1 00:00:03,120 --> 00:00:06,200 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff Mom Never told you from how Stuff 2 00:00:06,200 --> 00:00:13,760 Speaker 1: Works dot Com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. I'm 3 00:00:13,840 --> 00:00:19,560 Speaker 1: Kristen and I'm Caroline, and welcome to Black History Month. Yes, welcome, Caroline. 4 00:00:19,760 --> 00:00:26,360 Speaker 1: Let's kick off Black History Month by highlighting six black 5 00:00:26,520 --> 00:00:30,200 Speaker 1: feminist pioneers that you should know. Some names might be familiar, 6 00:00:30,720 --> 00:00:33,960 Speaker 1: some names might not be so familiar. But we just 7 00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:37,240 Speaker 1: wanted to take this episode to talk about some really 8 00:00:37,360 --> 00:00:40,680 Speaker 1: radical women in honor Black History Month. And we're gonnat 9 00:00:40,720 --> 00:00:44,480 Speaker 1: this is only the first of a number of Black 10 00:00:44,560 --> 00:00:47,639 Speaker 1: History Month episodes that we're going to do. We're very 11 00:00:47,640 --> 00:00:51,400 Speaker 1: excited about this. We are, we are very excited. But Caroline, 12 00:00:51,440 --> 00:00:55,520 Speaker 1: before we start talking about, um, these women, these incredible women, 13 00:00:55,920 --> 00:00:59,160 Speaker 1: you know, we gott to talk about first what ourselves 14 00:01:00,240 --> 00:01:06,240 Speaker 1: obviously Obviously, what I mean is, Okay, we need to 15 00:01:06,280 --> 00:01:11,280 Speaker 1: address briefly the issue of privilege, because we're gonna be 16 00:01:11,319 --> 00:01:17,560 Speaker 1: talking about black women and feminism and how feminism relates 17 00:01:17,680 --> 00:01:23,000 Speaker 1: to to black women, and as two women of Caucasian 18 00:01:23,080 --> 00:01:27,959 Speaker 1: descent with very fair skin that is easily sun burned, um, 19 00:01:28,040 --> 00:01:32,320 Speaker 1: we should talk about privilege first, right, Yeah, Yeah, And 20 00:01:33,240 --> 00:01:39,399 Speaker 1: basically recognizing that privilege is the key to having a 21 00:01:39,480 --> 00:01:43,680 Speaker 1: good discussion about feminism and about black feminism in particular, 22 00:01:43,720 --> 00:01:46,680 Speaker 1: which is what we'll be focusing on in this episode, 23 00:01:47,040 --> 00:01:50,240 Speaker 1: because it was Bell Hooks, the feminist writer with the 24 00:01:50,360 --> 00:01:53,720 Speaker 1: lower case name we'll talk about later in this episode, 25 00:01:54,200 --> 00:01:59,680 Speaker 1: who said that feminism ignores non white and poor white 26 00:01:59,720 --> 00:02:03,920 Speaker 1: women in books like The Feminine Mystique overlooked an entire 27 00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:06,680 Speaker 1: portion of the population. So it's important to admit that 28 00:02:06,760 --> 00:02:11,799 Speaker 1: we are, as young white women Kristen, as the Feminist 29 00:02:11,800 --> 00:02:14,840 Speaker 1: Wire would put it in May twelve, uh, we have 30 00:02:14,919 --> 00:02:19,240 Speaker 1: been afforded certain unearned privileges on the basis of one 31 00:02:19,360 --> 00:02:22,000 Speaker 1: or more parts of our identity. And that part of 32 00:02:22,040 --> 00:02:26,960 Speaker 1: our identity would be, uh, you know, the being white essentially, 33 00:02:27,120 --> 00:02:30,760 Speaker 1: and and speaking more to the connection between like the 34 00:02:31,040 --> 00:02:35,160 Speaker 1: Feminine Mystique and Betty for Dan and second wave feminism. Um, 35 00:02:35,200 --> 00:02:39,239 Speaker 1: there was a huge criticism, and rightfully so, about how 36 00:02:39,400 --> 00:02:42,520 Speaker 1: it was largely a movement initially, that that really did 37 00:02:43,120 --> 00:02:46,720 Speaker 1: speak directly to the needs of middle and upper middle 38 00:02:46,760 --> 00:02:50,760 Speaker 1: class white women. Um. And to get more of a 39 00:02:50,760 --> 00:02:54,200 Speaker 1: sense of that, let's go back again to Bell Hooks. 40 00:02:54,240 --> 00:02:57,840 Speaker 1: She writes for Dan's famous phrase, the problem that has 41 00:02:57,960 --> 00:03:02,120 Speaker 1: no Name, that's from the femininisty often quoted to describe 42 00:03:02,160 --> 00:03:04,960 Speaker 1: the condition of women in this society, actually referred to 43 00:03:04,960 --> 00:03:08,400 Speaker 1: the plight of a select group of college educated, middle 44 00:03:08,440 --> 00:03:12,200 Speaker 1: and upper class married white women, housewives, board with leisure, 45 00:03:12,280 --> 00:03:16,120 Speaker 1: with home with children, with buying products, who wanted more 46 00:03:16,160 --> 00:03:19,000 Speaker 1: out of life. And for black women listening to that 47 00:03:19,120 --> 00:03:22,360 Speaker 1: at the time and even today, UM, they were like, well, 48 00:03:22,440 --> 00:03:26,040 Speaker 1: that you were incredibly privileged to be wanting to fight 49 00:03:26,120 --> 00:03:29,200 Speaker 1: this fight because you know, you're talking about oh, well, 50 00:03:29,240 --> 00:03:30,919 Speaker 1: you know, we want to get outside of the home. 51 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:35,760 Speaker 1: And these these other women who were not afforded luxuries 52 00:03:35,800 --> 00:03:38,960 Speaker 1: like going to college and maybe even being able to 53 00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:42,720 Speaker 1: stay um in the home, had been working outside of 54 00:03:42,760 --> 00:03:45,680 Speaker 1: the home for a long time. And this also reminded 55 00:03:45,720 --> 00:03:50,240 Speaker 1: me of our domestic service podcasts, UM. And when we 56 00:03:50,240 --> 00:03:54,160 Speaker 1: were researching for that, uh, we found some some commentary 57 00:03:54,200 --> 00:03:57,560 Speaker 1: on how the National Organization for Women at the time 58 00:03:57,600 --> 00:04:00,240 Speaker 1: was in favor of extaining the fair labor standards two 59 00:04:00,280 --> 00:04:03,600 Speaker 1: household workers in order to make that field more attractive 60 00:04:04,200 --> 00:04:09,120 Speaker 1: to