Reinventing Feminisim

A good friend referred this TED Talk by Courtney Martin, Barnard graduate and co-editor of the blog, Feministing.  The simple and profound ideas in this talk rang true to me, possibly because I am of her generation. In particular, she names three paradoxes of growing up in the age where our parents’ told us “you can be whatever you want when you grow up” and “you can change the world”:

1. Rejecting the past, then promptly reclaiming it. (In her case, the feminist beliefs of her parents)

2. Sobering up about our smallness and maintaining faith in our greatness.

3. Aiming to succeed wildly and being fulfilled by failing really well.

She calls blogging “the modern day form of conscious raising” and I couldn’t agree more! This talk is inspired by mothers, small acts of humanism, and these pearls of wisdom she leaves us with: “Embrace the paradox, act in the face of overwhelm, and love people well.” Enjoy.