Book 1 Post 1

 Feminism on the Road

For the first book of the semester, I chose to read My Life on the Road by Gloria Steinem. This book is particularly relevant in my life right now for two reasons:

1. My frustration with patriarchal society is peaking

2. I’m spending most of the summer on the road

The first point has been increasingly frustrating for me over the last year. I often long to live in a world where I could go for a walk at night by myself without having to look over my shoulder or have my pepper spray at the ready. I’ve also become aware of spaces in which I’m treated as less than for being a woman that I never noticed before like the gym and the body shop. Gloria Steinem’s role in the feminist movement is something I look forward to learning more about. I hope reading about her journey will inspire me to take action for my own self-determination.

The second point is just a timely coincidence. In what I’ve read of the memoir so far, she discusses the impact of meeting people on the road on your own perspectives, and the impact of a nomadic lifestyle. I’m not usually one for reading for leisure – and while technically I’m reading this book for a class – but I’m enjoying reading the book while on planes, in the car, and as part of my relaxation time on vacation. My intention is to finish the book before my next post so I can comment more on the content and less on my general interactions with the book.