lower class women. Since the those middle and upper class, 61 00:04:09,160 --> 00:04:12,560 Speaker 1: college educated women who were organizing with now we're gonna 62 00:04:12,600 --> 00:04:14,720 Speaker 1: be needing to leave the home so they would need 63 00:04:14,760 --> 00:04:17,840 Speaker 1: someone else to come in and take care of it. 64 00:04:18,240 --> 00:04:20,919 Speaker 1: So we're not saying that second way feminism is bad, 65 00:04:21,440 --> 00:04:26,479 Speaker 1: it just overlooked a lot, right, and Hooks wrote that, 66 00:04:26,560 --> 00:04:30,360 Speaker 1: you know, the concerns of housewives of whatever class we're 67 00:04:30,400 --> 00:04:33,680 Speaker 1: worth being considered, but she said they were not the 68 00:04:33,760 --> 00:04:38,640 Speaker 1: pressing political concerns of masses of women. And so then 69 00:04:38,680 --> 00:04:44,719 Speaker 1: you get into black feminism, which is distinct from uh 70 00:04:45,160 --> 00:04:47,960 Speaker 1: like feminist second way feminism, I guess you would say, 71 00:04:48,240 --> 00:04:52,200 Speaker 1: and intentionally so, right, Black feminism was something that existed 72 00:04:52,240 --> 00:04:58,640 Speaker 1: outside of both regular mainstream feminism and the Black liberation movement. 73 00:04:58,760 --> 00:05:01,000 Speaker 1: A lot of activists at this time point out, like 74 00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:04,960 Speaker 1: we've already talked about that the middle class white housewife 75 00:05:04,960 --> 00:05:07,279 Speaker 1: concerns were not the same as those of a lot 76 00:05:07,360 --> 00:05:10,200 Speaker 1: of either poor white people or people of color. But 77 00:05:10,400 --> 00:05:13,880 Speaker 1: neither were the concerns of the Black liberation movement entirely 78 00:05:13,960 --> 00:05:16,760 Speaker 1: covering those of black feminists. Because a lot of people 79 00:05:16,800 --> 00:05:19,440 Speaker 1: point out the Black liberation movement had a lot to 80 00:05:19,480 --> 00:05:24,120 Speaker 1: do with men's Black men's rights and their manhood and there, 81 00:05:25,160 --> 00:05:29,080 Speaker 1: you know, basically extending their rights in society. Yeah, I 82 00:05:29,279 --> 00:05:33,440 Speaker 1: forget which feminist scholar was writing about this, but she 83 00:05:33,440 --> 00:05:36,000 Speaker 1: she pointed out that for Black women at the time 84 00:05:36,040 --> 00:05:39,560 Speaker 1: who were engaged in the Black liberation movement, and that 85 00:05:39,640 --> 00:05:43,920 Speaker 1: encompasses several movements such as civil rights movement, black nationalism, 86 00:05:43,920 --> 00:05:48,240 Speaker 1: black panthers, a student non violent Coordinating Committee UM. When 87 00:05:48,240 --> 00:05:52,640 Speaker 1: they would be in conversations, when the word men would 88 00:05:52,640 --> 00:05:54,960 Speaker 1: be dropped, it would be in reference to black men. 89 00:05:55,040 --> 00:05:57,120 Speaker 1: When the word feminism would be dropped, it would be 90 00:05:57,120 --> 00:06:00,800 Speaker 1: inherently in reference to white women. And so they were saying, well, 91 00:06:01,520 --> 00:06:04,520 Speaker 1: where are we? And so black feminism was born out 92 00:06:04,600 --> 00:06:08,119 Speaker 1: of this UM we can will also bring up womanism 93 00:06:08,240 --> 00:06:11,320 Speaker 1: later in the podcast, which is a word coined by 94 00:06:11,400 --> 00:06:19,559 Speaker 1: Alice Walker to delineate a more intersectional um feminism from 95 00:06:19,760 --> 00:06:22,839 Speaker 1: the from the main stream, to encompass everybody, not just 96 00:06:23,440 --> 00:06:27,320 Speaker 1: not just white women. Essentially, yeah, Bell Hooks wrote. Going 97 00:06:27,320 --> 00:06:29,640 Speaker 1: back to Bell Hooks, who is Wonderful? She wrote that 98 00:06:30,040 --> 00:06:33,200 Speaker 1: Black women basically denied a part of themselves. This is 99 00:06:33,240 --> 00:06:35,800 Speaker 1: coming from her book Ain't I a Woman? She says 100 00:06:35,839 --> 00:06:38,400 Speaker 1: contemporary Black women could not join together to fight for 101 00:06:38,440 --> 00:06:41,880 Speaker 1: women's rights because we did not see quote womanhood as 102 00:06:41,920 --> 00:06:45,359 Speaker 1: an important aspect of our identity. Racist sexist socialization. It 103 00:06:45,400 --> 00:06:48,960 Speaker 1: conditioned us to value our femaleness and to regard race 104 00:06:49,080 --> 00:06:52,200 Speaker 1: is the only relevant label of identification. So there's this 105 00:06:52,320 --> 00:06:56,000 Speaker 1: push to see not just your race but also your 106 00:06:56,040 --> 00:06:59,680 Speaker 1: gender and how those two things combine to shape both 107 00:06:59,720 --> 00:07:02,560 Speaker 1: who you are and how the outside world views you. 108 00:07:03,600 --> 00:07:07,880 Speaker 1: And considering, um, that the way that those kind of 109 00:07:07,920 --> 00:07:11,800 Speaker 1: things have been overshadowed by, uh, the the culture that 110 00:07:11,840 --> 00:07:16,120 Speaker 1: they were living in and society for a long time. Um, 111 00:07:16,160 --> 00:07:19,480 Speaker 1: why don't we talk about these six women who were like, 112 00:07:19,520 --> 00:07:22,520 Speaker 1: you know what, I am really not going to have this. 113 00:07:22,960 --> 00:07:25,200 Speaker 1: I don't care. I have a voice, I have a mind, 114 00:07:25,640 --> 00:07:29,560 Speaker 1: and I'm gonna speak it and I'm going to pave 115 00:07:29,640 --> 00:07:33,160 Speaker 1: the way for some incredible change. Yeah. One of those 116 00:07:33,200 --> 00:07:36,600 Speaker 1: women was Maria Stewart. She lived from eighteen o three 117 00:07:36,600 --> 00:07:39,760 Speaker 1: to eighteen seventy nine. This is coming from a PBS 118 00:07:39,920 --> 00:07:43,400 Speaker 1: article about her. She was actually born free in Boston, 119 00:07:44,080 --> 00:07:47,520 Speaker 1: orphaned at the age of five, and subsequently hired out 120 00:07:47,560 --> 00:07:52,640 Speaker 1: as a domestic worker. She was largely self taught. She 121 00:07:52,680 --> 00:07:54,760 