you don't own me

I am awfully greedy; I want everything from life. I want to be a woman and to be a man, to have many friends and to have loneliness, to work much and write good books, to travel and enjoy myself, to be selfish and to be unselfish… You see, it is difficult to get all which I want. And then when I do not succeed I get mad with anger.

Simone de Beauvoir (9 january 1908 - 1986) 

in 2007 i visited the grave of simone de beauvoir and jean-paul sartre,   partners in heart and mind.  they are buried in the same plot in the cimetière du montparnasse located in the 14th arrondissement of paris.

regular visitors to the mouse may recall my enjoyment of making pilgrimages to the graves of people i admire - simone and jean-paul are definitely among that august group -- bien entendu!

photos: top - london, october 2012; second photo - paris, march 2007

lesley gore released the song you don't own me in 1963 when she was just 17 years old and it quickly reached the #2 spot on the pop charts just behind i want to hold your hand (by the beatles).  over the years the song has been widely  covered - during  the last presidential election the song resurfaced in a psa addressing mitt romney's attacks on women and planned parenthood - lesley gore provided an introduction and many celebrities came forward to lipsynch the song. unfortunately youtube doesn't have the original psa available to embed;  however, i did find it on vimeo, which you can watch HERE  (check it out!! the election is over, but the attacks on women and our bodies most certainly aren't over -in fact on today's diane ream show, the first hour was devoted to this very topic)