Town & Country mag Feb 2008
26
McLuhan, Marshall; Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man The MIT Press 1994 p.11

23


Media Theory

Few would disagree with the claim that media and culture
today are of central importance to the maintenance and
reproduction of contemporary societies. Societies, like
species, need to reproduce to survive, and culture cultivates
attitudes and behavior that predisposes people to consent to
established ways of thought and conduct, thus integrating
individuals into a specific socioeconomic system…with
media and culture playing such important roles in
contemporary life, it is obvious that we must come to
understand our cultural environment if we want control
over our lives.27

This introduction from KeyWorks, by Douglas Kellner and Meenakshi Gigi Durham,

suitably frames this thesis and my reason for pursuing a graduate degree. Media Studies

is the broad investigation into the messages we receive and dispatch every day. The

ability to understand the sources of these messages should help individuals gain some

semblance of autonomy over their actions and decisions as well as some perspective on

the messages that are fed to us from infancy. Marshall McLuhan presented the concept

that media is an extension of ourselves. In other words, I am more than the reach of my

arm or the distance my voice can carry on the wind. I am actually extended via the

computer I am using to write this paper, or the light I turn on to read the books I

purchased, stacked up next to my computer, which, in themselves, are further extensions

of myself out into the world. As I surround myself with items [media] and send my

messages to others, I construct an identity. In a collective manner, as we each construct

extensions of ourselves, our scale of impact increases in the world. So vast is this impact

that the articles we use to construct and relay our identities are rendered invisible even as

they exist and proliferate before our eyes.

27
Kellner, Douglas & Durham, Meenakshi Gigi: Media and Cultural Studies KeyWorks Blackwell
Publishers Ltd. 2001 Adventures in Media and Cultural Studies: Introducing the KeyWorks p.1

24


In the years after WWII there was a rich investigation into the theory of mass

communication and its impact on cultural mores. It was during the years preceding and

during the war that the power of mass media became evident in the guise of propaganda.

Hitler rose to power riding on the back of a multi media campaign. The US government

quickly learned to counter with propaganda of their own, feeding messages to its citizens

moving them to give valiantly to the war effort. After the war, short films were shown to

those same women working at factories across the country showing a women putting

down her rivet gun and happily returning home to start a family. This worked too and

gave rise to the Boomer generation. These were powerfully effective messages which

made a deep impact on society.

The media that most people understand and relate to – television and radio – are for

McLuhan, extensions of the eye and ear. What of those cultural forms that are overlooked

as media? McLuhan defined elements as a medium that many would overlook. For

example in his landmark work, Understanding Media, he distinguished the spoken word

and the written word and then he moved on to discuss such things as roads and paper

routs, numbers, housing, money and clocks. What did all that have to do with media? For

McLuhan, it had everything to do with media. A light bulb is a pure form of media and,

as McLuhan pointed out, we only notice this medium when it is used to convey another

type of medium; or, more on point these days, when it stops working and suddenly ceases

to convey the message. For example; a billboard with giant rows of lights, is placed on

the NJ Turnpike. Our little light bulb conveys part of the dot on top of the i in the word

Life Insurance. You get the message as you drive by; “Buy our life insurance or put your

family in peril.” But what you don’t get is the pure medium of the light bulb, you only get

25


the content of the message that the light bulb is translating. What if there was no light

bulb? With the invention of the electric light came a greatly expanded world view. “It is

the medium that shapes and controls the scale and form of human association and

action…indeed, it is only too typical that the ‘content’ of any medium blinds us to the

character of the medium.”28 Today we have a rare opportunity to experience a refreshed

understanding of a pervasive and decentralized medium with the emergence of the

compact fluorescent bulb. We are once again, for a brief time, aware of the light bulb as a

light bulb and much commentary on its political correctness and effect in the world is

currently being generated throughout popular culture. While it is possible this light bulb

will have immense cultural and environmental impact, it’s a sure bet that in the long run

no one will remember the light bulb as being the cause of the shift.

A similar example can be made with the clock. Lewis Mumford, in his 1956 essay “The

Monastery and the Clock” stated that it was “the clock, not the steam-engine [that] is the

key-machine of the modern industrial age.”29 The introduction of a mechanical measuring

machine into medieval monasteries to coordinate communal prayer turned out, according

to Mumford, to be a disruptive technology. The church was seeking structure after the fall

of the Roman Empire and embraced this new medium that translated order into

measurable units. This new concept – labeled time – ushered in a slow burning revolution

which no one could predict or control. By the turn of the century this monastic measuring

machine had shifted the very foundations of social structure.

The richer classes first took over the new mechanism and
popularized it; partly because they alone could afford it,

28
McLuhan, Marshall; Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man The MIT Press 1994 p. 9
29
Mumford, Lewis; The Human Prospect Secker and Warburg 1956

26


partly because the new bourgeoisie were the first to
discover that, as Franklin later put it, ‘time is money.’ To
become ‘as regular as clockwork’ was the bourgeois ideal,
and to own a watch was for long a definite symbol of
success.”30

Today we have the clock order our sleeping and eating patterns. It is the clock and –

subsequently – the calendar which informs us when to work, when to relax, when to

celebrate or mourn (eg: Thank God it’s Friday to I Hate Mondays.) The clock gave birth

to the concept of time which, in itself, is completely arbitrary in nature and invisible yet

has become maddeningly pervasive and dictatorial over our modern lives. This is a fine

example of media, which we don’t recognize as such, being as powerful as a hand gun in

determining a person’s fate. How, then, do we make the jump from light bulbs and clocks

to money? Dr. Benjamin Franklin has already provided us with a transition;

Time is Money.

