Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards Reading
Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards discuss their book entitled Grassroots: A Field Guide for Feminist Activism. Baumgardner and Richards discuss their early days working together at Ms. magazine, and their eventual collaboration for their first book where they attempted to identify the meaning of feminism within a 21st century context. They explain that in Grassroots, they attempted to address the issue of activism. Baumgardner and Richards sought to “demystify” activism, to bring it away from a vague definition into more concrete suggestions for actions that would specifically apply to young individuals.
Baumgardner and Richards go on to detail their personal experiences with volunteer organizations and how these experiences helped to shape their ideas of activism. Richards discusses how her online advice column, “Ask Amy,” brought her to the realization that many people were coming to feminism not out of personal conviction, but because the feminists had the resources that they were looking for.
During a question and answer session, Baumgardner and Richards acknowledge the importance of individuals to be aware of their privilege--whether it be social, racial, or economic. They explain how this realization allows people to use their “inside access” to a group of people as an impetus for change. The women address the issue of materialism within feminism, and their belief that sacrifice within this arena should be demanded of both sexes, not just women.
Bamgardner and Richards end by discussing the documentary that Baumgardner produced, entitled “Speak Out: I Had an Abortion.” They stress the importance for women to speak out about their personal experiences, and how this reiterates that abortion is more than a political issue.
In: "Live from Prairie Lights" Audio Archive | Nonfiction
Authors: Jennifer Baumgardner , Amy Richards
Date Recorded: March 07, 2005
Works Read: Grassroots: A Field Guide for Feminist Activism, by Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards
Program: Live From Prairie Lights
Format: reading
Contributors: Introduction by host Julie Englander.
Topics: feminism, activism, Noam Chomsky, social class, abortion