Biography of the Writer

Beth Day Romulo was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana. She is an American writer and
later became the wife of Gen. Carlos P. Romulo. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree
from the University of Oklahoma in 1945. She completed her course in Humanities and in
the School of Professional Writing. She also taught Professional Writing in the Adult School
in Chappaqua, New York. She was on the staff of Douglas Aircraft magazine, and was
editorial assistant for Southwest Review in Dallas, Texas. Thereafter she became a
professional freelance writer and soon became popular as a journalist. She bylined her
articles, Beth Feagles Day, to include the surname of her husband, Donald Day.
She wrote on the following subjects: sociology, history, biography, education,
international relations, aviation, medicine, adventure, current events, art of living, food and
animals. Her articles appeared in Readers Digest, The Saturday Evening Post, Ladies Home
Journal, McCalls, Womans Day, New York Times Magazine, True, Air Facts, Redbook,
Cosmopolitan, Mayfair, Christian Herald, Guideposts, Catholic Digest, Together, Venture,
Gourmet, Rocky Mountain Magazine, Saturday Review, Good Housekeeping, , Writers
Digest, Southwest Review, Asia, Inc. and Tatler. Her articles were also published in
magazines in France, England, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy and the Philippines.

Beth wrote 28 books, some of which were published in condensed form in the
Readers Digest, Ladies Home Journal and Good Housekeeping. Her books were also Book
Club selections by the Book of the Month Club, Catholic Digest Book Club and Weekly
Reader Book Club. Her books were also published in foreign editions in England, France,
Italy and Germany. One book, Modern Motherhood, has been printed in 16 foreign
editions. She wrote books for young people. Among these are Will Rogers, Boy Roper,
Joshua Slocum, Sailor, Talk Like a Cowboy, Eugene Rhodes, Cowboy, Lucille Mulhall,
Cowgirl, Grizzlies, Secret World of the Baby, and Life on a Lost Continent. Her other
books include the following: Little Professor of Piney Woods (later translated to Italian and
German); Grizzlies in Their Back Yard (translated to Italian); Glacier Pilot (translated to
German); No Hiding Place; A Shirttail to Hang To; This was Hollywood; Hey, Im
Alive; Passage Perilous ( adapted for TV); Special Agent, Sexual Life Between Blacks
and Whites (translated to French;) Im Done Crying; All My Children;" Modern
Motherhood (printed in 16 foreign editions;) and My Name is Dr. Rantzau.She wrote two
television dramas, both of which were shown on television in New York. These were The
Man Nobody Wanted, presented by Four Star Playhouse and No Hiding Place, presented
by General Electric Theater in which Ronald Reagan (later U.S. president) starred. Her
biographical data has been included in Whos Who American Women; Whos Who in the
East; Foremost Women in Communications; The Worlds Whos Who of Women; and
Directory of Distinguished Leadership. She was a member of the Authors Guild, Authors
League, Les Disciples dAuguste Escoffier and Chaine des Rotisseurs. She was also member
of the executive council of the American Society of Authors and Journalists.

In 1978 she married General Carlos P. Romulo who was then the Secretary of Foreign
Affairs, and who was a former army general, president of the United Nations General
Assembly and Philippine Ambassador to the United States. The two were both widowed at
the time. They had previously met in 1958 when she wrote an article about him for an
American magazine. Gen. Romulo died in 1985. After her marriage to Romulo, her articles
and books were bylined, Beth Day Romulo. Her books touching on the Philippines include
The Manila Hotel, Romulo, 40 Years at the U.N. Inside the Palace, and The Philippine
Presidents. The Philippine Womens University and the Baguio Colleges Foundation honored
her respectively with an honorary Doctor of Letters degree. She is president of the
Corregidor Foundation, and board member of Ballet Philippines and FAMEPhil am
Memorials. She is currently executive editor and columnist for the Manila Bulletin.
Complete Piece of the Essay
A Second Look at Feminism
By Beth Day Romulo
When Betty Friedan led the pack of dissatisfied housewives back to the workplace in
the 1950s and 1960s, there were reforms that American women wanted: equal pay, equal
rights, a chance at powerful positions, acceptance in mens graduate business and medical
schools, recruitment for their very real skills, and more presentation in national
government.
Nearly, half century later, many of these goals have been accomplished. Barriers are
down in schools, which were previously the bastion of men: 50 percent of Yale and Harvard
graduates today are women. 50 percent of MBA degrees are won by women. And there are
only 14 women in the 100 seat Senate. It was not supposed to be this way. By now, it was
assumed by the feminists that 50 percent of CEOs would be women, and that, there would
probably be a women president.
Are women still being discriminated against high-power jobs and political power? The
answer, curiously enough, is probably not. When the facts came in last year, it turned out
that 26 percent of women who are in line for senior level jobs in major companies turned
down the jobs.
Most of the reasoning had to do with family. Unfortunately, womens productive work
years and child bearing years coincide.
So what will you focus on? Despite generous maternity leaves provided by many
companies, a number of women apparently feel they want to do more that give birth, cuddle
their infant for a week, than turn the baby over to caregiver and to back to work.
High-salaried, high qualified working women apparently have been re-thinking their
lives and want to be with their children during their pre-school years, no matter the cost to
their careers.
For those women who want it all and urge to achieve CEO status, one option is the
stay-at-home husband, who is willing to reverse traditional roles with his ambitious wife.
The first house husband I met was a Swede, whose wife had a prominent job with
Readers Digest, as salary much larger than his. So they agreed it was practical that he

stays home and take care of the house and children and she be the executive who brought
in the high income.
In many cultures, the idea of a house husband is vaguely repugnant. A Korean who
chose to stay home and let his wife be the one to go out with work described in an interview
in a Korean magazine how was scorned not only by his colleagues and in-laws but by his
own family, who were traditional and thought it was a mans duty to support the family. But
after their childs birth, when he realized that his wife really wanted to go back to her job,
he agreed to switch with her. It wasnt a question of extra money but of her maturitythe
experience to speak up for herself and voice her opinions she had never enjoyed as a child
within her own male dominated household.
The question, in the future, will be, what happens when these high-powered women,
who have made the choice to stay home with their children, decide its time to rejoin the
workforce? Many mothers arbitrarily set the age of separation of five., since what the child
absorbs and learns under five appears to be most important factor in its development. After
that, when he enters nursery school the child has many mentors and is influenced by many
different people besides his parents. But five years from now, will big jobs and big salaries
still be out for them? That is the risk they are taking when they elect to stay home during
their childs formative years.
Some companies are allowing flextime with the part-time employment, and the
really luck women have jobs can do at home.
The women who once held high-powered jobs still think of themselves as executives
not housewives, and they consider staying at home temporarily. But after five years out of
the office, they may find difficulty to get back.

Elements
Motive: This essay is written for women to have a second thought if they want to be a
career woman.
Theme: Choosing between career and housewife.
Coherence: In the first paragraph it tells about how the reform of having equal rights for
men and women started.
Explanations: The essay explains that there if we are going to have a second look at
feminism, we would be somehow left undecided whether females can have the freedom to
do what males do.
Implications: There are some things that only women can do and only men can do. This can
be helpful to those who are doubting whether they still want do the work of men.

Literary framework

Some women do not accept

Reformwomen
having
jobs
because
of household.
equal rights with men.

A Second Look at
Feminism

Women were not

Problem
in houses
are for
discriminated
for having
women to do.
high-powered
jobs.