“All media are active metaphors in their power to translate experience into new forms.

The spoken word was the first technology by which man was able to let go of his

environment in order to grasp it in a new way.”31 We are driven to explore relationships

between people and things. Media is our vehicle to convey one idea into another form or

idea in hopes of gaining a new understanding of the thing. A concept such as light, or

time, or money, will never remain just what it is. Already we are forming novel

relationships to computers and computing – a relative new-comer to the communication

arsenal – by forming metaphors which help us deepen our grasp of this cutting edge

technology. As McLuhan continues; “Technologies are ways of translating one kind of

30
Mumford, Lewis; The Human Prospect Secker and Warburg 1956
31

27


knowledge into another…[it is] a kind of ‘spelling out’ of forms of knowing.”32 Today

we have taken the concept, or theme, of money and formed an entire culture around it. So

pervasive and global is the economic culture that we reference relationships from the

monetary culture; (eg. “you can bank on it” “bet your bottom dollar” “Mr. Money Bags”

or “don’t be cheap”) We translate value through economic terms because it is money we

value and it is what we can DO with money that we are often evaluated by our peers.

“For just as a metaphor transforms and transmits experience, so do the media…It is in

this way that by seeing one set of relations through another set that we store and amplify

experience in such forms as money. For money is also a metaphor. And all media as

extensions of ourselves serve to provide new transforming vision and awareness.”33

32
33
Ibid p.59-60

28


Money as a Metaphor
Met·a·phor: a figure of speech in which a word or phrase denoting one kind of object or action is used in
place of another to suggest a likeness or analogy between them.34

Mon·ey: something generally accepted as a medium of exchange, a measure of value, or a means of
payment.35

It can be argued that humans relate to the world around them either metaphorically or

scientifically. As this is not a scientific thesis we will look at money as a metaphor.

Clichés such as: time is money; money makes the world go around; money talks; money

is power, money is the root of all evil; punctuate the fact that we are unable to discuss

money as money. We are only able to discuss money by means of relationship. We

ascribe enormous authority to money and in doing so have thrust upon it a relation not

unlike that of parent/child, particularly when it comes to women. Before delving into this,

however, it is helpful to consider what constitutes a metaphor.

Metaphor
Gregory Bateson, in Steps to an Ecology of Mind, explores the Primary Process or

“operations of the unconscious”36 that we develop as contrasted to Secondary Process, or

conscious, verbalized thoughts. “In primary process the things or persons are usually not

identified, and the focus of the discourse is upon the relationships which are asserted to

obtain between them. This is really only another way of saying that the discourse of

primary process is metaphoric.”37 Bateson’s focus is on the relatia between an individual

and the people and things the individual deals with. Metaphor serves as a paintbrush,

34
Grove, Philip Babcock (Editor in Chief); Webster’s Third New International Dictionary of the English
Language Unabridged, Merriam-Webster Inc 1993 p.1420
35
Ibid p.1458
36
Bateson, Gregory Steps to and Ecology of Mind; Jason Aronson Inc. 1972 p.139
37
Ibid

29


allowing the individual to form a picture about any given relationship. This is convenient

as, in most cases of a healthy individual this leaves the “real” relationship one or two

steps removed; untouched, unthreatened and intact. Primary Process occurs in the

subconscious, a region that is purely emotive. There is no conscious management over

these primary emotions – one reason why they are submerged – but they remain a

cohesive element of an individual and have an impact to one degree or another. In

curbing the primary reflexes to any given relatia, the individual automatically constructs

metaphors to “soften the hit” of reality. So soft, in fact, that “there are no markers to

indicate to the conscious mind that the message material is metaphoric.”38 This is to say

that everything we engage, we construct a relation to while simultaneously wrapping it in

metaphor to understand it better while maintaining a safe distance. This is a mechanism

most of us learn to build from toddler hood and it is so highly regulated that we can not

easily see it functioning. It is only in the course of dysfunction that the mechanism of

metaphor becomes evident.

One reason we may stop seeing media as media and resort to metaphor is that – quite

simply – we have limits to our consciousness. No one individual can possibly hope to

achieve “Total Consciousness.” Even the Dali Lama, or a master of TM sitting atop a

mountain, has limits to conscious awareness. “No organism can afford to be conscious of

matters with which it could deal at unconscious levels.” 39 We sink many things into the

subconscious which are not required for daily recall. In Batesonian terms, we resort to an

economy of consciousness, filing away items not needed for basic self preservation in

order to recall them later through metaphor.

38
Bateson, Gregory Steps to and Ecology of Mind; Jason Aronson Inc. 1972 p.142
39
Ibid p.143

30


Money
Media are extensions of ourselves and money is a medium we use to translate messages.

