Showing results by author "Rebecca Traister" in All Categories

In a provocative, groundbreaking work, National Magazine Award finalist Rebecca Traister, "the most brilliant voice on feminism in this country" (Anne Lamott), traces the history of unmarried women in America who, through social, political, and economic means, have radically shaped our nation.

With eloquence and fervour, Rebecca tracks the history of female anger as political fuel. Here Traister explores women’s anger at both men and other women, anger between ideological allies and foes and the varied ways anger is perceived based on its owner as well as the history of caricaturing and de-legitimising female anger and the way women’s collective fury has become transformative political fuel - as is most certainly occurring today.

Words matter. They wound, they inflate, they define, they demean. They have nuance and power. "Effortless", "Sassy", "Ambitious", "Aggressive": What subtle digs and sneaky implications are conveyed when women are described with words like these? Words are made into weapons, warnings, praise, and blame, bearing an outsized influence on women's lives - to say nothing of our moods.

From an early age, young girls are taught anger isn’t an emotion they should express. They’re told—either implicitly or explicitly—to spend their lives keeping their fury locked inside for the benefit of others. But partly, Traister argues, that’s because the anger of women and girls has been a crucial catalyst for change, putting in motion some of the most defining social and political movements in our nation’s history. And it’s that anger that will blaze the path forward for the future.

Extensively researched and told through alternating fiction and nonfiction chapters, this book illuminates a shocking truth: contrary to popular opinion, the witch hunts never ended. Alice shares research that suggests tens of thousands of witch hunt-related deaths have happened all over the world in the last thirty years. The Once & Future Witch Hunt also features tantalizing glimpses into Alice's ancestors' lives and reimagines the trials through fact-based fiction.

The candidate was young - 28-years-old, a child of Puerto Rico, the Bronx, and Yorktown Heights. She was working as a waitress and bartender. She was completely unknown, and taking on a 10-term incumbent in a city famous for protecting its political institutions. “Women like me aren’t supposed to run for office,” Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said in a video launching her campaign, the camera following her as she hastily pulled her hair into a bun. But she did. And in perhaps the most stunning upset in recent memory, she won.

Rebecca Traister and Nora Ephron about politics, life and the future of women. Moderated by Allison Stewart.