Bluebird : women and the new psychology of happiness

**CAN A WOMAN BE SMART, EMPOWERED, __AND__ HAPPY ?** Happiness has become a serious business. Where twentiethcentury psychology focused on depression and illness, in the new millennium scientists have begun focusing on “positive psychology”—the study of happiness. Ariel Gore first became intrigued by this subject when she discovered that Positive Psychology was the most popular course on the Harvard campus. As she read deeper into the topic, she noticed something disturbing: everyone in this happy land was a man. Worse still, some of these new “experts” seemed hell-bent on proving that women with traditional values and breadwinning husbands—those who had made “an effort to expect less,” according to one sociologist—were more content than women with feminist values. The more she read the more she wondered: Can a woman be smart, empowered, __and__ happy? Determined to find out, Gore began her own “study in living”— a journey into the feminine history, science, and experience of happiness. Her results, chronicled with humor and curiosity in __Bluebird__, are by turns fascinating and enriching. A woman’s happiness may not come easy, and it may not take the forms prescribed by popular culture. But, as Gore discovers, it is not only possible but necessary. __Bluebird__ is a smart, no-nonsense, uplifting study of the __real__ secret of joy, and whether it’s truly at odds with the goals of modern women. "Happiness is big business. Books, consultants, psychologists, organizations, and even governments tout happiness secrets that are backed by scientific findings. The problem is that all of this science is done by and for cis white men. And some of the most vocal of these happiness experts were announcing that women could become happier by espousing "traditional" values and eschewing feminism. Skeptical of this hypothesis, Ariel Gore took a deep dive into the optimism industrial complex, reading the history, combing the research, attending the conferences, interviewing the thought leaders, and exploring her own and her friends' personal experiences and desires. Fuck Happiness is a nuanced, thoughtful examination of what happiness means and to whom, how it's played a role in defining modern gender roles and power structures, and how we can all have a more empowered relationship with the pursuit of joy in our lives"-- Provided by publisher Smile Pretty : A Cultural History Of Women And Happiness -- Grumpy Nuns Die Young : Women And The Science Of Joy -- A Life Of One's Own : What We Mean By Happiness. Ariel Gore. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [191]-193). Explores the psychology of happiness in women, focusing particularly on whether an intelligent, empowered career woman can be happy in today's modern world