Usually it is a message of power, conveying our ideas to others. Money is also an

exchange of goods as well as concepts. McLuhan in his chapter, Money, in

Understanding Media, reflects upon the evolution of exchange. He did this by looking at

early apes swinging from branch to branch; an apt metaphor. In order to move to the next

tree to locate the better banana the ape had to let go and reach out to grasp another branch

and another and another. The ape also had to watch where he was going so he didn’t miss

the branch and end up on the jungle floor. Currency, if you are able to truly watch it

being used, operates much in the same way as the branch did. Money goes from hand to

hand, giving a lift to those who grip it, swing it and let it go. It works well when a lot of

people keep this system. It doesn’t work so well when fear of “falling” has people hold

onto it for dear life. Money works when it is passed around. Even credit relies on the

same function. I work a job. A person who works for the same company I do, transfers a

series of numbers, representing my earned money, into my checking account. I take that

number on my computer screen and release a portion of it to our landlord. I never

actually see a dollar bill in front of me yet the grasping and letting go remains. The

impact of my not releasing the money is enormous so every month I release it. When we

stop using money it rapidly looses its value and our society begins to atrophy. The value

we place on money is the value we place on ourselves. When the dollar is “strong”,

America is strong. When the dollar is “weak”, we are weak.

“’Money talks’ because money is a metaphor, a transfer,
and a bridge…money is a storehouse of communally
achieved work, skill and experience…as a vast social
metaphor, bridge, or translator, money – like writing –

31


speeds up exchange and tightens the bonds of
interdependence in any community”40

Those who handle the money are the ones who generally formulate metaphoric

suggestions for the rest of the society. Benjamin Franklin, credited with coining the

phrase “time is money,” in his 1748 letter “Advice to a Young Tradesman, Written by

and Old One” drew a parallel between money earned and the time spent generating it,

creating new distinctions in the area of productivity, organization and wealth.

“Remember that TIME is money…Remember that Credit is money…Remember that

money is of a prolific generating nature. Money can beget money and its offspring can

beget more.”41 Franklin, it appears, had a very sensuous relationship to money, even

ascribing to it reproductive capabilities; a most feminine power indeed.

Once we made the jump from counting goats to counting coins we imbibed the coinage

with a power that had - up to that point - been reserved for deities. [qualify this] and like

any good god out there it represented an element of ourselves; it was an extension of

ourselves. Money, like religion, was shaped and formed to our need and soon overcame

our idea of self. It was no longer like us; we became like it and forgot the originating idea

that brought it first into existence. This echoes McLuhan’s idea that the character of a

medium is easily overcome by the content it is conveying.

“Culture is produced and consumed within social life.
Thus, particular cultural artifacts and practices must be
situated within the social relations of production and
reception in which culture is produced, distributed, and

40
41
Franklin, Benjamin; The Writings of Benjamin Franklin, Volume II; Philadelphia, 1726 – 1757
www.historycarper.com

32


consumed in order to be properly understood and
interpreted.”42

Today we self identify in society based very much upon economic status. This leads me

to question, then, why women as a group remain economic second-class citizens despite

the enormous advances made in contemporary American culture.

Feminist Theory: Women and Woman
I want to spend a moment on feminist theory to make an important distinction; “Women”

and “woman.” In any generalization, we have “The Group” and we have the “individuals

in the group.” As with a figure/ground image, at first one sees the whole picture; take for

example Picasso’s 'Canvas 0' in the 'Women of Algiers' series (1955)43. Only with a

second, third and forth look does one become aware of several figures present on the

canvas. Each are very much integral to the

whole but wholly independent at the same

time.

Much study has been made into the cultural

group, “Women.” Women Studies programs

are offered at prominent academic institutions,

women’s publications, websites and cable channels. Women have held it together and

united. This has proven to be a most useful tactic and history has officially attested to its

success. Now, one hundred years into the women’s movement, the time may be ripe to

re-examine the banner which has been held up by four generations of American females.

42
Kellner, Douglas & Durham, Meenakshi Gigi: Media and Cultural Studies KeyWorks Blackwell
Publishers Ltd. 2001 Adventures in Media and Cultural Studies: Introducing the KeyWorks p.14
43
Image courtesy of The Enneagram and the MBTI http://tap3x.net/EMBTI/j7face2b.html

33


The very idea of what constitutes “women” is in process of a cultural overhaul. The

definitions at hand may very well be insufficient to the heady opportunities and great

responsibilities waiting for the next generation.

Chandra Talpade Mohanty, a highly regarded scholar of international feminist theory,

challenges the politics of representation by calling out the domineering presence of

Western methodology onto general feminist theory. This thesis does not cross the

threshold into cultures outside the United States, or even those outside of the

Metropolitan New York area, so I will not venture into the main body of her work.

However, her acclaimed essay, Under Western Eyes: Feminist Scholarship and Colonial

Discourses, provides a very useful outline of the development of “the homogeneity of

women.”44.Here she shows how society has boiled down the characterizations of women

into a singular group – Women – to better manage the whole concept.

