Our Shared Shelf discussion

Hi all!

Here is a link to an interview that Gloria Steinem did with Terry Gross on NPR's Fresh Air. I listened to it a couple of months ago and just remembered it. I think if you have the time, it might be a great way to prepare for reading the book and/or subsequent discussions!

Enjoy!

At 81, Feminist Gloria Steinem Finds Herself Free Of The 'Demands Of Gender'

Excellent! Thanks for sharing :)

Great idea! Thanks :D

So glad I waded through all the threads! I somehow missed this. Thank you~

Thanks for the share.

Thank you for posting this! I really enjoyed listening to the interview.

Great link!

Awesome! Thanks for sharing :]

Glad you enjoyed it! I thought it might be worth while to discuss it, as well. I particularly liked that the interview focuses a bit on her mother. In the discussion topic for chapter one, many have expressed their disappointment that she didn't receive more focus from Steinem in the first chapter, although I think it mostly has to do with the travel theme for the book as a whole. Specifically, I think it is actually quite daring of Steinem to say outright that she attributes her mother's mental health troubles to patriarchy. It also helps listeners to understand what patriarchy means: she blames the system, not her father specifically, who she describes as "kind by utterly irresponsible."

I also thought she made an interesting point about what patriarchy means or can be defined as. She says that the patriarchy requires the control of human reproduction, and therefore women's bodies. I think that is a very astute point, especially coming directly out of her discussion of her own abortion and given the current headlines about abortion in the U.S.

Was there anything about the interview you found enlightening?

I loved it. Thanks so much for posting it.

Thanks. Great interview

Katelyn wrote: "Glad you enjoyed it! I thought it might be worth while to discuss it, as well. I particularly liked that the interview focuses a bit on her mother. In the discussion topic for chapter one, many hav..."

I didn't like how Terry Gross asked some of her questions, to be honest, especially concerning Steinem being a "foodaholic." Other than that, I thought it was very good. I'm in my twenties and was terrified of aging until this interview. Gloria Steinem made me realize why--there were no elderly women doing what I want to do--and said that women are freed from the constraints of gender after a certain age. That concept intrigued me. On the one hand, I feel like gender is more than societal roles to be freed from, but on the other hand, I really understand where she's coming from.

Thank you for sharing! I'm looking forward to listening to this. I've never research Gloria Steinem before this book club, which as a feminist, I should have done before.

Thanks I went and listened!

Thank you so much for sharing. It's so wonderful to hear her voice with all of its strength, resilience and humor. I think knowing what she actually sounds like will really enhance my reading of the second half of the book.

The abortion discussion is especially poignant given the recent anti-abortion push we've been seeing in the United States. My only complaint is that I wish they would have spent a little more time on it.

I love how openly she shares her story, a harsh reminder that making abortion illegal doesn't stop abortions or slow them down, it just increases the desperation and the danger.

This interview reinforced what I've been thinking throughout the book which is that I am so thankful for Gloria Steinem and people like her who are un-apologetically themselves and don't apologize for creating the life they want to live. She is an inspiration and a reminder to be brave, to live life on my own terms, and if the world doesn't look the way I think that it should, to change it.

Thanks for sharing! There were a lot of things in the interview that resonated with me, especially the things about being on the road vs having a home and what she said about aging, but the whole interview was really interesting. I didn't know Gloria Steinem before I joined this book club, but she is now a true role model for me. As Abby said, she is a reminder to live life on your own terms.

Just found this interview on HuffPost - wasn't sure where it would fit into these discussions. Steinem talks about the book, women's equality and politics, and the next steps to be made. (Sorry if it's a repeat.)

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/gloria...

I could be wrong but I feel like talking about her mother is still painful or sad for her. Just a hunch...

Thanks for the post. I had totally ignored the dedication so it was nice to be called attention to that one interesting detail...

Thank you for giving us this link. It will be worthwile to read that interview once in a while, to remember what she has achieved. (The book would also work for that but a reread takes much more time.)