Ashley Sayeau
About Me
I am an American writer living in London who has written extensively on women, politics, popular culture, and the South for a number of anthologies and publications including The Guardian, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, The Nation, Salon, & Dissent.
To view a selection of my publications and other projects, please scroll down.
Current Project
I am currently finishing a memoir about cultural and class divides in America, and especially in the South. The book is essentially a personal meditation on luck, progress, and the emotional challenges of “moving up” in America.
Contact Me
Email:
Publications
Before August 2004, I published under my maiden name, Ashley Nelson.
“Not This Again,” The Guardian, Comment Is Free, February 14, 2010 (forthcoming). After a look at Lori Gottlieb’s new book, Marry Him: The Case for Settling for Mr. Good Enough, I wonder why we still can’t leave single women over thirty alone!
“Healthcare’s About the Economy, Stupid,” The Guardian, Comment Is Free, February 4, 2010. Despite what Republicans say, if healthcare isn’t an economic issue, I don’t know what is.
“The Pursuit of Female Happiness,” The Guardian, Comment Is Free, October 3, 2009. Why studies showing women’s increasing unhappiness shouldn’t convince us they can’t still have it all.
“Cleaning up US Healthcare’s Mess,” The Guardian, Comment Is Free, July 31, 2009. After spending several (happy) days in a London hospital, I argue that Obama needs to start telling Americans about the good government can do when it comes to healthcare.
“He Had a Dream,” The Guardian, Comment Is Free, January 19, 2009. Essay on the benefits and challenges of talking to my three year old about race in America.
“Keep an Open Mind on National Health Care,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, December 22, 2008. (Not available on-line.) Republished as “NHS in the USA,” in The Guardian, Comment Is Free, December 22, 2008. Having moved to England a year ago, I argue that Americans should put aside all the fear mongering that goes with national health care in the States and embrace the British model.
“Giving Social Welfare a Good Name,” The Guardian, Comment Is Free, August 20, 2008. After 8 months in London, I wonder why social programs -- like Britain’s child care programs and national health system -- don’t take off in the States. After all, what’s not to love?
“Carrying On: Where We Got By Walking in Their Manolos,” The Washington Post, May 18, 2008. Reporting from the world premiere of the new Sex and the City movie in London, I discuss how the series used fantasy to empower women -- and even turned this snooty intellectual into a rabid fan.
“Southern Roots,” The Guardian, Comment Is Free, May 8, 2008. An opinion piece on why Americans have such a hard time admitting they may be -- even a little bit -- racist.
“Stop the Mommy Madness,” Salon, April 30, 2008. Interview with Amy Richards about her new book Opting In: Having a Child Without Losing Yourself.
“Speaking in Code,” The Guardian, Comment Is Free March 27, 2008. An opinion piece on how Obama -- thankfully -- unveiled the coded way in which Americans talk about race.
“As Seen On TV: Women’s Rights and Quality Television,” Quality American Television and Beyond, eds. Kim Akass and Janet McCabe, I.B. Tauris, October 2007. From I Love Lucy to Sex and the City, I examine how women’s rights have often been fought -- and won -- on the small screen.
“Dixie Chicks Among Esteemed Outlaws,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, February 16, 2007. In the wake of the Dixie Chicks scandal (and recent Grammy wins) , I argue that country music has always been controversial and even a bit liberal. Republished and available at Commondreams.org.
“Having It All: Desperate Housewives’ Flimsy Feminism.” Reading “Desperate Housewives”: Beyond the White Picket Fence, eds. Kim Akass and Janet McCabe, I.B. Tauris, September 2006. An essay on how the popular series reenacts society’s schizophrenic relationship to women’s progress in this “post-feminist” age.
"Americanitis: Self-Help and the American Dream in Six Feet Under," Reading Six Feet Under: TV To Die For, eds. Kim Akass and Janet McCabe, I.B. Tauris, June 2005. An analysis of how Six Feet Under is a little more than conflicted (naturally!) about self-help, America's favorite past-time.