The relationship between ‘Women’ - a cultural and
ideological composite Other constructed through diverse
representational discourses (scientific, literary, juridical,
linguistic, cinematic, etc) - and ‘women’ - real, material
subjects of their collective histories - is one of the central
questions the practice of feminist scholarship seeks to
address. This connection between women as historical
subjects and re-presentation of Woman produced by
hegemonic discourses is not a relation of direct identity, or
a relation of correspondence or simple implication; it is an
arbitrary relation set up by particular cultures.45

The process of constructing a category requires a unifying element to which many can

subscribe. History has shown the most powerful of unifying elements to be that of shared

44
Mohanty, Chandra Talpade; quot;Under Western Eyes: Feminist Scholarship and Colonial
Discoursesquot; from quot;Third World Women and the Politics of Feminism [Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana
University Press, 1991 pp 51-80] KeyWorks p. 466
45
Ibid p.463-464

34


oppression. It is the very foundation upon which the country of America was founded.

The Declaration of Independence, and the Declaration of Sentiments which was later

modeled upon it, brings together and strengthens a people who share an intolerable level

of oppression. Oppression is an easy idea for the masses to grasp; it touches on an

emotional and personal level while casting a wide net and pulling people together who

may not naturally move to do so. Women have united under the banner of oppression for

well over a century. While that banner remains a valid and useful element it has outlived

its expiration date as The Clarion Call which served many generations. Mohanty

indicates that women tend to be characterized as a singular group – a composite Other –

defined by shared oppression in society.

What binds women together is a sociological notion of the
'sameness' of their oppression…thus, the discursively
consensual homogeneity of 'women' as a group is mistaken
for the historically specific material reality of groups of
women. This result is an assumption of women as an
always already constituted group, one which has been
labeled 'powerless', 'exploited', 'sexually harassed'. Etc. By
feminist, scientific, economic, legal and sociological
discourses ...This focus is not on uncovering the material
and ideological specificities that constitute a particular
group of women as 'powerless' in a particular context. It is,
rather, on finding a variety of cases of 'powerless' groups of
women to prove the general point that women as a group
are powerless.46

The next great task of the feminist movement will be the restructuring of the assumptions

made about and by this self constituted group. Perhaps Forth Wave Feminism will be the

building of a radically different world view of “Women.” Perhaps it will be based on a

hybrid of collective reproductive powers (think Franklin) with the notion of hard won

46
Mohanty, Chandra Talpade; quot;Under Western Eyes: Feminist Scholarship and
Colonial Discoursesquot; from quot;Third World Women and the Politics of Feminism [Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana
University Press, 1991 pp 51-80] KeyWorks p. 466-7

35


freedom as only a formerly oppressed people can embrace. To coin a phrase; it is time to

find a variety of cases of powerful groups of women to prove the general point that

women as a group are powerful. Here is where the individual will stand out against the

background of Women, the group of which she is a part, to effect change. Thus we now

focus on forty eight women living and working in New York City in March of 2008.

36


Chapter Four: Woman – Early in the Twenty First Century
Introduction
With a basic background on women’s economic history and academic theory on media,

money and feminism, I now turn to contemporary woman living and working in the New

York area at the latter half of the first decade in the twenty-first century; 2007 & 2008.

This chapter gives an accounting of original work conducted for this thesis. The survey

and case studies are used to create a snap shot of a portion of a particular segment of

women in the United States at a particular point in time; August 2007 and March 2008.

Studies were issued online and face to face. The purpose was to build a matrix to better

see and understand attitudes in today’s women on the topic of money and to capture a

glimpse of these women’s upbringing to help give background to their current economic

situation and status. I also make a point of asking questions that force them to look

beyond their current situation into a future not yet visualized. The purpose there is to

capture a glimmer of what they may be building for future generations, not in the guise of

cash saved but in financial outlook and responsibility passed down.

As Mohanty talked about the difference between women as a group and woman as an

individual these case studies provide opportunities to listen to a select group of

individuals and formulate possible alternative categories with which to regard this group

called women in our contemporary society.

37


On-line Survey: Forty Two Women in the Greater New York Area
In August 2007 a questionnaire was posted on SurveyMonkey.com and a mass email sent

to approximately 200 people. (see appendix 3) Forty two women responded to the on-line

survey representing a 21% return. The full interview protocol is listed in appendix 4. The

survey was open for two months and closed in early October of 2007.

The survey consisted of ten questions in all. Five were multiple choice answers and five

asked for written answers. Participants had the option of skipping questions. All of the

participants answered how much money they had on hand but less than half responded to

the question; If there are multiple wage earners in your household, do you mark your

income for distinct purposes or do you pool all the wages as one income source? Out of

those who responded, 70% pooled their wages and 30% marked them for distinct

purposes including one who replied that she kept her income separate from her partner.

All who responded cited basic living expenses as the main use for their income. 27 of

these women said they managed the money in their household. 20 were married or

remarried, 14 were divorced or widowed and 5 were single. 3 choose to skip that

question. Just under of 75% of the participants had children and the average annual salary

of the respondents was $65,000 putting the rage of these women in the middle of the

middle-class bracket.

On average, these women carried $60 with them. All of them indicated, this is my own

money, when asked whether or not they considered the money in their wallet their own.

The racial make up of all respondents’ broke down to: 55% Caucasian; 12.5% African

American; 7.5% Hispanic; and 1% Asian. 5% of the respondents self identified as Jewish

and 5% self identified as multi racial. Rather than provide a drop down list from which

38


the participants were to choose from, I asked the question, What racial group do you

most identify with? leaving a text box for them to write in their answer. Out of the forty

two respondents, two chose not to give any racial identification. While this study does not

address issues of race, the responses give insight to this questionnaire which provides

insight into the attitudes and thinking of these women who took the time to give

information about themselves and their relationship to money.

