For a long time I’ve been wanting to start a podcast talking to feminists about their lives and the day to day experience of living while feminist. I talked about it so much that my friends supported my dreams and clubbed together to buy me a fancy podcast recording device.
Imposter syndrome and my fear of failure meant that this device sat in my cupboard until last year when I began recording interviews for essays. Still I was too afraid to put something out on the airwaves.
Then the COVID19 pandemic happened, the latest feminist essay collection that I had edited – Living While Feminist – was published without the usual launch and audience engagement that happens, and I felt so sad that these fantastic writers had put their hearts on the page and wouldn’t get the chance to share their stories with the broader public. I felt sad that they wouldn’t get people coming up to them after hearing them speak and telling them how much their stories rang true, inspired, and healed.
We did a short intro podcast with the publishers which you can listen to, but I wanted to talk to each of them about their pieces, their lives, the world as they see it. I still had that nagging feeling that more people needed to hear from these writers, and from feminists in general. So, I took a deep breath, set up some recording slots and took a shot at it.
Talking to these feminists over the past few months has reminded me why being a feminist is so powerful. Being a feminist – whatever type of feminist you are – means you are part of a community of people who don’t always agree with you, but who share the belief that a future that ends patriarchal and sexist oppression is a better future for everyone. Talking to these feminists has inspired me and motivated me and thrilled me.
All of these interviews were recorded remotely during the lockdown via Skype, and Zencastr, and even via series of Whatsapp messages when internet signals wouldn’t allow for anything else. Whole episodes were lost when computers (I mean, let’s just be honest here – my computer) didn’t save, or batteries went flat. Load shedding and internet lags mean that sometimes these recordings sound like exactly like what they were – two people trying to navigate the world we live in and persevering because we believed that having the conversation was necessary and valuable.
I edited them myself, listening to their voices over and over again, learning the shape of different people’s laughs and breaths and pauses in sound waves, and feeling so grateful again that feminists are generous with their time and their words. And these conversations – they will blow your mind.
You can listen to the very first episode of Living While Feminist via the Anchor platform and on Spotify, Google Podcasts, and soon (hopefully) wherever you get your podcasts. Once a week, you’ll get a little dose of feminism to keep you going.
I hope that you enjoy, find value, and learn a little too. Let me know what you think.
Jen Thorpe 