Summary

Though she now feels fortunate to have been born a woman, Allende was not always proud of her gender. Motherhood and experience changed that view but also made her painfully aware that she is one of the privileged ones not having to endure injustice. An informal poll of her acquaintances revealed that women are generally happy to be so. Their gender allows them to create and nurture life, be more accepting and less violent. It also gives them the power to educate their male offspring, which Allende has done with her son since birth. He now helps manage Allende’s foundation whose goal is to empower women. One poll participant, Allende’s undocumented house cleaner, did not understand the point of the poll; it was her fate to be a woman and no use to question it. Because a woman’s worth has...