All of the women responded to the request to list five things you can do with a $5 bill. I

created three main categories out of the 202 total answers I had to this query; Give Away,

Self, and Save/Invest. There were also two sub categories, Play and Lottery. I chose Give

Away and Self based upon the generally accepted notion that women are the care takers

and tend to take care of others over taking care of themselves and I was interested in

testing that notion. The third category, Save/Invest arose purely out of the answers of the

women themselves as did Play and Lottery.

62% of these women listed something that would benefit them such as buying a cup of

coffee at Starbucks, buying lunch or buying materials for their profession; almost 2

bottles of drawing ink is a good example. 27% indicated use for a $5.00 bill to benefit

another; for example give it to my kid for his lunch or give to charity/street performer.

10% cited saving it and/or investing it and 4% of the answers specifically indicated a

purchase of lottery tickets which I included in the tally for the category of “benefiting

them.” One person provided a couple of playful answers – make a paper airplane and

Use it as a coaster so you don’t get rings on the table. I rather like as it shows an easing

of the significance of the question and provokes one to think of money as more than just

a means to an end. Money is a tangible item to which we subscribe much significance far,

39


far beyond its physical capacity, as has already been discussed. The last question posed

on the survey was one I call a “high concept” question: If you had the power to replace

all the money in the world with something you thought had equal or greater value, what

would it be? 85% of the respondents chose to answer. One responded that she did not

understand the question.

In analyzing the various responses I categorized them into four segments; Relationship

Oriented Wealth; Health & Environment or Wellness Oriented Wealth; Education

Oriented Wealth and; Material Oriented Wealth. Some covered multiple categories in

their replies so I broke all the answers down into 44 possible responses. The category of

Relationship Oriented Wealth arose out of an understanding that these women regard the

world in more than pure economic terms. Relationship is what money needs to remain

valid; remember the monkeys swinging from branch to branch as discussed in the

previous chapter. If we experience a mass break down in inter relationship we can expect

economic structures to meet a swift and nasty end. The Health & Environment Oriented

Wealth classification is culled from the direct cry for well being in the world. As women

often are the first lines of defense against their children’s health it is understandable that

not only basic health but environmental health is a priority and therefore a valid part of

this study’s matrix. Education Oriented Wealth is presented in the same vein as Health,

woman have great influence over the general education of their children. They also put a

great deal of energy towards their own continuing education and support of an

educational system. I list Material Oriented Wealth as part of this matrix to include a

literal interpretation of this question. Women tend to rely upon metaphorical imagery to

contextualize their surroundings, but there are times when metaphors do not serve a

40


situation well such as when basic survival of the family is at stake. At those times money

is better regarded as a device to serve a specific purpose. For some women, the idea of

survival is so pervasive that they choose to stay with the literal, material relation to

money, relating to it only as a tool and not engaging in the deeper metaphorical

significance that might be there. Without dollars and cents, they will find another item to

replace the concept of money – something they can put their hands on and use as a means

of exchange.

The findings of these sub categories breakdown as follows:

• Relationship Oriented Wealth - 35% of the women taking this survey cited

relationships such as peace, love and understanding as a primary replacement for

money.

• Health & Environment/Wellness Oriented Wealth - 45% showed a desire for

health & environment, a cure for cancer or housing for all, were given as

examples to replace the money in the world with something of equal or greater

value.

• Education Oriented Wealth - 12% gave education as a sufficient replacement of

the concept of money; ideas and concepts becoming, in essence, a new means of

exchange.

• Material Oriented Wealth - 15% indicated other materials such as shells, fallen

tree leaves or gold to fill the gap for the constructed scenario of a missing

currency.

41


Case Studies: Six New York Women
In April, 2008, fifteen women were invited to participate in interviews, six women

accepted. They became the case studies for this thesis. The interviews were conducted

with a fixed interview protocol (see appendix 5) and all were audio taped. The questions

were based upon those written for the on-line survey yet focused much more upon these

women’s history with the topic of money. Half of the time was allocated to learning

about their history and early experiences with money.

Interviews were conducted over the month of March, 2008 and a flash audio recorder and

a hand held omni-mic were used to document the conversations. Of the six women

interviewed, one woman had also answered the on-line questionnaire in August. They

were all provided a copy of the abstract. Many gave the interview without reading it.

All the woman self identify as middle class and live in or work around the Chelsea

neighborhood of Manhattan. They range in age from 43 to 75. One is a single mom,

another does not have children. The remaining four are married with at least two children.

Three are currently employed by large institutions, two are entrepreneurs with established

businesses, and one is retired. The racial mix includes one person of African descent, one

Greek/American, one Italian/American and two Jewish/Americans (both hailing from an

Eastern European heritage.) One participant was born outside of the United States but,

today, has duel citizenship. All remaining participants were born in this country, most of

them in the New York area.

Half of the women were interviewed at their work place and half of them were

interviewed in my home.

