Happy Sunday folks. Time for part II of the Neil's Great Interview Project. You will recall that a few weeks ago, Modern Mama ran an interview with me, it's now time for Rhea's close up. Her blog, Rheality Check is possibly one of the most interesting blogs I've come across in some time -- a Texan feminist, now living in Chicago who talks about whatever's on her mind. (I expect that if she weren't in Chicago, she's someone I'd enjoy having coffee with.) Oh, she also volunteers read to children and plays soccer. Judging by these answers, I'll say that she has a healthier relationship with Social Media than I do.
She gets bonus marks for loving Glee and chocolate. (I'll overlook the sock thing.)
1. You are an American a feminist in your 20s, I am Canadian feminist
in my (very) late 30s. So we have that in common. What do you think,
women "my age" need to understand about this generation of feminism?
How do you think the struggle (if you call it that) is different for
women in Canada than in the U.S.?
I
think that my particular age-group is actually right on the border of
girls who grew up without really seeing women struggle at all. Having
gone to a women's college my perspective has changed quite dramatically
by actually having to consider women's issues much more than I did
before I got there and I feel grateful to have had that experience. I
think that growing up with fewer struggles and more of a sense of
equality many "feminists" of my generation feel that "the struggle" is
essentially over which I do not agree with. But I also think that
feminists previous to us have to understand that the vehemence with
which you speak to us about certain experiences we just don't have the
background to understand so at times we need that to be explained to
us. To be honest, I don't really know how different Canada is from the
US so I'm not sure what the differences might be, though I would
imagine that most of the struggles in "developed Western countries"
would be pretty similar.
2. Would you consider moving back to Texas?
I love
Texas, I really do. I always say "you can take the girl outta Texas but
you can't take the Texas outta the girl." however I'm not sure I'd ever
go back. Mostly because I've gotten used to public transportation and
partly because I like the "city things" that Chicago has to offer. I
have no idea where my life will take me but it isn't unimaginable for
me to think that Chicago may just be the place I stay because it has
everything i want in a city. That said, I am sure that I will complain
for the rest of my life about how it just doesn't have some things that
I will always miss from Texas.
3. I really
loved the post about relationship status and Facebook. (Wish I'd
figured out sooner, to be honest.) If you were to get married, would
you take your partner's name? No.
I don't know exactly when/why I decided this but I have never ever
considered taking a partner's name if I were to get married. I just
really like my name and am very attached to it, I just don't think it's
something I could let go of because I feel like it's so much a part of
my identity.
4. How did you get into soccer?
My parents signed me up
for soccer when I was a teeny tiny kid - soccer is big in Texas and
also in Indian families so it was just natural. Also it's an all year
kinda sport in Texas so when they put me in it, I started off as a
really lousy player - by which I mean I literally used to pick at the
dandelions on the field while everyone else was actually playing - but
by the time I got to high school I actually really got into it and I
enjoy playing even if I am still not the greatest player. (Truth be
told I'm not cut out to be an athlete, I just find sports to be fun in
general - I've given most sports a try).
5. You seem to blog more sporadically even than I do... when do you blog? Is it goal? Why did you start blogging?
Well
I initially started this blog with the intent that I would blog about
things that were important to me about current events and things going
on in the world. This stemmed from the fact that I used to read the
paper on the way to work every day and I'd have all these comments
about the stuff I read and really nowhere/no one to talk to about it so
I figured why not just start a blog? I sort of lost track of that due to
recent circumstances so I don't think I have much of a goal with my
blog anymore. Part of why I've been so inconsistent of late is that my
work and personal life took so much a toll on me that I really didn't
have the energy to blog. Also, while I do like blogging there are
certain things that I think are just too personal to put online and
those are the things that have really been on my mind lately.
Quickies:
6. One song?Currently it would be "My Life Would Suck Without You" because I just finished catching up with my new guilty pleasure - Glee.
7. One place you have to see before you die?
The Louvre. I have a love affair with Paris even though I've never been.
8. Socks necessary or just plain evil?
I <3 socks. I
have really lousy circulation or something like that so my hands and
feet tend to get cold quite easily so I totally think they're
necessary. That said, it'd be awesome if it were warm enough all the
time that they weren't necessary.
9. Will you join the petition to make chocolate a food group?
If
this is a Facebook group then no because Facebook and I have a very
love/hate relationship at the moment (actually favoring hate quite a
bit right now). However, if this is just a general sentiment then I
definitely think chocolate should be its own food group ;)