Breaking Down Patriarchy

Amy is joined by guest Rayna Clay MacKay to begin their discussion of Double Jeopardy: To Be Black and Female by Frances Beal. This is Part One of Two and covers the author’s biography, The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, state violence against peaceful protestors, and racism in academics and professional spheres.  Rayna Clay MacKay is a wife, mom, and Obstetric Anesthesiologist. She married a dreamy Scotsman for much more than his accent and gained two fantastic bonus kids as a result. They added three more kiddos to the mix, including identical twin boys, and a daughter. They also have the best Cavoodle in the world named Hamish. She is a firm believer that differences are what make us great, and they should be applauded and supported. As she’s gotten older and wiser, She’s found her voice becoming louder championing for the injustices in the medical system, and society as a whole. Her hope is that the future is more glorious with a rainbow of differing people and opinions that are equally acknowledged.

Amy is joined by guest Rochelle Briscoe to discuss Jane Crow and the Law by Pauli Murray and Mary Eastwood. Topics include the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’, civil rights, originalist interpretations of the Constitution, and the ‘mommy track’ for professional women. Rochelle Briscoe is a legal and policy wonk, who is passionate about improving the global landscape! Rochelle has always been struck by the central role strong, yet underrepresented, leaders play in the success of businesses and teams. For more than a decade she practiced law in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC. In 2016, Rochelle joined Google’s Leadership Team, and from 2013 to 2016 Rochelle led the selection and recruitment of senior presidential appointments for the United States Government while serving as special assistant to President Obama in the Office of Presidential Personnel. Currently, Rochelle is YouTube’s Tech People Person and Chief of Staff to its Black Board of Advisors.

Amy is joined by guest Christie Skousen to discuss Keep the Damned Women Out by Dr. Nancy Weiss Malkiel. Topics include the struggle for co-education, gender ratios in U.S. colleges, and the sexist backlash against female students. Christie Skousen is the founder of the Peery Piano Academy in Mountain View, CA and the author of the Peery Piano Curriculum, a certification and training system for piano teachers. Mrs. Skousen’s primary teachers include Dr. Irene Peery-Fox and Leon Fleisher. She gave her Carnegie Hall debut at age 18 and has performed as a soloist and with orchestras throughout the United States, Europe and Russia. She has served on the faculty at the San Francisco Conservatory Preparatory Division and teaches students around the world online in partnership with ArtistWorks. Her students are frequent prizewinners in local and national competitions.You can find her work at www.etsy.com/shop/BlueGardensBeauty or BlueGardensBeauty.com.

Amy is joined by guest Marta Luna Wilde to discuss The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan. Topics include womanhood in 50’s and 60’s America, housewife identity, Hegel’s dialectics, and the hierarchy of needs. Marta Luna Wilde is the youngest of nine children, born and raised (with 7 brothers and 1 sister) in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her family immigrated from Central Mexico in 1962, her father having worked in the Bracero Program after World War II. In the 60s to early 1980s, her father worked as a cook at Stanford University which allowed her to play in and around campus throughout her childhood. She feels it was an amazing backyard in which to grow up. She received her BA from Stanford in 1987 and M.Ed from UCLA in 1990. Her professional career includes teaching in Los Angeles, Redwood City, and Palo Alto; serving as a program trainer with the Accelerated Schools Project (for disadvantaged schools) at Stanford’s School of Education, and working as a social science researcher developing curricula at the Prevention Research Center at Stanford’s School of Medicine. Currently, she is interested in finding ways to use her background in education to promote environmental education in schools, specifically with bilingual Spanish/English language learners. On a personal level, she and her husband have three daughters aged 13,13, and 21. Despite the pandemic, her family is thriving in a world turned upside down. Frequent Covid-safe visits with her 94-year-old mother help ground her and provide perspective on day-to-day living.