Speaker 1: she really worked hard during her time as a domestic 122 00:07:54,760 --> 00:07:58,560 Speaker 1: worker to educate herself, and she ended up meeting David Walker, 123 00:07:58,640 --> 00:08:00,840 Speaker 1: who was the author of the anti Slavery Treatise an 124 00:08:00,880 --> 00:08:04,680 Speaker 1: appeal to the colored people of the world, and after 125 00:08:04,760 --> 00:08:07,680 Speaker 1: his death. Walker's death, she ended up writing articles for 126 00:08:07,720 --> 00:08:11,760 Speaker 1: the abolitionist paper The Liberator, publishing anti slavery tracks and 127 00:08:11,800 --> 00:08:13,960 Speaker 1: becoming one of the first, if not the first. There 128 00:08:14,000 --> 00:08:16,800 Speaker 1: is a question about who was the first African American 129 00:08:16,840 --> 00:08:19,280 Speaker 1: woman to speak in public, and not only in public 130 00:08:19,320 --> 00:08:22,920 Speaker 1: Kristen in front of a promiscuous audience of both men 131 00:08:22,960 --> 00:08:26,160 Speaker 1: and women. Now by promiscuous, we mean that's an old 132 00:08:26,200 --> 00:08:30,960 Speaker 1: school term for both men and women gender how skinless. Yeah, 133 00:08:31,040 --> 00:08:33,920 Speaker 1: and and some scholars say that she represents the first 134 00:08:34,080 --> 00:08:38,520 Speaker 1: public representation of black feminism because a lot of her 135 00:08:38,960 --> 00:08:40,920 Speaker 1: speeches that she gave well, and I say a lot 136 00:08:40,960 --> 00:08:43,719 Speaker 1: of her speeches she only spoke publicly for I want 137 00:08:43,720 --> 00:08:47,240 Speaker 1: to say, like four years, um. But during that time, 138 00:08:47,960 --> 00:08:52,160 Speaker 1: a lot of her stuff focused more on pro black nationalism. 139 00:08:52,200 --> 00:08:55,760 Speaker 1: But she was also very insistent not just an extending 140 00:08:56,280 --> 00:09:02,040 Speaker 1: education to black children, but specifically to girls, and talking 141 00:09:02,080 --> 00:09:07,040 Speaker 1: about how women need education just as much as those 142 00:09:07,160 --> 00:09:10,680 Speaker 1: boys do. And um, she published this was also very 143 00:09:10,760 --> 00:09:13,280 Speaker 1: rare for a woman at the time, much less um, 144 00:09:13,320 --> 00:09:15,720 Speaker 1: an African American woman at the time, she published her 145 00:09:15,720 --> 00:09:18,000 Speaker 1: writings in a book called The Meditations from the Pen 146 00:09:18,440 --> 00:09:22,679 Speaker 1: of Mrs Maria W. Stewart. So, yeah, in addition to 147 00:09:23,080 --> 00:09:27,400 Speaker 1: this writing and her you know, emphasis on morality, religion, 148 00:09:27,440 --> 00:09:30,360 Speaker 1: and education, she was actually a public school teacher in 149 00:09:30,360 --> 00:09:35,520 Speaker 1: New York and founded schools in Baltimore and Washington, d C. Yeah, 150 00:09:35,600 --> 00:09:37,960 Speaker 1: and her speeches and essays were part of a growing 151 00:09:38,000 --> 00:09:44,079 Speaker 1: abolitionist movement and a stimulus for the women's rights movement. 152 00:09:44,160 --> 00:09:46,400 Speaker 1: And um, and that's really important, like to to talk 153 00:09:46,440 --> 00:09:50,720 Speaker 1: about how uh there she bridged not only abolition but 154 00:09:50,840 --> 00:09:54,640 Speaker 1: also women's rights, because um, that was pretty rare at 155 00:09:54,640 --> 00:09:57,120 Speaker 1: the time as well. If we go back to a 156 00:09:57,200 --> 00:10:00,360 Speaker 1: quote from sojourn or Truth, for instance, she won said 157 00:10:00,559 --> 00:10:03,080 Speaker 1: there's a great stir about colored men getting their rights, 158 00:10:03,120 --> 00:10:05,720 Speaker 1: but not a word about colored women. And if colored 159 00:10:05,720 --> 00:10:07,440 Speaker 1: men are to get their rights and not colored women, 160 00:10:07,440 --> 00:10:09,400 Speaker 1: there's you see, the colored men will be masters over 161 00:10:09,440 --> 00:10:11,959 Speaker 1: the women and it will be just as bad as 162 00:10:12,080 --> 00:10:16,160 Speaker 1: it was before. And what Marie Stewart did was kind 163 00:10:16,160 --> 00:10:19,199 Speaker 1: of a hearken to those those words from sogourneral Truth 164 00:10:19,320 --> 00:10:23,560 Speaker 1: and advocate for women to educate themselves and rise up 165 00:10:23,600 --> 00:10:26,400 Speaker 1: as well. Now you mentioned, Caroline that Stewart was a 166 00:10:26,400 --> 00:10:28,920 Speaker 1: public school teacher and founded schools in Baltimore in d C. 167 00:10:29,600 --> 00:10:36,200 Speaker 1: And that is an excellent transition to our next inspiring woman, 168 00:10:36,679 --> 00:10:44,440 Speaker 1: Daisy Bates, because she lad the effort to integrate schools 169 00:10:44,440 --> 00:10:48,679 Speaker 1: public schools in Arkansas. Yeah, she and her husband actually 170 00:10:48,720 --> 00:10:51,559 Speaker 1: have a great story. They worked very closely together to 171 00:10:51,800 --> 00:10:56,240 Speaker 1: in segregation and improve education for black students. She was 172 00:10:56,280 --> 00:10:58,760 Speaker 1: actually the president of the Arkansas in Double A CP 173 00:10:59,040 --> 00:11:02,120 Speaker 1: and her husband was its regional director, and they went 174 00:11:02,160 --> 00:11:05,319 Speaker 1: on to run a newspaper together. He was the publisher 175 00:11:05,360 --> 00:11:07,880 Speaker 1: of the Arkansas State Press, which is the largest black 176 00:11:07,880 --> 00:11:10,319 Speaker 1: newspaper in the state, and she was his star reporter. 177 00:11:10,600 --> 00:11:12,200 Speaker 1: And you know, of course, like when he was out 178 00:11:12,240 --> 00:11:14,439 Speaker 1: of town, she filled in as publisher and editor and 179 00:11:14,480 --> 00:11:17,520 Speaker 1: all this stuff. So they were actually a very dynamic couple. 