42


Jennifer: Choosing to be Frugal
Jennifer owns a business with her husband in New York City. She has two children in

public school. At the time of the interview they were considering plans to move out of

New York. Their business is a successful one, but the high cost of living and doing

business in Manhattan is making it difficult to keep up. Her responses indicated that she

grew up in a comfortable environment with access to thing she wanted and needed. Her

grandparents owned a bakery and both her parents worked in that bakery for a time. Her

mother stayed home to care for the children. Once Jennifer and her brother were in their

teens and had cars of their own their mother took a job at the duty free shop in the nearby

airport. Jennifer gave no clear indication of the reasons why her mother took a job. All in

all Jennifer had a comfortable childhood and never had to put much thought towards

money. When asked about her early experiences with holding down a job she told a story

about a summer job she had as a teenager where she made over $3000 working at a

country club. Because she had no expenses she saved her money. However, her father

took it all to pay for another car for her brother who had recently totaled his own. This

was, perhaps, a seminal event in Jennifer’s experience, one that established her

relationship to the money she earned. Jennifer gives no hint of bitterness about that

incident nor does she appear to hold any ill will toward her brother. She makes a point of

indicating how her brother’s current economic situation is far better off than her own. As

mentioned, Jennifer’s situation is a tight one. Her main concern is making their high rent

every month and that concern overshadows everything she does. Jennifer typically keeps

around $100 cash on-hand. It all goes to the family and the business. When asked if she

spends any of that cash on herself she quickly answers “no.” This is a one-income family

and Jennifer has taken on the responsibility for keeping it together. She puts a brave and

43


happy face on things but acknowledges that it has really been a very difficult time and

she laments that she is unable to do the things for her kids that her parents were able to do

for her and her brother. Jennifer’s brother is living a very different situation with a much

higher income and no children. She comments on his ability to “go and see and do” all

kinds of things with his wife. Again, she does not assign blame or jealousy. Her reaction

was a bit surprising to me; “My brother and sister-in-law are childless and they make an

enormous amount of money and they just have, they do and they see and they…it’s just

amazing to see what they spend like ‘wow, that’s cool!’ A lot of people would regard that

as threatening…and I like that, you know?”

When asked to reflect on lessons she has learned and wished she had learned earlier,

Jennifer wishes she had learned about frugal living early on. She is living a rather frugal

life now, out of necessity as well as choice. Her greatest regret right now is not being able

to give her children more. Health issues with one of her children are placing further

financial and emotional drain on the family resources.

While she does not specify this in our interview, Jennifer seems to be struggling with her

own expectations and she puts a great deal of energy into being ok with things the way

they are. She is in a glamorous business – fashion photography – and can not afford to

extend much of that glamour to herself. She is an extremely hard and dedicated worker

who has contributed to the success of other people yet she personally has little to show

for it. She is quick to give away the success she has garnered. Jennifer is no “doormat”

and she is the last person to benefit from her hard work. Her self worth resides in the

achievements of her family. She will do what ever necessary to make sure their needs are

met. The money she earns is primarily for others. She has a vibrant character, is a

44


wellspring of optimism and carries herself with pride; she also has the appearance of a

woman burdened. When asked what she would replace money with she strikes a mater-

of-fact pose and replies, “Love. Ya know? I don’t know how society would do that but if

we all just shared and gave everything that would work.”

For Jennifer, it seems as though it is not about the money yet money is what must be

dealt with in order to get things done. She has a detached relationship to money which

serves its purposes. Money comes and goes with a certain amount of flexibility reflecting

the identity she has constructed. It is not in how much she has but what she can give with

what she’s got that’s important. The cost is that she relinquishes full command over her

money, it’s almost as though her money was never really meant for her in the first place.

45


Linda: Truth & Justice
Linda works for a large urban university. She and her husband have two children in

public school. They recently bought an apartment in Manhattan. Linda was born in

Liberia and came to New York thirty eight years ago with her sister to attend school.

Linda specifically indicated that she wanted to talk about her grandmother as she was the

one who had the greatest influence over her life. She and her sister spent their informative

years under her care. Linda describes her grandmother as a serious force who

accomplished much in the world. Her grandmother graduated from Columbia School of

Social Work at a time when it was quite rare for a woman of African descent to get a

degree. She put her education to work traveling in the South providing social services for

African American orphanages. Later in her life she obtained her Real Estate license

which helped her put her granddaughters through college. Linda learned, from an early

age, that one was always able to work and make one’s way in the world regardless of the

situation. Racism was a pervasive component of her grandmother’s life and despite many

roadblocks she prevailed as a social worker, a business owner and a family provider. It is

important to note that Linda’s grandfather also had a good job as a Pullman Porter on the

rail road. He contributed greatly to the family fortune but died before Linda moved to the

United States.

Education is highly regarded in Linda’s family. Everyone from her great grandparents to

her own children have been held to high academic expectations. It is no surprise when

Linda talks about her grandmother’s managing multiple bank books and buying and

selling homes and business on her own initiative. There was no one there to help her so

she figured it out on her own and did quite well at it. Linda reported that, as a college

46


student, she would try to pay for things before her grandmother could get to them to help

ease her burden. “My Grandmother would give me $25 or whatever to go down the road

and hang out with my friends. And I’d take this money and go straight to the bookstore

and I used to put the money towards what ever books were on my bill instead of waiting

for my parents who were living in Africa to send me money to pay my tuition and my book

bills and stuff. And she would say ‘oh baby, that’s for you to spend on yourself.’ And I’m

like, ‘that’s ok, I’m still spending it on myself.’”

