I didn't post about this for a few days, mostly because I was pretty saddened by the whole affair. Rebecca Walker -- daughter of famed feminist author Alice Walker (who penned The Color Purple, among other things) -- has written a nasty letter in the UK's Mail ripping her mum to shreds for being largely absent in her upbringing. She basically accuses Walker senior of not living up to her feminist ideals, and abandoning her when she became pregnant:

"My mother's feminist principles coloured every aspect of my life. As a little girl, I wasn't even allowed to play with dolls or stuffed toys in case they brought out a maternal instinct. It was drummed into me that being a mother, raising children and running a home were a form of slavery. Having a career, travelling the world and being independent were what really mattered according to her.

I love my mother very much, but I haven't seen her or spoken to her since I became pregnant. She has never seen my son - her only grandchild. My crime? Daring to question her ideology.

This seems a little outrageous coming from a daughter who elected to ditch her father's name (Leventhal) in favor of her mother's (Walker) when she grew up. Career making move indeed.

But really it all just seems pretty tacky and depressing. I was interviewing my friend for an upcoming episode of "The Gayest Podcast in Michigan" (whew-hew!), and he said some things about his relationship with his mom that were pretty rough. We talked about it later and both agreed to keep those comments out of the podcast. Because nobody knows what will happen in a few years -- will they patch up that relationship? Will she pass away and he be forever regretful? Perhaps nothing would change, but we agreed that there was always some hope, and no reason to air all that laundry in the interview. What good does that bring?

Walker is clearly trying to inflict hurt here, and I'm sure she "succeeds." But it reminds me here of feminist "Oppression Olympics" over who is more oppressed than who. You know, the whole "No I'm a lesbian AND Black AND 84 and therefore have had a harder life than anyone else here." Okay... so what does that get you? Nothing but a slice of pity pie -- if you're lucky.

Could it be that Rebecca Walker is just trying to sell more copies of her book on parenting that was released last year? Is it really that painfully shallow?

Salon.com has more analysis here. Read more if you like. Frankly I found the whole thing gave me indigestion.

UPDATE: Walker responds to Salon.com's piece with a bizarre series of accusations -- and basically by stepping back from the piece:

Chesler wants to draw in the personal differences I have with my mother. This appears to be opportunistic and ill-conceived, because the fact is the piece to which she refers is an inaccurate tabloidization of an interview I gave. No matter how much she would like to see the piece as factual and however sensational the article may appear, my father is not a descendant of Holocaust survivors, I never used the word fanatical to describe my mother's views, and so on.

Chelser's zeal to make comment is undermined by the fact that she did not take time to fact-check the so-called "essay" to which she refers. She has unwittingly used tabloid sensationalism to make an all too personal assessment of a situation with little bearing on the major national issues we should all be deeply concerned about.

Um... what??