180 00:11:18,080 --> 00:11:21,040 Speaker 1: So Daisy and the Inn Double A c P took 181 00:11:21,200 --> 00:11:24,920 Speaker 1: the Little Rock School Board to task after the Supreme 182 00:11:24,960 --> 00:11:28,800 Speaker 1: Courts nineteen fifty four call to in segregation, and she 183 00:11:29,000 --> 00:11:34,199 Speaker 1: helped recruit those nine bright kids who would defy segregationists. Yeah, 184 00:11:34,360 --> 00:11:37,640 Speaker 1: nineteen fifty four, that Brown versus Topeka Board of Education 185 00:11:37,679 --> 00:11:41,880 Speaker 1: decision from the Supreme Court struck down the previous separate 186 00:11:42,120 --> 00:11:45,880 Speaker 1: but equal ruling, and Daisy Bates said, hey, you know what, 187 00:11:46,080 --> 00:11:49,720 Speaker 1: I guess what it's time Little Rock for UH, for 188 00:11:49,840 --> 00:11:54,000 Speaker 1: us to follow suit and desegregate as well. Of course, 189 00:11:54,120 --> 00:11:58,560 Speaker 1: this was not greeted with open arms by either the 190 00:11:58,679 --> 00:12:01,760 Speaker 1: school board or or and really any of the white 191 00:12:01,760 --> 00:12:05,640 Speaker 1: people in Little Rocket, seems like. And her house became 192 00:12:05,679 --> 00:12:08,960 Speaker 1: the headquarters for the plan and execution of this. Now 193 00:12:09,000 --> 00:12:13,280 Speaker 1: that it's also became a target for for people who 194 00:12:13,280 --> 00:12:17,839 Speaker 1: are looking to do violence against those wishing to desegregate UM, 195 00:12:17,840 --> 00:12:20,240 Speaker 1: and speaking to Mpr Earnest Green, who was one of 196 00:12:20,240 --> 00:12:22,920 Speaker 1: the Little Rock nine of that group of students who 197 00:12:22,920 --> 00:12:26,720 Speaker 1: integrated Central High School, said Daisy Bates was the poster 198 00:12:26,840 --> 00:12:29,520 Speaker 1: child of black resistance. She was a quarterback, the coach, 199 00:12:29,840 --> 00:12:34,480 Speaker 1: and we were the players. Yeah. And after this this 200 00:12:34,520 --> 00:12:38,400 Speaker 1: whole event UH, an advertiser boycott of the couple's paper 201 00:12:38,480 --> 00:12:40,719 Speaker 1: forced it to shut down in nineteen fifty nine, but 202 00:12:41,280 --> 00:12:43,679 Speaker 1: she was not down and out. In nineteen eighty four, 203 00:12:44,000 --> 00:12:46,559 Speaker 1: she brought the paper back in that same year ended 204 00:12:46,600 --> 00:12:49,600 Speaker 1: up receiving an honorary Doctor of Law's degree from University 205 00:12:49,600 --> 00:12:53,560 Speaker 1: of Arkansas at Fayetteville. Yeah, and in honor of the 206 00:12:53,640 --> 00:12:56,400 Speaker 1: work that Daisy Bates did, because she became like the 207 00:12:56,640 --> 00:13:00,240 Speaker 1: national spokesperson for I mean, not just something that was 208 00:13:00,280 --> 00:13:03,480 Speaker 1: happening in Little Rock, but it was symbolic for the 209 00:13:03,800 --> 00:13:07,320 Speaker 1: civil rights movement that was kicking off all over the nation. 210 00:13:07,640 --> 00:13:10,880 Speaker 1: And for that work, she became the first and only 211 00:13:11,440 --> 00:13:15,240 Speaker 1: still African American July in state of the Arkansas capital 212 00:13:15,440 --> 00:13:20,160 Speaker 1: when she died in and one of Daisy Bates's contemporaries 213 00:13:20,440 --> 00:13:24,720 Speaker 1: was a lawyer and activist by the name of Flow Kennedy. Uh. 214 00:13:24,800 --> 00:13:26,600 Speaker 1: This is coming from the New York Times, who wrote 215 00:13:26,600 --> 00:13:30,560 Speaker 1: an incredible obituary about Kennedy, pointing out that she was 216 00:13:30,720 --> 00:13:34,680 Speaker 1: very recognizable in a cowboy hat and pink sunglasses, often 217 00:13:34,880 --> 00:13:37,600 Speaker 1: with her middle finger in the air. And it was 218 00:13:37,640 --> 00:13:41,439 Speaker 1: her flamboyant attire that drew attention to the very powerful 219 00:13:41,880 --> 00:13:46,960 Speaker 1: words and deeds that she did surrounding civil rights and feminism. Yeah, 220 00:13:46,960 --> 00:13:50,040 Speaker 1: I feel like Flow Kennedy was kind of an embodiment 221 00:13:50,480 --> 00:13:55,440 Speaker 1: of uh second way feminism going on in um the 222 00:13:55,520 --> 00:14:00,000 Speaker 1: late sixties. She would tour around actually with Glorious Steinum 223 00:14:00,040 --> 00:14:04,200 Speaker 1: and talking about feminism and a lot of times as 224 00:14:04,400 --> 00:14:07,400 Speaker 1: a Stamond now tells there would be men in the 225 00:14:07,440 --> 00:14:10,400 Speaker 1: audience who would at some point stand up and say 226 00:14:10,400 --> 00:14:13,280 Speaker 1: are you guys, are you two lesbians or what, and 227 00:14:13,320 --> 00:14:16,400 Speaker 1: flow Kennedy would look at them and say, well, why 228 00:14:16,440 --> 00:14:19,600 Speaker 1: are you I mean, are you the my alternative? And 229 00:14:19,640 --> 00:14:25,120 Speaker 1: then everyone be like, oh this snap. But yeah, she 230 00:14:25,440 --> 00:14:27,880 Speaker 1: she has a really interesting law school story. She was 231 00:14:27,920 --> 00:14:30,360 Speaker 1: one of the first black women to graduate from Columbia 232 00:14:30,440 --> 00:14:33,840 Speaker 1: Law School and was admitted to the school after threatening 233 00:14:33,840 --> 00:14:36,600 Speaker 1: a discrimination suit. So when she got in she was 234 00:14:36,640 --> 00:14:38,880 Speaker 1: one of eight women in the class and the only 235 00:14:39,080 --> 00:14:42,920 Speaker 1: black person. And after she graduated in nineteen fifty one, 236 00:14:43,080 --> 00:14:45,440 Speaker 1: she worked for a Manhattan law firm before opening her 237 00:14:45,520 --> 00:14:49,760 Speaker 1: own law office in nineteen fifty four. Unfortunately, she had 238 00:14:49,760 --> 00:14:51,680 Speaker 1: actually had to take a job at Bloomingdale's at one 239 00:14:51,720 --> 00:14:53,800 Speaker 1: point to pay the rent because she was struggling in 240 00:14:53,800 --> 00:14:59,920 Speaker 1: her law practice. Yeah, and practicing law initially soured flow 241 00:15:00,040 --> 00:15:02,800 Speaker 1: Kennedy because what she did at first was the first 242 00:15:02,880 --> 00:15:05,360 Speaker 1: vacation she got. At least, we're representing the states of 243 00:15:05,400 --> 00:15:08,840 Speaker 1: Billy Holliday and Charlie Parker to recover money owed to 244 00:15:08,960 --> 00:15:13,000 Speaker 1: them