Be Inspired in 2010!

Natascha Barrymore is an ordinary yet extraordinary young woman whom I have the pleasure and great privilege to know.

I thought as the old year closes her story might inspire you to rise to your own personal challenges in 2010. She is someone who has really made a difference in the world; I think you’ll agree with me when you read her story.

Click here to read more, and do let me know of any one who has inspired you in 2009!

Go With the Flow!

I recently interviewed Elissa Stein, American co author of the newly published book, Flow. the book is causing quite a stir on social media sites and in the press: I thought you might like to see the accompanying video.

I will be reviewing the book soon in a new ‘reviews’ section so please send in your suggestions for good reads!

To see the video just click this link

Inspirational Women – Author Elissa Stein

Another in my series of interviews with women who will inspire you! Elissa is well known in the US (and I know she will soon become familiar to UK audiences too); she has just published an interesting book on a rarely openly talked about topic of interest to all women!

Jane: You are just about to publish a fascinating book you’ve co written with Susan Kim called ‘Flow’ (available in UK late autumn 2009) Could you give the readers a summary of what the book is about?
Elissa: ‘Flow: The Cultural Story of Menstruation’ explores anything and everything menstruation—what it is, how it works, and what can go wrong while also delving into sex, politics, religion, advertising, hysteria, PMS, big pharma, femcare, product development, women’s rights, education, menopause, alternatives, with a twist of kitsch and over 150 color illustrations. It’s the start of a conversation women have been kept from having for thousands of years.

That is an interesting topic! What prompted you to write a book on menstruation?
Years ago, my period stopped. I was both too terrified and embarrassed to say anything to anyone for over a year. When I finally went to a doctor and all checked out, he handed me a pack of birth control pills, patted me on the knee, and said “Honey, we just need to jump start your hormones.” But I didn’t want to be on the pill. Even worse, no one bothered to figure out why my period stopped in the first place (anorexia). From that point I’ve wanted to put something out into the world that would help women feel more comfortable talking about menstruation without that deep-seated shame we’ve been raised with.

Elissa, you are now well established in your career as an author and designer. When you left school did you have a clear idea of what you wanted to do? Did you plan your career? If so how?
My career path has been anything but linear. Traditional college wasn’t right for me, so I left after two years and worked my way through a variety of jobs in retail, merchandising, and advertising, while my husband was in law school. After his graduation, I enrolled at School of Visual Arts, to study graphic design. I realized there that I had been a designer my whole life, without knowing that was something you could be when you grew up. In design school, I discovered it was the marriage of images and words that was my path. In fact, at my portfolio review, my teacher said I should go on to get a graduate degree in writing. I burst into tears. But, books later, that’s exactly what I do. 

Have you encountered discrimination/problems because of being a woman, or maybe because of being a feminist? How have you overcome them?
I have been exceedingly lucky to work with people who have been supportive of me. Not only do I design and write, but I’m a stay-at-home mom, working out of the corner of my living room. I’ve called clients from the hospital, in the middle of labor (both times), to explain why a project would be held up a bit.

The advance publicity for ‘Flow’ has garnered praise but also a few brickbats too. Why do you think the topic is so taboo (remember all the fuss when tampons were first allowed on TV?) And how do you deal with the less than favourable comments about your book that are lobbed at you?
As a society, we’ve been trained, literally for thousands of years—it says so in the Bible—that menstruation is dirty and a sign of weakness. Women were taught to keep it a secret at all costs. That mindset isn’t going to die a quick and easy death and there will be countless people perfectly happy to shove the conversation back into the closet. I’m working on thickening up my skin.

Women are a relatively new entry into the world of paid work and we work in a system designed by men for men. If the situation had been reversed, that is women calling the shots from the beginning, how different do you think things might have been? What do you think would be the major change?
What a great question! Not to make too broad a generalization, but how about a work hierarchy structured by people who effectively multi-task, can blur edges, don’t necessarily think linearly, are empathetic and supportive, creative and nurturing? I don’t see a down side to that.