It was only with her grandmother’s passing that Linda became aware of the sacrifices

made to help her and her sister. That realization made Linda very sad. The only time

money was discussed as a family issue was shortly before her grandmother’s death when

she called Linda at college to ask her advice, for the first time, about a major financial

decision involving their apartment. Linda’s advice on such an important topic had never

been asked for and it gave her cause for concern. Upon reflection, Linda indicates how

that phone call was most likely her Grandmother’s way of passing along the

responsibility of caring for the family to her. A few months after that conversation, she

died at home in Linda’s arms.

Today, Linda is married with two children. While her husband takes care of the big

things, such as a place to live and a car to drive, she takes care of most aspects of the

children’s daily needs with her own money. She generally keeps $25 dollars on hand to

handle little needs and treats for the children. She does rely on the debit card to handle

many of her purchases. They just bought a house and she is adjusting to the new rhythm

of living in a new neighborhood. When we discussed how they worked out the apartment

purchase together she became sharply aware of how much she did not know about her

47


husband’s finances. She was not able to fill out all the paper work for the loan application

and this realization surprised her. The purchase of the apartment is a much greater burden

than she had anticipated and is, in some ways, regretting her decision to move.

Linda makes sure the money she earns flows back into her family, a model of selfless

sacrifice learned from her grandmother. She gives to others before giving to herself. This

manifests by her appearing burdened by life. Linda is just learning new ways to regard

her money as she sees her daughter grow into a teenager. With the purchase of the

apartment she is now exploring her options for investing what money she can to help

with future expenses. No one in her past has been able to or ever thought about investing

money. While her grandmother gave experience about the value of real estate, investing it

in the stock market – for example – to grow her money is a new concept. Linda is

committed to learning how to invest her money. As she talks about this, pride and anger

accents her speech. No one told her she could do this and for the first time in her life she

is finding she can literally begin to take care of her own business without looking to her

grandmother or her husband for direction. Linda is happily married and determined to

take financial independence on for herself and to teach it to her children.

This is a cross roads for Linda. When asked what she would replace money with, Linda

took a long pause. She stumbled for words and then began to speak. As she spoke ire

grew within her as she talked about a family that could not pay for food. “All I can say is

if you know there’s a need there, the reality is that…I want to say merit but I can’t have a

word for it. It’s more or less like…truth.” She paused and took a breath. “If I could

replace money I would replace it with truth! Truth! If I could replace money I would

replace it with truth.”

48


Maria: Don’t Worry Be Happy

Maria works for the New York City public school system. She and her husband have two

children in high school. They recently bought an apartment. Maria has lived in New York

all her life and she has a husband who holds a good job. She has a rather laid back

demeanor as we sit down to discuss her relationship with money. Her family lives off of

her husband’s wages and much of her earnings go directly into a savings account. Her

mother grew up in hardship in Russia and then Greece and always took the opportunity to

point out to Maria how lucky she was as a child living in America. As a single mom and

an immigrant who didn’t speak much English the only work she could get was as a

freelance house cleaner, so life for Maria’s mother remained quite hard, though this was

apparently lost on Maria and her sister. It was not until Maria grew up and started her

own family that she could begin to appreciate the difficulties her mother went through to

care for her. Maria’s mom was actually quite an extraordinary woman, brave enough to

walk into a bank on her own and with her limited English, open bank accounts, haggle

about interest rates and establish a base from which to effectively mange her money.

Maria stated that she started working at a young age, around eight or nine, by getting any

job she could. As she grew, she got into better jobs as gained better experience. All the

money she earned or was given was pooled along with her sister’s to help manage the

house hold. She did not like that idea and argued against it but to no avail; “We had to

contribute too, ya know, it wasn’t even a question…we thought it was unfair ‘Mom, why

are you taking it, it’s ours?’ and she’d say ‘I already spent this plus a hundred times

more for you.’ so she would just take it.” Maria is taking a different approach with her

49


own children and allowing them to keep the money they earn or receive for gifts. She

wants them to have a sense of control over money from early on. One of her son’s, she

reports, is actually quite a saver who opts for a missed meal rather than break a large bill.

Maria must give him money in small bills so he is less likely to use that as an excuse for

skipping lunch at school.

When asked about the lessons she learned about managing and using money Maria sighs

and says, “I don’t have the best relationship with money. As long as we’re working…ya

know?. What are we going to do when were old? Well when were old we’ll deal with it

when were old. I really shouldn’t be that way. I should be more proactive when it comes

to money.” She is the type of individual who deals with what ever is right in front of her.

Rarely does she take the long view of things. This, as she acknowledges, has its benefits

and its detriments. She discusses the reality of college looming on the horizon for their

first child and reflects for a moment that they should do something about that but, “eh,

later perhaps;” she brushes her long curly hair away and laughs knowing that she’s

making light of a potentially harsh circumstance down the road. She opts for enjoying the

“here and now” knowing they’ll deal with it somehow. A little devil-may-care perhaps

but she speaks as a person who has a solid foundation of security. It is not that she is

ignorant for she knows the hardship of low-income life. Some of the students who come

to the school where she works arrive from homes where the financial foundation Maria

relies upon is broken or hardly there. She knows that, she understands where they come

from and she chooses to be relatively ok about money.