from record companies, and she says that handling those 245 00:15:13,040 --> 00:15:15,920 Speaker 1: cases quote taught me more than I was really ready 246 00:15:15,920 --> 00:15:18,800 Speaker 1: for about government and business delinquency and the hostility and 247 00:15:18,840 --> 00:15:22,800 Speaker 1: helplessness of the courts. And that energized Flow Kennedy to 248 00:15:23,000 --> 00:15:27,640 Speaker 1: then move more, far more into straight up activism. For instance, 249 00:15:27,760 --> 00:15:30,119 Speaker 1: uh in nineteen sixty six she set up the organization 250 00:15:30,520 --> 00:15:34,640 Speaker 1: Media Workshop to fight racism and journalism and advertising. And 251 00:15:34,640 --> 00:15:38,600 Speaker 1: then the legal cases that she took on from there 252 00:15:39,040 --> 00:15:44,960 Speaker 1: were almost always very overtly political. Yeah. In nineteen sixty 253 00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:47,320 Speaker 1: eight she actually sued the Roman Catholic Church for what 254 00:15:47,440 --> 00:15:51,000 Speaker 1: she viewed as interference with abortion. In nineteen sixty nine, 255 00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:53,320 Speaker 1: there are two big cases. The first she organized a 256 00:15:53,320 --> 00:15:56,320 Speaker 1: group of feminist lawyers to challenge the constitutionality of New 257 00:15:56,400 --> 00:15:59,760 Speaker 1: York's abortion law, and also that year helped represent and 258 00:16:00,200 --> 00:16:03,520 Speaker 1: get acquitted twenty one black panthers on trial for conspiracy 259 00:16:03,560 --> 00:16:06,600 Speaker 1: to commit bombings. And on top of that, because she 260 00:16:06,640 --> 00:16:09,320 Speaker 1: wasn't missy or anything like that, she was a founding 261 00:16:09,320 --> 00:16:12,840 Speaker 1: member of the National Organization for Women, she didn't really 262 00:16:12,920 --> 00:16:16,480 Speaker 1: stay highly involved with now that long because she always 263 00:16:16,560 --> 00:16:19,920 Speaker 1: wanted to keep starting these little, these little fires everywhere. 264 00:16:19,920 --> 00:16:21,920 Speaker 1: And I say that in in a positive way. For instance, 265 00:16:21,920 --> 00:16:26,560 Speaker 1: In nineteen ninete, she founded the Feminist Party, the political 266 00:16:26,600 --> 00:16:33,200 Speaker 1: party which nominated Representative Surely Chisholm for president and uh. 267 00:16:33,520 --> 00:16:36,840 Speaker 1: One of her one of her colorful, many colorful quotes 268 00:16:37,000 --> 00:16:39,280 Speaker 1: that she left behind that the New York Times quoted 269 00:16:39,360 --> 00:16:42,840 Speaker 1: in their obituary ever, was a quote, I'm just a loudmouth, 270 00:16:43,280 --> 00:16:45,480 Speaker 1: middle aged colored lady with a few spine and three 271 00:16:45,520 --> 00:16:47,600 Speaker 1: feet of intestines missing. And a lot of people think 272 00:16:47,600 --> 00:16:50,000 Speaker 1: I'm crazy. Maybe you do too, But I never stopped 273 00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:51,800 Speaker 1: to wonder why I'm not like a lot of other people. 274 00:16:52,040 --> 00:16:56,920 Speaker 1: The mystery to me is why more people aren't like me? Yeah. Well, 275 00:16:56,960 --> 00:16:59,600 Speaker 1: another colorful character that I know we've talked about on 276 00:16:59,640 --> 00:17:03,960 Speaker 1: the podcas House before is Audrey Lord, who was a 277 00:17:04,040 --> 00:17:07,480 Speaker 1: poet who died in nineteen after a long battle with cancer, 278 00:17:07,560 --> 00:17:10,680 Speaker 1: and a lot of her work was actually inspired by 279 00:17:10,720 --> 00:17:13,040 Speaker 1: that battle. But she referred to herself as a black 280 00:17:13,080 --> 00:17:16,840 Speaker 1: feminist lesbian mother poet. You forgot warrior, Oh, I can't 281 00:17:16,840 --> 00:17:21,600 Speaker 1: forge a warrior, black feminist, lesbian mother warrior poet. Yeah, 282 00:17:21,680 --> 00:17:24,360 Speaker 1: that that was a bad omission. I mean, talk about 283 00:17:24,400 --> 00:17:26,600 Speaker 1: a title and you fit all of that on a 284 00:17:26,640 --> 00:17:31,720 Speaker 1: business card. Audrey Lord was one of the earlier of spokespeople. 285 00:17:31,840 --> 00:17:35,360 Speaker 1: In a way that's not the correct term, but um, 286 00:17:35,440 --> 00:17:39,280 Speaker 1: her writing really highlighted what we would now come to 287 00:17:39,320 --> 00:17:44,719 Speaker 1: call intersectionality. In other words, she celebrated differences because her 288 00:17:44,720 --> 00:17:48,639 Speaker 1: passion was for the liberation of oppressed people's and organizing 289 00:17:48,680 --> 00:17:54,440 Speaker 1: across differences in rased gender, sexual orientation, class, age, and ability, 290 00:17:54,480 --> 00:18:01,600 Speaker 1: and she found marginalization in categories like lesbian or black women. Lord. Actually, 291 00:18:02,160 --> 00:18:04,159 Speaker 1: you know, knew she was different from an early age 292 00:18:04,200 --> 00:18:08,360 Speaker 1: and was very sensitive. She actually communicated through poetry, and 293 00:18:08,400 --> 00:18:10,439 Speaker 1: she says that if she didn't, you know, have a 294 00:18:10,480 --> 00:18:13,480 Speaker 1: poem memorized to basically summarize how she felt, she would 295 00:18:13,520 --> 00:18:15,520 Speaker 1: start making her own. So around twelve or three teen, 296 00:18:15,560 --> 00:18:19,119 Speaker 1: she started writing poetry, which launched her into a whole 297 00:18:19,240 --> 00:18:22,800 Speaker 1: career in academia. And interestingly, her first poem was accepted 298 00:18:22,840 --> 00:18:26,320 Speaker 1: into seventeen magazine. She actually saw art as a way 299 00:18:26,359 --> 00:18:31,120 Speaker 1: to protest destructive social patterns. So from her position as 300 00:18:31,240 --> 00:18:35,520 Speaker 1: a popular poet, she really kind of took the hammer 301 00:18:35,560 --> 00:18:39,439 Speaker 1: to people who were you know, racist, homophobic, just basically 302 00:18:39,520 --> 00:18:44,680 Speaker 1: afraid of differences in society. She said that my sexuality 303 00:18:44,760 --> 00:18:46,600 Speaker 1: is part and parcel of who I am, and my 304 00:18:46,720 --> 00:18:49,920 Speaker 1: poetry comes from the intersection of me and my world. 