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I'd want to ask each woman what their must-read feminist books are. What are the books that they find to be the most helpful/informative or what books really affected their view of feminism?
I have heard from many women that sometimes when they are angry, they cry. Have either of you (or anyone reading this) experienced this and if so, how do you navigate the issues of not wanting your tears to invalidate your anger or distract from what you're angry about? Sometimes I feel like I'm so overwhelmed the tears come, but it's not because I'm sad, even though it may seem that way.
Anger and rage is incredibly powerful, yet exhausting. How do you productively use your anger with out getting completely exhausted?
As a male feminist, I'd be interested in knowing what the authors feel is the ideal way for men to support the women's movement while staying out of the way for women's voices to lead? I just feel like it's not my place to insert myself into the conversation when there are people who are much more affected who will speak truth to power more effectively.
I would like to ask the authors where they look for inspiration in their personal and professional growth?
As a teacher of women's studies, I'd love to hear the authors' thoughts on how to balance anger and professional "objectivity" in the classroom. I try to present a cool-headed, engaged but objective affect when I teach - still I wonder if strategically revealing or admitting to more anger might occasionally be effective.
Speaking of anger (as Elizabeth brought it up), when somebody tells you they don't want to hear or see anything about feminism anymore because its proponents are too angry and unreasonable, have you found an effective way to respond that gets them to listen to you?
How was your first approach to feminism? How did you start your journey as a feminist?
How deeply is racism intertwined with the oppression of women worldwide and what can we all do to resolve the problem?
Considering that feminist voices are starting to be heard all over the world, what would you do to influence more people? In addition, do you have any first hand experience when dealing with inequality?
How do you respond to women who are telling others their type of feminism is wrong or not good enough? Lately I’ve noticed some anger between different groups of women, who are all fighting for feminism.
What does it mean to be feminist today? What are the vital issues that women and feminists today consider to be of burning importance, what are they concerned about?
I would like to ask them both how they deal with people that don't like feminism because they don't really know what it is. How do you explain it to someone whose mind is completely closed to the issue?
I just finished Michelle Obama’s new book, Becoming. It gave me conflicted feelings of regret that we’ve lost such magnificent people as the Obama’s for our country’s leaders & examples of fine human beings, but also hope for the many young people who have been inspired either through learning how to eat better & valuing education no matter what position of status young girls find themselves. But when I looked at one-star reviews on Goodreads, I was amazed that readers who gave it such limited rating could have read the same book! Their misinformed, misguided analysis was perplexing.
So my question for the writers is how do we find hope among people who hold & advance such narrow, hurtful & dangerous views?
As women who are strong feminist influences to large audiences, i am curious to know what are your thoughts on the "me too" movement? How much true impact do you think this movement has for women's voices?
What's the span of time that has to go by before you get to write about one topic that drives you mad?
I would love to know why/when you became a feminist and what it means to you.
How do suggest you “argue” or get your point across respectively when someone you know and who you are close to in some way (family member, boss, coworker, etc) says something incredibly sexist or anti-feminist and expects you to agree? I would myself in these situations all the time and find myself either shocked and quiet or muttering something unintelligent.
There are lots of young women in the public eye with bold voices at the moment. Is there a particular woman you are keeping an eye on or who you feel inspires hope for the future?
I would like to know who's the first woman whose activism inspired you.
I know a lot of feminists (including myself) joined the movement for equal rights because they were angry and how they were being treated, both by individuals and by society, why do you think anger is such a big catalyst for women (or anyone, looking at history) to take their first steps to making a change, and do you think that the anger involved clouds people’s opinions when it comes to feminism?
How do you feel that black feminist rage differs or doesn’t differ from general feminist rage? I’m curious because black feminist rage seems to be clearly delineated as it’s own thing, so I’m curious about your thoughts as to how and why it might differ. As a white woman, I’d like to try and better understand this. Thank you!
Hello, my question would be, how many books do you write a year and how long does it take you to write them x
What’s the importance to stand for feminism in an area that it has been criticized?A men can be a feminist?