"Southern Ms.," The Nation, November 18, 2004. A profile of a unique conference of southern feminists. Reprinted on AlterNet, November 27, 2004.
"Cycles of News and Violence," The Boston Globe, November 14, 2004. Review of The Copycat Effect: How the Media and Popular Culture Trigger the Mayhem in Tomorrow's Headlines by Loren Coleman.
"The Myth of Unskilled Labor," The San Francisco Chronicle, August 22, 2004. Review of The Mind at Work: Valuing the Intelligence of the American Worker by Mike Rose.
"The Truth About Women and the Recession," The W Effect: Bush's War on Women, ed. Laura Flanders, Feminist Press, June 2004.
"Sister Carrie Meets Carrie Bradshaw: Exploring Progress, Politics, and Single Women in 'Sex and the City' and Beyond," Reading Sex and the City, eds. Kim Akass and Janet McCabe, New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004; Translated into Japanese. Given the historical portrait of single women in popular culture and politics, I argue that Sex and the City may be the best thing that's happened to singletons - ever.
"My Life is Just Beginning," Salon, November 17, 2003. Interview with Joanna Lipper, author of Growing Up Fast, on teenage pregnancy.
"The Truth About Women and the Recession," AlterNet, July 29, 2003. How are women faring in the recession? Not as well as some reports suggest.
"The Pinking of Peace Politics," AlterNet, April 25, 2003. Can women be anti-war without being called girly-girls?
"Diary of the Bridget Joneses," The Nation, December 23, 2002. Review of The Bachelor Girl: The Secret History of Single Women in the Twentieth Century by Betsy Israel.
"My Sex and the City Bus Tour from Hell," Salon, November 14, 2002. Can the show I consider fun and feminist really amount to this - drooling over Jimmy Choo shoes and hooting at random men?
"Miss Bradshaw Goes to Washington: The Marriage Movement, American Families, and Sex and the City," PopPolitics, July 14, 2002. A defense of Sex and the City, in light of the current marriage mania in politics and popular culture.
"Sluts, Gossip, and Girl Power," The Brooklyn Rail, Summer 2002. Review of Emily White’s Fast Girls: Teenage Tribes and the Myth of the Slut.
"The Proposal Sounds Good, Gets It Wrong," The Philadelphia Inquirer, April 23, 2002. (Not available on-line.) On marriage promotion in welfare reform.
"To Eminem: Will the Real Slim Shady Please Shut Up," The Philadelphia Inquirer, January 8, 2001. (Not available on-line). Op-ed that asks why we tolerate abuse when it’s directed at women more than other disadvantaged groups.
"Lucky: Consumption Without Consequence," Dissent, Fall 2000. Review of the debut issue of Lucky, the "shopping magazine."
Other Projects
Clara Sayeau, Our second daughter!, April 21, 2009.
Guest appearance/consultant, “TV Made Me Do It,” (Episode on Sex and the City), Proper Television, Canada, September 2007.
Julia Sayeau, Our first daughter!, June 8, 2005.
"As Seen on TV: Women's Rights and Quality Television," American Quality Television: An International Conference. Conference presentation at Trinity College, Dublin, April 1-3, 2004.
The Washington Post, "Just One Last Fling: 'Sex and the City' Fans Know Friendship Beats a Fairy Tale Romance," by Jennifer Frey. Interviewed on the conclusion of Sex and the City, February 21, 2004.
National Public Radio, "Day to Day," "'Sex and the City' Takes on a Life of its Own." Interviewed by Lynn Neary on Sex and the City, February 6, 2004.
KPFK Pacifica Radio, "Feminist Magazine." Interviewed by Jessica Hoffman on women and the recession, based on my article, "The Truth About Women and the Recession," AlterNet, August 27, 2003.
Moderator, "The Politics of Language." Panel discussion including Jay Bernstein, Geoffrey Hartman, Susie Linfield, James Miller, Katha Pollitt, and the now late, great Ellen Willis, New School University, April 9, 2003.