305 00:18:50,440 --> 00:18:54,880 Speaker 1: Jesse Helms, who's who was a white conservative senator. Jesse 306 00:18:54,960 --> 00:18:57,679 Speaker 1: helms objection to my work is not about obscenity or 307 00:18:57,720 --> 00:19:01,159 Speaker 1: even about sex. It is about revolution and change. Helms 308 00:19:01,200 --> 00:19:04,560 Speaker 1: represents white patriarchal power, and he knows that my writing 309 00:19:04,680 --> 00:19:08,360 Speaker 1: is aimed at his destruction and the destruction of every 310 00:19:08,400 --> 00:19:11,119 Speaker 1: single thing he stands for. Yeah. I feel like Audrey 311 00:19:11,160 --> 00:19:15,040 Speaker 1: Lord one of the bravest women. She clearly was not 312 00:19:15,560 --> 00:19:18,520 Speaker 1: not afraid to speak her mind and speaking of her sexuality, 313 00:19:18,640 --> 00:19:21,800 Speaker 1: she did initially marry attorney Edwin Rawlins and they had 314 00:19:21,800 --> 00:19:24,040 Speaker 1: two kids together, then they got divorced, and then she 315 00:19:24,119 --> 00:19:26,960 Speaker 1: got together with who would become her twenty year partner, 316 00:19:27,040 --> 00:19:31,480 Speaker 1: Francis Clayton, and a lot of her poetry does focus 317 00:19:31,520 --> 00:19:36,040 Speaker 1: on um sexuality. She spoke very openly about um being 318 00:19:36,040 --> 00:19:40,800 Speaker 1: a lesbian, but also her concept of being a lesbian, 319 00:19:40,920 --> 00:19:44,439 Speaker 1: which did not just include you know, women who openly 320 00:19:44,480 --> 00:19:48,160 Speaker 1: identified with being attracted to other women, but really all 321 00:19:48,720 --> 00:19:52,399 Speaker 1: women in general. UM. But I feel like all of 322 00:19:52,440 --> 00:19:58,240 Speaker 1: that roots though, back to her passion for intersectionality. UM. 323 00:19:58,280 --> 00:20:02,480 Speaker 1: Here's a quote from her three book, There is No 324 00:20:02,600 --> 00:20:06,280 Speaker 1: hierarchy of oppressions. She writes, I cannot afford the luxury 325 00:20:06,280 --> 00:20:08,600 Speaker 1: of fighting one form of oppression only. I cannot afford 326 00:20:08,640 --> 00:20:11,359 Speaker 1: to believe that freedom from intolerance is the right of 327 00:20:11,359 --> 00:20:13,680 Speaker 1: only one particular group. And I cannot afford to choose 328 00:20:13,680 --> 00:20:16,040 Speaker 1: between the fronts upon me which I must battle these 329 00:20:16,080 --> 00:20:19,200 Speaker 1: forces of discrimination wherever they appear to destroy me. And 330 00:20:19,240 --> 00:20:21,480 Speaker 1: when they appear to destroy me, it will not be 331 00:20:21,640 --> 00:20:26,000 Speaker 1: long before they appear to destroy you. And I feel like, 332 00:20:26,080 --> 00:20:28,000 Speaker 1: I don't know about you, Caroline, but I feel like 333 00:20:28,000 --> 00:20:31,280 Speaker 1: intersectionality is something that only just now. I mean that 334 00:20:31,320 --> 00:20:33,760 Speaker 1: she was writing that nine eight three. It's two thousand thirteen, 335 00:20:33,760 --> 00:20:36,320 Speaker 1: and I feel like it's only something that even now 336 00:20:36,480 --> 00:20:43,440 Speaker 1: is starting to kind of breakthrough two more mainstream conversations 337 00:20:43,480 --> 00:20:47,119 Speaker 1: of taking all of these things into account, all the 338 00:20:47,160 --> 00:20:51,560 Speaker 1: different types of discrimination that exists. So she was definitely 339 00:20:51,560 --> 00:20:54,520 Speaker 1: a pioneer in that way of of of of seeing 340 00:20:55,080 --> 00:21:00,000 Speaker 1: the multi dimensional um forms of oppression. And she also 341 00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:04,680 Speaker 1: I received a number of accolades for her poetry. She 342 00:21:04,760 --> 00:21:08,360 Speaker 1: was named New York State Poet Laureate actually in nine 343 00:21:09,960 --> 00:21:12,240 Speaker 1: and she was still a Poet Laureate when she died 344 00:21:12,400 --> 00:21:17,359 Speaker 1: from cancer the following year, in nineteen two. Well, one 345 00:21:17,480 --> 00:21:21,040 Speaker 1: woman that we've already mentioned earlier who is more of 346 00:21:21,080 --> 00:21:25,800 Speaker 1: a contemporary writer is Bell Hooks, who was born Gloria Watkins. 347 00:21:25,800 --> 00:21:29,600 Speaker 1: She actually adopted her pseudonym not only to honor her 348 00:21:29,680 --> 00:21:32,960 Speaker 1: grandmother whose name she took, and her mother, but she 349 00:21:33,040 --> 00:21:35,719 Speaker 1: felt that it established a separate voice from that of 350 00:21:36,080 --> 00:21:39,840 Speaker 1: Gloria Watkins and put the focus on her writing. That's 351 00:21:40,000 --> 00:21:42,720 Speaker 1: she felt the lowercasing her name put more of the 352 00:21:42,760 --> 00:21:45,600 Speaker 1: focus on her writing. She said that she was a 353 00:21:45,680 --> 00:21:50,800 Speaker 1: quote suicidal, depressed teen when she began to resist male domination, 354 00:21:50,920 --> 00:21:55,080 Speaker 1: to rebel against patriarchal thinking, and to oppose the strongest 355 00:21:55,080 --> 00:21:59,520 Speaker 1: patriarchal voice in my life, my mother's voice. She asked 356 00:21:59,520 --> 00:22:03,040 Speaker 1: her readers to imagine quote imagine living in a world 357 00:22:03,240 --> 00:22:06,120 Speaker 1: where there is no domination, where females and males are 358 00:22:06,119 --> 00:22:09,040 Speaker 1: not alike or even always equal, but where a vision 359 00:22:09,080 --> 00:22:13,760 Speaker 1: of mutuality is the ethos shaping our interaction. She really 360 00:22:13,760 --> 00:22:17,160 Speaker 1: looked forward to a day that feminism would let men 361 00:22:17,280 --> 00:22:20,480 Speaker 1: and women be quote fully self actualized in order to 362 00:22:20,680 --> 00:22:23,840 Speaker 1: establish a real community. Yeah, and a lot of um 363 00:22:23,840 --> 00:22:28,639 Speaker 1: Hooks's scholarship has