We have added a permanent page to this diary / bulletin board involving Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) to be found on the side bar. We will produce it here as today’s entry:

1. Can I join this group

The Organization is made up of a group of women who physically know each other in real life, and live within close proximity of each other. It is NOT a virtual community where online members can join. The Organization is an online bulletin board for us to share our ideas, recipes, etiquette, philosophy, and way of conduct with other Stay-at-Home Mothers and Wives.

2. What is the politics of the organization

We encourage a broad range of views among our organization. There are women who have Women’s Studies B.A. from prestigious schools on the East Coast, to home-schooled ladies, and some with GEDs. Education is not a sign of prestige as we think no amount of intellectual powers can compare to one’s ability to please her husband. We have feminists who were active in the 70s and 80s, to ultra-conservative religious Republicans. At different point in our lives, we realized that staying at home and attending to and pleasing the head of the household was our main calling in life.

3. Where are you located.

Western Connecticut.

4. I’m a member of the transgender / crossdresser / bDsm community. Can we join your organization?

We can’t control who reads our website, or who pretends or fantasizes to live our way. While we think there’s nothing wrong with living your life as long as you’re not hurting anyone, the answer is No.

5. What books do you recommend us to read

1. The Holy Bible
2. Fascinating Womanhood by Helen B. Andelin
3. Fascinating Girl by Helen B. Andelin (which was incorporated into certain editions of FW)
4. Man of Steel and Velvet: A Guide to Masculine Development by Aubrey Andelin
5. Being the Strong Man a Woman Wants: Timeless Wisdom on Being a Man by Elliot Katz
6. Wife Dressing: The Fine Art of Being a Well-Dressed Wife by Anne Fogarty and Rosemary Feitelberg
7. Stepford Wives by Ira Levin
8. Complete Book of Etiquette by Amy Vanderbilt
9. A History of the Wife by Marilyn Yalom
10. Happy Housewives: I Was a Whining, Miserable, Desperate Housewife–But I Finally Snapped Out of It…You Can, Too! by Darla Shine

6. Who are the members of the Organization?

There is Irene (that’s me) who, along with Pree, does most of the admin work and answers emails. My sister Carolyn, and then there is Stephanie, Clarissa, Blair, Liz, Sici (because she doesn’t like to be called Muff), Jane, Maddy and Connie.

6. Are you against feminism?

We are not. Feminism fought to gain equality, opportunity, legal rights, and most importantly, freedom for women. Like any idea, it was bound to be misread and appropriated by people who had their personal agenda to advance. In it’s original suffragist and workplace ideals, they succeeded in what they set out to do. As with any idea that seek to obtain opportunity however, freedom means we are equally free to accept feminists ideas as we are to reject them. We thank and applaud the women who have fought for our rights to make our own decisions. Now please allow us to make our own decisions and live by the choices we have made.

If you force us to live by your personal, egalitarian vision of utopia, then wouldn’t you would have repeated the very offense you charged men (and the patriarchal oppression) of committing?

Ladies, thank you for reading this bulletin board. At this time, the organization is just composed of a group of wives who live in close proximity to each other (We are no farther then ten blocks from each other).

Thank you for your continued enthusiasm in our group. Many of you have written and expressed interest in joining us. I always encourage participation in the discussions and comments on the entries here (there will be more updates in starting today, and at a greater frequency). We are always delighted to hear from you.

The reason we don’t give out online memberships is because we are essentially a group of wives. We are aware that there are many people online who present themselves as women or wives when they are neither. It’s an internet culture which we are somewhat mystified by. Since we celebrate traditional values and the traditional family configuration, we are not open to the idea of accepting alternate lifestyles and third gender parties. After all, if you are not being honest about who you are online, how honest can you be about your other thoughts. That’s just the way our group of friends have always been.

Nothing against what you chose to do with your life. We just ask that you chose to respect what we have decided to do with ours.

Thanks for your interest in our group.

-I. Snowden