Amy is joined by guest Fya Parvis Jazra to conclude their discussion of The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir. This is Part Three of Three and covers de Beauvoir on abortion, childbirth, beauty, and consequences of subordination. Fyza Parviz Jazra, originally from Pakistan, is a Graduate Student in Stanford’s MLA Program. She is currently working on her Master’s thesis on the Seventeenth-Century English interest in Arabic Astronomy. Previously she worked as a Software Engineer at Apple. She loves to read 19th-century fiction and, along with her husband, is a zealous bibliophile. She is also a mother to a 19-month-old boy.

Amy is joined by guest Fyza Parvis Jazra to continue their discussion of The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir. This is Part Two of Three and covers the distinction between sex and gender, a girl’s transition from subject to object, and reaching our potential as human beings. Fyza Parviz Jazra, originally from Pakistan, is a Graduate Student in Stanford’s MLA Program. She is currently working on her Master’s thesis on the Seventeenth-Century English interest in Arabic Astronomy. Previously she worked as a Software Engineer at Apple. She loves to read 19th-century fiction and, along with her husband, is a zealous bibliophile. She is also a mother to a 19-month-old boy.

Amy is joined by guest Fyza Parvis Jazra to begin their discussion of The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir. This is Part One of Three and covers the author’s biography, a brief overview of Existentialism, and initial thoughts on motherhood. Fyza Parviz Jazra, originally from Pakistan, is a Graduate Student in Stanford’s MLA Program. She is currently working on her Master’s thesis on the Seventeenth-Century English interest in Arabic Astronomy. Previously she worked as a Software Engineer at Apple. She loves to read 19th-century fiction and, along with her husband, is a zealous bibliophile. She is also a mother to a 19-month-old boy.

Amy is joined by guest Dr. Julie de Azevedo Hanks to discuss The Real Wealth of Nations   by Riane Eisler. Topics include the distinction between power with and power over, the value of women’s labor, and the concept of benevolent patriarchy. Dr. Julie de Azevedo Hanks holds an MSW from the University of Utah and a PhD from the University of Louisiana at Monroe. In 2002, she founded Wasatch Family Therapy an outpatient therapy clinic in Salt Lake City and Bountiful, UT. Dr. Hanks has authored two books: The Burnout Cure and The Assertiveness Guide for Women, and has written over 1000 blog posts. As a national and local media contributor Dr. Hanks has appeared on hundreds of TV, print, radio, and podcast programs, and she currently hosts her own podcast, Ask Dr. Julie Hanks. Her research interests include mental health, social work education and technology, gender roles in family life, and the development of partnership families.

Amy is joined by guest Lucy Allebest to discuss an “Open Letter to the Women of the World” and the “Universal Declaration of Human Rights” by Eleanor Roosevelt. Topics include women in World War II, equality from a global perspective, and the primacy of men in language. Lucy Allebest is a high school senior who plans to study History in college next year, either at the University of Saint Andrews in Scotland or Trinity College in Dublin (she can’t decide!). Aspiring to be as Celtic as possible, she studies Gaeilge and reads about her Scottish ancestry in her free time, and her senior thesis is on the extinction of the Irish language as a result of British colonial suppression. she loves organizing, writing, marveling at California poppies, and singing loudly while driving.

Amy is joined by guest Rachelle Burnside to discuss Killing the Angel in the House by Virginia Woolf. Topics include the Victorian cult of domesticity, the intersections of being adored and being oppressed, as well as the challenge of battling our own angels.Rachelle Burnside has spent over 20 years working in education. During that time, she has taught all levels of high school English, from English Learners to both AP English Literature and AP Language and Composition. She currently works as the Secondary English, History, and AVID Teacher on Special Assignment for Santa Clara Unified School District. In her role, she is part of a network of TOSAs who work to improve equitable learning outcomes for students by developing and supporting sustainable systems for collaboration, communication, and cohesion, helping teachers improve instructional practice, and expanding content/curriculum expertise for the purpose of increased student engagement, learning, and achievement. Rachelle is currently enrolled in the Masters of Liberal Arts program at Stanford and is writing her thesis on William Blake’s illustrations for Dante’s Divine Comedy. She is also the owner of Blue Gardens Beauty, a small business which makes handmade, artisan bath and beauty products.You can find her work at www.etsy.com/shop/BlueGardensBeauty or BlueGardensBeauty.com.