Parental influence and a dislike of the "ism"s
As I said, my parents, especially my dad, were catalysts in shaping what I thought about many things. They taught me to question things, rather than blindly accept the norms of the day. They taught m…
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I'm a feminist because life is about change...
We had five children, and I loved my role. We came to a church that was not a good fit for us. Our children were becoming adolescents.They were struggling to find their way in the church and in the c…
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The disturbing story thatl made me a feminist
Meeting Gloria Steinem and hearing her speak was a pivotal experience for me in developing my feminist leadership. I began working at a university Women's Center and began to grow in my feminist awar…
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Orthodox Judaism and feminism from a 15-year-old's perspective
I began writing papers in seventh grade, and I chose to write about Jeanette Rankin, the first woman in Congress, and then every paper I wrote was about feminism and women's rights. I began calling m…
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My feminist revelation at age 16
I can remember exactly when I became a feminist- at school, studying sociology, aged 16 in the 1970s. I read a book called 'Education & the Working Class'. In this book it was revealed that an exam …
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Learning to rely on yourself
Although my father never had an alcohol problem, he had other issues and it became evident early in life that he was not going to be there for me and my mom. His depression throughout the years and m…
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Lessons learned from the family
One thing that helped change my my views on gender was being very active as a military wife and spending a lot of time alone. I lived on half the money and learned to do basic mechanical things and p…
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