When I ask her how she regards money and her immediate reply is “I love money!” She

loves the very idea of money and not just for herself benefit. She would be happy to stand

50


on a street corner and hand out fistfuls of dollars to people who need it if she were able to

do that and still go home to a comfortable house and have a comfortable meal. This

attitude is expressed in her outward presentation. She is fashionable and well put

together. She has no problem taking the money in her purse and spending it on herself.

She is joyful and it gives her freedom to be able to give to herself as well as others.

She represents something different from Linda or Jennifer. Maria is free with the money

she has and while it may not be huge amounts it’s enough and she is satisfied. When

asked what she would replace money with in the world she shrugs her shoulders and says

“It really wouldn’t matter because what ever you replace it with becomes the new

money.” In other words, for her it is primarily a material item.

51


Victoria: By Trial and Error
Victoria is a business owner and a single mom. She has a daughter who will be starting

middle school in the fall. She rents an apartment. The oldest daughter of immigrant

parents from Italy, Victoria was born in Brooklyn and spent her early years there. As a

teen-ager they moved to Long Island where her mother still resides today. Her mother

married late and spent her time having as many babies as she possibly could. Those years

were very tight, financially, as Victoria recalls. As a stop gap measure, her mom took a

part time job as a public school lunch aid out of sheer necessity and desperation. She took

the one job she could get which allowed her to take an infant into work with her.

Victoria’s parents would never hire a babysitter or arrange for any kind of childcare

outside of immediate family, partly due to the expense but more so from the belief that

outside childcare was not a family virtue. The constant care and feeding of the family fell

daily upon the shoulders of Victoria’s mother while her father worked long and hard

hours at various blue collar jobs. At the age of twelve Victoria began to earn her own

money as – of all things – a babysitter. She kept her earnings and was not asked to pool

them for the family expenses. That bit of freedom came with constant niggling reminders

that her parents were forced to pool their wages when they were young; reminders that

were not much appreciated by Victoria. By the time she was out of the house her father

was doing well managing the frozen food department of a local supermarket chain and

her mother was receiving benefits from the Department of Education so they were doing

alright in the world. Despite going through hardship and eventually finding stability for

the family finances, money was never, ever discussed. Her father came home with

envelopes stuffed with money, handed them over to her mother who paid all the bills and

52


no one talked about it. Victoria’s financial education was purely trial and error combined

with silent observation. Simply put, money was never discussed.

Today Victoria owns a thriving business taking care of children after school. After

making what she refers to as “several mistakes over the years” with the money she

earned – she did not give details – she raised enough capital to buy an established child

care company in Manhattan and is successfully supporting a daughter. As a primary adult

figure to a number of the children she has in her care every week day, she finds

opportunities to teach basic money principles. Informed by her proud Italian work ethic,

she rewards work done by the kids at the after school program which benefit the other

children. She makes a point of teaching this to her ten year old daughter who has, for

now, little interest in the notion of having and using money.

When asked what she would replace money with if given the opportunity to do so her

somewhat apologetic reply is “peace and love” shades, she admits, from her Hippy days.

For Victoria, money is not only the result of one’s work ethic but also an indication one’s

own qualitative contribution to the community. So it is fitting that she has Relationship

Oriented Wealth. Victoria is a proud and self made woman. She made big mistakes and

learned well from them. She presents herself with pride and dignity knowing she has

earned everything that she has.

53


Esther: Taking Care of Business
Esther retired from public service as a parole officer in 1993 and has spent a decade and a

half “hanging out and playing with her computer.” She does not have children. She lives

in Manhattan and – at the age of 74 – is just learning how to invest. As a “senior citizen”

she is unhappy with the general perception of old age and the notion that “old people are

stupid.” She is most certainly not “stupid” and has taken it upon herself to tell anyone she

speaks with that “old people are not stupid!”

Esther grew up in an extremely poor family in Missouri. Her parents leaned toward

socialism and their choices left the family with very little to live on. As an adolescent she

took what babysitting jobs she could get. Her mother took in sewing jobs and other small

tasks for the neighbors which she could do in the house. Many of the families in her

community were striving for the middle class, Esther’s family was not. She comments

that her father was her bank in those days. Every dollar she earned she gave to him for

safe keeping. When she needed to buy herself something she would go to her dad and he

would give her the money. It was a system that worked well for both of them. By the time

Esther was 17 she was earning a regular pay check. She graduated from college and

headed East to New York where she always made sure she was working. “Since I was on

my own since I was in high school, being poor, having enough money was always a prime

consideration.”

Esther knows how to take care of herself and is doing it well. Concerned about falling

back into an impoverished state as an “old person” she reports that she took matters into

her own hands about ten years ago and began investing some of her retirement money.

Her pragmatic approach to money is necessary. She is driven by a fear she’s held since

54

The Medium Of Money And The Women Who Wield It Thesis By Marianna Mott Newirth

The Medium Of Money And The Women Who Wield It Thesis By Marianna Mott Newirth

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