not only looked into feminism, but also 364 00:22:28,760 --> 00:22:34,200 Speaker 1: applying that UM I gendered scholarship to looking at pop 365 00:22:34,240 --> 00:22:37,760 Speaker 1: culture and how UM men and women and how race 366 00:22:37,800 --> 00:22:41,480 Speaker 1: and ability and sexual orientation all of that are portrayed 367 00:22:41,480 --> 00:22:44,080 Speaker 1: and consumed by the masses. She also is very much 368 00:22:44,240 --> 00:22:47,600 Speaker 1: UM anti materialism. There was a New York Times article 369 00:22:48,080 --> 00:22:52,639 Speaker 1: that I found which focused really just on the sparseness 370 00:22:52,680 --> 00:22:55,520 Speaker 1: of her apartment. She was living in New York at 371 00:22:55,560 --> 00:22:58,399 Speaker 1: the time. Right now, she is a Distinguished Professor in 372 00:22:58,440 --> 00:23:02,720 Speaker 1: Residence and Appellation Studies that Bria College in Kentucky. And 373 00:23:03,240 --> 00:23:06,840 Speaker 1: like one of the reasons why people I love Bell Hooks, 374 00:23:06,840 --> 00:23:09,720 Speaker 1: she's She's often cited UM in any kind of like 375 00:23:09,800 --> 00:23:14,000 Speaker 1: feminist one oh one article you might read is because, 376 00:23:14,480 --> 00:23:19,280 Speaker 1: for instance, from her feminist theory from margin to center, uh, 377 00:23:19,359 --> 00:23:22,440 Speaker 1: this little nugget, she writes, the feminism is a struggle 378 00:23:22,440 --> 00:23:25,640 Speaker 1: to in sexist oppression. Its aim is not to benefit 379 00:23:25,720 --> 00:23:28,520 Speaker 1: solely any specific group of women, any particular race or 380 00:23:28,520 --> 00:23:31,000 Speaker 1: class of women. It does not privilege women over men. 381 00:23:31,560 --> 00:23:35,480 Speaker 1: It has the power to transform meaningfully all of our lives. 382 00:23:35,560 --> 00:23:39,560 Speaker 1: And she also ties in a lot of intersectionality and 383 00:23:39,560 --> 00:23:42,560 Speaker 1: and it is very insistent on us knowing what we're 384 00:23:42,560 --> 00:23:46,920 Speaker 1: talking about when we're talking about feminism. Um and some 385 00:23:46,960 --> 00:23:50,480 Speaker 1: critics have said that Bell Hooks is too political. Others 386 00:23:50,560 --> 00:23:53,320 Speaker 1: have said that she's not radical enough, and and maybe 387 00:23:53,320 --> 00:23:58,000 Speaker 1: because of the notoriety that she's gotten and the backlash 388 00:23:58,080 --> 00:24:00,879 Speaker 1: as well, she has kind of remained out of the 389 00:24:00,880 --> 00:24:04,160 Speaker 1: public Iowa. Actually, the most recent thing that I read 390 00:24:04,200 --> 00:24:07,920 Speaker 1: written by Bell Hooks was a review of Beasts the 391 00:24:07,960 --> 00:24:10,359 Speaker 1: Southern Wild and spoiler alert, she did not like it. 392 00:24:10,560 --> 00:24:14,320 Speaker 1: We also heard something recently from the sixth woman on 393 00:24:14,359 --> 00:24:18,080 Speaker 1: our list, Alice Walker. She wrote the poem Democratic Womanism 394 00:24:18,119 --> 00:24:22,000 Speaker 1: for the election, talking about regime change, but not the 395 00:24:22,000 --> 00:24:24,359 Speaker 1: type of regime change that we would think of when 396 00:24:24,400 --> 00:24:28,000 Speaker 1: a presidential election is taking place. She wrote where women 397 00:24:28,160 --> 00:24:30,760 Speaker 1: rise to take their place on mass at the helm 398 00:24:30,880 --> 00:24:34,399 Speaker 1: of the Earth's frail and failing ship. She says in 399 00:24:34,440 --> 00:24:38,560 Speaker 1: the poem, I am thinking of democratic and perhaps socialist womanism. 400 00:24:38,880 --> 00:24:41,280 Speaker 1: For who else knows so deeply how to share but 401 00:24:41,400 --> 00:24:45,080 Speaker 1: mother's and grandmother's big sisters and aunts to love and 402 00:24:45,119 --> 00:24:48,760 Speaker 1: adore both female and male, not to mention those in between. 403 00:24:49,520 --> 00:24:53,159 Speaker 1: So Alice Walker, for those who don't know her, is 404 00:24:53,160 --> 00:24:55,760 Speaker 1: an author, poet, and activist. And she happens to be 405 00:24:55,800 --> 00:24:58,639 Speaker 1: the first African American woman to win a Pulitzer Prize 406 00:24:58,640 --> 00:25:01,679 Speaker 1: in fiction, and that in nineteen eighty three for the 407 00:25:01,720 --> 00:25:04,600 Speaker 1: color Purple. And she was the one, as we mentioned 408 00:25:04,640 --> 00:25:07,359 Speaker 1: at the top of the podcast, who coined the term 409 00:25:07,720 --> 00:25:12,119 Speaker 1: womanist and womanism in nineteen eighty three. And she derived 410 00:25:12,160 --> 00:25:15,080 Speaker 1: it from the word woman ish, which is the opposite 411 00:25:15,080 --> 00:25:17,760 Speaker 1: of girl ish. Um. And she defines it as a 412 00:25:17,800 --> 00:25:20,800 Speaker 1: black feminist or feminist of color from the Black folk 413 00:25:20,880 --> 00:25:24,399 Speaker 1: expression of mothers, you're acting a woman ish, usually referring 414 00:25:24,400 --> 00:25:29,360 Speaker 1: to outrageous, audacious, courageous, or wilful behavior. Um. And it's 415 00:25:29,400 --> 00:25:32,919 Speaker 1: interesting too that Um Rebecca Walker her daughter who they 416 00:25:33,040 --> 00:25:36,639 Speaker 1: they've had kind of a publicly uh not hostile, but 417 00:25:36,800 --> 00:25:41,040 Speaker 1: distant relationship, but her daughter, Rebecca coined the term third 418 00:25:41,040 --> 00:25:45,359 Speaker 1: wave feminism, So my goodness runs from the family, it does. 419 00:25:46,040 --> 00:25:48,720 Speaker 1: She also defined womanist as a woman who loves women, 420 00:25:48,760 --> 00:25:52,159 Speaker 1: whether sexually or non sexually, appreciates and prefers women's culture, 421 00:25:52,600 --> 00:25:57,320 Speaker 1: emotional flexibility, and strength, and loves herself quote unquote regardless. 