On your blog ‘spiritual pedicures’ you often talk about your family, baking brownies etc. How do you manage the work life balance? Any tips for our readers?
I call it my juggle, keeping all these unrelated balls in the air at the same time. I find what makes it all manageable (and believe me, I can’t always pull it off with style and grace) is making sure I have time for myself. I practice yoga at a delicious studio and that makes a huge difference. Keeping in touch with friends, too, whether at coffee bars in the morning, or online late at night, helps keep me grounded.

Who or what has been the most influential figure in your life?
My kids. I was a different person before they were born. Being a mother forced me to let go, to take chances, to laugh at myself. To give up my eating disorder, to let someone else come first. Profound lessons.

If you could give the 18 year old you one piece of advice, what would it be? What is the most important lesson that life has taught you so far?
If I could go back in time, I’d make this my mantra: Believe in yourself. As for lessons I’ve learned so far? I can’t narrow it down to one. Trust my instincts. Don’t take anything too seriously. Dream big. And embrace that the more I learn, the less I know.

Elissa, thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with us. I hope the book is a phenomenal success and that the taboo is broken once and for all!

You can buy ‘Flow’ in all good bookshops and it is also available through Amazon.

Women of Merit – be inspired!

We all need a bit of inspiration from time to time so I hope you enjoy reading about this truly inspirational woman!

Elizabeth Blackwell, born 1821 in Bristol, England, (her family emigrated to America ten years later), was determined to become a doctor in an age when women were not permitted to enter medicine as a career. She didn’t let this deter her.

Perseverance

She applied to TWENTY EIGHT medical schools and was turned down by them all! Finally she was accepted by Geneva College in New York, not as the act of an enlightened institution but because an eminent professor had pressed for her to be accepted.

The college said they would let the students vote on whether to accept her and the students voted yes as a joke! But she was in and she showed them! In 1849 she graduated as head of her class; the first American woman to obtain a medical degree. She went on to become a trailblazer for other women to follow, a truly inspirational woman.

“What special contribution can women make to medicine? Not blind imitation of men…for this would endorse the widespread error that the human race consists chiefly of men. Our duty is loyalty to right and opposition to wrong, in accordance with the esential principles of our own nature.”

So, next time you get a knock back in your career think of Elizabeth Blackwell and her tenacity; pick yourself up and give it another go!

A Real Female Role Model!

Serena Williams – A true motivator!

Motivation

The link that follows will take you to an interesting article on Serena Williams. I have included it because I think she has a lot to say about MOTIVATION! 

Serena was in a bad way following the murder of her sister but she used this traumatic event to motivate her and help her to achieve even more. Look out for the paragraph on her various post it notes. Read it and be INSPIRED!

Here’s the link to the Guardian article. Click here

Ellie Levenson, A Noughtie Feminist!

A Modern Day Feminist

Regular readers of the blog will know that I have oft despaired of the embarrassment (or worse indifference) I encounter when talking about feminism. I was therefore delighted to read a new book, just published, by journalist, Ellie Levenson, which tackles this topic head on.

Ellie (pictured) was kind enough to give an interview to the changingpeople blog so read on to find out more about Ellie and her Noughtie’s Girl’s Guide!

An Interview With Ellie Levenson, by Jane C Woods

Jane: You have just published ‘The Noughtie Girl’s Guide to Feminism’. Could you give the readers a summary of what the book is about?
Ellie:The book is about feminism in the noughties (this decade) and about looking at the many choices and issues that arise in our every days lives and how as women we respond to them. It also looks at what feminism is and tries especially to persuade people who say ‘I’m not a feminist but…’ and then go on to express lots of views I would consider to be feminist to reclaim the word and not be afraid to use it.

What prompted you to write a book on feminism?
A friend of mine wanted to read more on feminism a few years ago and found that while there were many books about feminism from an academic perspective, or written some years ago, there weren’t any that took an accessible look at our lives today. So I decided to write one. In fact there are some that already exist which are aimed at an American readership but I thought we needed one in the UK.

