Feminists Without Mystique

We're so excited to speak with Zakiya Dalila Harris, the author of THE OTHER BLACK GIRL. We had so many questions for Zakiya, her book is riveting and nuanced and we can't wait for the adaptation on Hulu! (And, we not-so-secretly hope she writes a sequel!) We hope you enjoy this conversation!

We're thrilled to interview Sandra M. Gilbert and Susan Gubar, authors of Still Mad: American Women Writers and the Feminist Imagination. The discussion is delightfully wide-ranging, from the most topical things on our mind (Kyrsten Sinema and Britney Spears) to the broadest questions we are grappling with "Will true equity ever be reached?" and "Why do so many white women regularly vote against their own interests?" We discussed how women have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic, Susan Sontag's lesser known feminist essays, intersectionality, and the utopianism found in feminism - the wish for a better world, and the need to imagine a better world so that it comes into being. And that's just scratching the surface - we hope you enjoy! 

We discuss the two most recent documentaries cashing in on/exposing more details of Britney Spears' 13 year battle to end her conservatorship. The New York Times in partnership with Hulu produced their follow up to this spring's Framing Britney Spears aptly titled Controlling Britney Spears, while Netflix released Britney vs. Spears yesterday. The more we learn about this conservatorship, the more enraging and terrifying it becomes. 

We see you: Devious Lickers, Zillow, Senate Republicans, Kyrsten Sinema, Joseph Ladapo, Louis DeJoy

We see you: Hangtime Sports Bar & Grill (Rowlett, TX), Scott Frank and William Horberg's Queen's Gambit Emmy speeches, Lauren Pefferle, Benton Harbor water quality, CBP treatment of Haitian asylum seekers at the border

We cover a lot of news at the top - Britney Spears's engagement and departure from Instagram, and (hopefully!) nearing the end of conservatorship, AOC's decision to wear a "Tax the Rich" gown to the Met Gala, the confirmation that Olivia Munn is indeed pregnant with John Mulaney's child (WHY DO WE CARE SO MUCH?!), and Governor Newsom winning the CA recall race. And THEN we get into our main topic - toxic positivity and the limits of manifesting change -- and how social media exacerbates some of these problematic and unhelpful strategies. 

We're still furious about the rolling back of abortion rights so we're getting deeper into it today.  We discuss the Supreme Court's 5-4 decision to let the law stand for now, despite it being clearly unconstitutional and encouraging vigilante justice. This is a big moment and we're still processing - so it's getting a second episode!