How/In what ways can a white person be(come) an ally? (Especially in connection to Brittney Cooper's excellent novel)
I'd like to know what are the difficulties that they had to face being a woman in the publishing world
How does the erotic (Lorde) influence your work?
What is the Main Influence For your Books?
What other writers inspired you when starting, and what authors continue to influence you now?
I'm finding when I explore social topics, I often find books about two different but related subjects can cross-pollinate in interesting and informative ways. Are there any books not explicitly about feminism that you think compliment discussions or explorations of feminism well? Particular in terms of their relationship thematically or historically to your own work?
I would love to hear more about the productive power of rage and anger. How do we keep the anger productive? I often end up emotionally sad instead of angry when I really should have been angry. I would love to stay in the anger slightly longer. Do you have any tips on this?
What inspired you? What is feminism to you?
In society there has always been a gender divide, in almost every way possible. However, in recent years we’ve been living in a changing world where I feel more and more people have felt brave enough to come forward with their past experiences such as in the ‘Me Too’ movement. But with that comes backlash. Even in 2018 we still have such hateful people who can’t accept this. So my question is, do you think that we will ever reach a point in society where we don’t have to work for equality and justice for everyone, and it’s just there, like it should be?
I would love to hear these two amazing women discuss policy positions we can advocate for and support that will improve women's lives. I'm particularly interested in an intersectional approach to this question, as I believe we can't talk meaningfully about women's lives without talking about race and social class. Otherwise we are working for the rise of a privileged class of women rather than all women. A few things that come to mind: moving away from funding public education through the tax base of a community (i.e. let's share the wealth in the name of equal educational opportunity), finding solutions for the unique impact the criminal justice system has on women's lives and mother's lives, policies for increasing gender/racial/intersectional equity in employment, board memberships, and anywhere else that power resides. Okay, I'll stop talking now and listen to Brittney and Rebecca!
My question is, what are your must-read feminist books?
How would you explain feminism to someone who had never heard of it? What does feminism mean to you?
What inspired you to become a writer?
What inspired you to write about feminism and how has your life changed after doing so?
With everything that has been happening in the world of late, do you think there will ever be a time where feminism is no longer needed and we can just "be"?
This one is for Brittney; during your days at the university of Alabama while you were assistant professor in the Department of Gender and Race Studies, did self-doubt ever raise its ugly head? Its sad but I can't imagine that in an academic setting, Gender and Race studies would be considered a widely respected field - what gave you the drive to push forward and in this current political quagmire, what advice would you give to other young woman of color?
What kind of books do they like to read and how do they choose what to read?
I would like to ask both the following question: If their house was on fire and could only save two books, what books would those be and why? I would love to know what books they own they consider irreplaceable.
I'd want to ask the authors what’s the most interesting thing they’ve learned about their own views on feminism through writing all their books?
Many women have trouble setting boundaries, saying no, dealing with conflict and not enabling, caretaking and giving to takers in the guise of compassion and nurturing. What advice do you have for them when they feel like they are being taken advantage of?
I would like to ask the authors three related questions. 1) How do you cultivate self-worth? 2) Where do you get the courage to fight for your value (once you've realized it), especially at work? 3) How can I be assertive without being aggressive?
Thanks for giving us the chance to ask questions :)How does courage play a role for you (both) when writing about feminism?
Do you believe that stories of Dalit, Bahujan, adivasi, black and women from minorities need to be talked about much more passionately and must be empathized more than what is present around to give them a louder and clearer long due voice OR you discard this intersections within the world's womenfolk?
Feminism seems to be having a moment in a way. How do we push back against it being commodified and becoming just slogans on T-shirts?
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We are very excited to announce that two of our currently selected authors (Brittney Cooper and Rebecca Traister) will be interviewing each other in the near future!
We would love to hear your questions for them, so please post your burning questions in the comments below!
…and if that wasn't enough, we will give away 25 copies of Audre Lorde's Sister Outsider to 25 randomly selected replies!
Please reply to this thread as soon as you can - and good luck!
The OSS Moderators