In the book you talk about 4 different types of feminists – the feminisnt, the unintentional feminist, the loud and proud feminist, or the accidental feminist. I like to think of myself as a loud and proud feminist but recognise bits of myself in all of them. Which are you?
I’m definitely a loud and proud feminist. I don’t see anything wrong with being a feminist and in fact I just assume people are until they tell me otherwise or act in an unfeminist way.  The four types I identified include people who act in a feminist way without even thinking about it (unintentional feminists), people who become a feminist after facing discrimination (accidental feminists) and people who say ‘I’m not a feminist but…’ (feminisn’ts).

Do you remember when you first became aware of the idea of feminism?
I don’t – I just grew up with it being part of my life I think. It never occurred to me not to be one.

Ellie you are now a successful freelance journalist. When you left school did you have a clear idea of what you wanted to do? Did you plan your career?
I always wanted to work in the media – even my school work experience aged 14 was at BBC Westminster which I got after writing about 100 letters to different broadcasters. Initially I wanted to work in broadcasting and I volunteered on hospital radio while at sixth form and took part in TVYP (a young person’s weeklong masterclass at the Edinburgh International Television Festival) when I was 17 in 1995. But when I got to university (Manchester) I started writing for the students’ paper, then called Mancunion but now called Student Direct, and loved it.

So after a failed bid for the editorship I took a year off to go travelling then came home and did a postgraduate qualification in journalism and then got my first job for The Lawyer, a weekly business to business paper. I didn’t like it at all and started applying for other jobs on my second day there and left after four months. After some more travelling I came home and, after applying for every job in Media Guardian that week got a job editing Fabian Review at the Fabian Society. That was brilliant – I was in my early twenties and editing and meeting cabinet ministers and other important people. I’d been political before that and a member of the Labour Party but that changed my career really – it allowed me to start freelancing while in post and gave me all kinds of new interests.

Now I freelance part time and teach journalism part time and though I didn’t necessarily plan my career beyond being a journalist, I love the combination of teaching and writing and the autonomy it gives me.

Have you encountered discrimination/problems because of being a woman, or maybe because of being a feminist? (I did not change my name when I married in 1977 and the most venomous reactions, I am sorry to say, came from other women who accused me of not loving my husband enough! I was both amused and dismayed to see exactly the same comment was made to you almost 30 years later!)
I think I probably face discrimination every day because I am a woman, as do men, though it is part of society and not explicit. But I am also particularly interested in the constraints we place on ourselves because we are women – so we don’t put ourselves forward for the same promotions as men for example, or we censor what we want to wear or say.

Most women work in a world of work designed for and by men. It’s simply a fact. If you could imagine a world of work being designed by women for women what is the most significant difference you would envisage?
I don’t really buy into the idea that women would do things differently or that we can’t cope with adversarial situations and are better at communicating and softer skills. But the significant difference I would have is flexible family friendly working practices for men and women.

Who or what has been the most influential figure in your life?
My mum and dad, without a doubt, though also my friends, and since I got together with him two years ago my husband Richard.  I think this is interesting because like many people I am most influenced by the people around me not by big name academics or famous people, though I obviously am affected by reading and listening to people outside of my immediate family and social life. That’s why my book looks at lots of little everyday issues like who does the washing or what clothes you wear,  because it is the everyday issues and people in our everyday lives that we influence most of all.

If you could give the 18 year old Ellie one piece of advice, what would it be? 
My favourite is a piece of advice Anne Enright wrote in her book about having children. She said that if she had any advice to give her daughter when she is older it is to have sex before you go out for dinner, not after! I’m not sure I’d have advice for myself – I’ve learnt  from my mistakes as well as my successes.

Ellie thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with us. I really enjoyed reading your book, and am sure it will get a wide readership. Thank you

If you’d like to buy Ellie’s book, ‘The Noughtie Girl’s Guide to Feminism’ you can click here and get it on Amazon.

And if you have any comments on Ellie’s book or this article, I’d love to hear them!