422 00:25:57,640 --> 00:26:00,639 Speaker 1: And she said that womanist is two feminist as purple 423 00:26:00,800 --> 00:26:03,840 Speaker 1: is to lavender. So I guess she thought it was 424 00:26:03,880 --> 00:26:10,680 Speaker 1: a more all encompassing, a stronger term. It seems like. Um, 425 00:26:10,800 --> 00:26:15,000 Speaker 1: so those are six women. We've only highlighted them. Obviously 426 00:26:15,040 --> 00:26:18,240 Speaker 1: we could go far more in depth in their biographies, 427 00:26:18,280 --> 00:26:20,920 Speaker 1: but we just wanted to take a moment to kick 428 00:26:20,920 --> 00:26:26,280 Speaker 1: off Black History Month by celebrating some pretty incredible and 429 00:26:26,359 --> 00:26:32,880 Speaker 1: controversial women, um who weren't afraid to be controversial and 430 00:26:33,520 --> 00:26:38,400 Speaker 1: defy uh society's place for them. Uh. And so with that, 431 00:26:38,560 --> 00:26:42,680 Speaker 1: if you um have any thoughts, any anything we left out, 432 00:26:42,720 --> 00:26:46,920 Speaker 1: anyone you would like to hear about, right to us. Mom. 433 00:26:47,040 --> 00:26:51,040 Speaker 1: Stuff at Discovery dot com is where you can send 434 00:26:51,080 --> 00:26:53,439 Speaker 1: your letters, and we have a couple of letters to 435 00:26:53,600 --> 00:27:00,040 Speaker 1: share for you, like Caroline, to kick one off, I 436 00:27:00,080 --> 00:27:04,399 Speaker 1: have a letter here from Jenna and it is an 437 00:27:04,440 --> 00:27:06,879 Speaker 1: older topic that she writes about. It is in regard 438 00:27:06,960 --> 00:27:10,199 Speaker 1: to proposals, but I gotta kick out of it. So 439 00:27:10,240 --> 00:27:13,000 Speaker 1: I decided, oh why not, let's read it. She said, 440 00:27:13,760 --> 00:27:16,439 Speaker 1: I just wanted to share my proposal story because technically 441 00:27:16,680 --> 00:27:20,000 Speaker 1: I proposed I'm a female and it wasn't intentional, It 442 00:27:20,119 --> 00:27:22,439 Speaker 1: just sort of happened naturally. I looked up at my 443 00:27:22,480 --> 00:27:24,440 Speaker 1: boyfriend after I woke up from a nap with him 444 00:27:24,440 --> 00:27:27,720 Speaker 1: and sleepily asked if I could quote unquote keep him. 445 00:27:27,800 --> 00:27:30,160 Speaker 1: He said yes, and then we got married. Several months 446 00:27:30,240 --> 00:27:32,600 Speaker 1: after that, we both got each other rings, and he 447 00:27:32,680 --> 00:27:35,480 Speaker 1: wanted others to know that he was taken, so he 448 00:27:35,560 --> 00:27:38,400 Speaker 1: wore his before we got married. We're going on your 449 00:27:38,520 --> 00:27:41,520 Speaker 1: six and there don't seem to be any tragic nuances 450 00:27:41,840 --> 00:27:45,119 Speaker 1: from this non traditional beginning, so we'll take it. We 451 00:27:45,200 --> 00:27:47,280 Speaker 1: have a wall hanging that says, can I keep you 452 00:27:47,320 --> 00:27:49,479 Speaker 1: on it to remember that cute afternoon nap when we 453 00:27:49,560 --> 00:27:53,640 Speaker 1: made that life changing decision when you know you know right. 454 00:27:53,760 --> 00:27:57,000 Speaker 1: He's my favorite, and I think I'm his favorite too, 455 00:27:57,800 --> 00:28:00,679 Speaker 1: So thanks Gina. Okay, I have a letter from d 456 00:28:01,160 --> 00:28:05,480 Speaker 1: M about our gynacologist one oh one episode. She says, 457 00:28:05,520 --> 00:28:07,439 Speaker 1: I wish I had listened to this podcast when I 458 00:28:07,480 --> 00:28:09,720 Speaker 1: was younger. One thing I'd like to add is that 459 00:28:09,760 --> 00:28:12,879 Speaker 1: for those of us who are lesbians, bisexual, transgender, or 460 00:28:12,920 --> 00:28:16,760 Speaker 1: simply just not heterosexual or heteronormative, it can be very 461 00:28:16,840 --> 00:28:20,520 Speaker 1: awkward to engage in communication with our gynecologists. I've had 462 00:28:20,560 --> 00:28:23,040 Speaker 1: gynecologists who only ask about sex with men, but my 463 00:28:23,119 --> 00:28:26,359 Speaker 1: new kindacologists asked about both men and women, and I 464 00:28:26,400 --> 00:28:28,800 Speaker 1: really appreciate it because otherwise I don't think I would 465 00:28:28,800 --> 00:28:30,919 Speaker 1: have brought it up. It was hard for me to 466 00:28:30,920 --> 00:28:32,960 Speaker 1: speak up or ask questions in the first few times 467 00:28:32,960 --> 00:28:35,280 Speaker 1: because I was nervous. I think this is very important 468 00:28:35,280 --> 00:28:38,360 Speaker 1: for doctors to ask questions beyond heterosexual sex, not only 469 00:28:38,400 --> 00:28:41,080 Speaker 1: because it is better communication and builds trust between the 470 00:28:41,080 --> 00:28:43,760 Speaker 1: doctor and the patient, but also because I've met several 471 00:28:43,840 --> 00:28:46,959 Speaker 1: non heterosexual women who do not think it is important 472 00:28:46,960 --> 00:28:49,480 Speaker 1: to see a guydacologist because they do not engage in 473 00:28:49,560 --> 00:28:52,719 Speaker 1: sex with men, or they feel uncomfortable speaking with their 474 00:28:52,800 --> 00:28:56,400 Speaker 1: doctor about non heterosexual sex. I wish more doctors could 475 00:28:56,400 --> 00:28:59,120 Speaker 1: be like my doctor and engage with LGBT patients in 476 00:28:59,160 --> 00:29:01,720 Speaker 1: a way that makes us feel more comfortable, because our 477 00:29:01,760 --> 00:29:05,240 Speaker 1: health is at stake. So thank you Dan, and thanks 478 00:29:05,280 --> 00:29:08,880 Speaker 1: everyone who's written in too. Moms Stuff at Discovery dot com. 479 00:29:08,920 --> 00:29:11,200 Speaker 1: You can also send us a message on Facebook, like 480 00:29:11,320 --> 00:29:13,400 Speaker 1: us there while you're at it, and follow us on 481 00:29:13,440 --> 00:29:16,880 Speaker 1: Twitter at mom Stuff podcast. We're on Tumbler as well. 482 00:29:17,000 --> 00:29:19,239 Speaker 1: You can follow us at stuff mom Never Told You 483 00:29:19,320 --> 00:29:23,600 Speaker 1: dot tumbler dot com, and if you would like to 484 00:29:23,760 --> 00:29:25,840 Speaker 1: make your brain smarter this week. You can head over 485 00:29:25,880 --> 00:29:32,000 Speaker 1: to our website, it's how stuff works dot com for 486 00:29:32,080 --> 00:29:34,440 Speaker 1: more on this and thousands of other topics. Is it 487 00:29:34,520 --> 00:29:40,600 Speaker 1: how stuff works dot com.