Breaking Down Patriarchy

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.

Amy is joined by guest Susannah Harmon Furr to discuss A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf. Topics include the importance of personal space, privilege, accessibility, and learning to listen to yourself. Susannah Harmon Furr is a designer and art historian with a research focus on the Dutch Baroque period. She founded a women’s clothing line inspired by her research of intricate embroidery Dutch women found the time to painstakingly render on their otherwise prescribed uniforms—details often hidden to all but the wearer—and its significance in their daily lives. She lives in Paris with her husband and three of her four kids and their yellow lab, Cosi. Susannah and her husband, Nathan, have co-authored a book on the possibility that comes from facing uncertainty: www.uncertaintypossibility.com (forthcoming from Harvard Business Review Press in Summer 2022.) Another project close to her heart is The Earnest Project. On Instagram @theearnestproject.

Amy is joined by the show’s first male guest, Eric Allebest, to discuss men’s questions and concerns about Breaking Down Patriarchy. Questions include whether patriarchy is a natural construct, if masculinity and patriarchy are connected, and what’s wrong with patriarchy in the first place?

Amy is joined by guest Courtney McPhie to discuss the speeches “Morality and Birth Control” and “The Case for Birth Control” by Margaret Sanger. Topics include marriage as ownership, modesty rules, and sex education. Courtney McPhie grew up in Colorado, and while she loves the rolling hills of Virginia, she misses the Rocky Mountains. Courtney is a high school English teacher outside Washington, DC, where she fights for equity and representation in the classroom. Another highlight about Courtney is she loves podcasts! Her favorite is NPR’s Code Switch. She has loved participating in Breaking Down Patriarchy because her undergrad offerings of women’s studies courses was extremely limited, so she feels like she is getting the solid education in feminist lit she always wanted.

Amy is joined by guest Dr. Amy Osmond Cook to discuss the speech “The Fundamental Principle of a Republic” delivered by Anna Howard Shaw. Topics include white prejudice in the suffrage movement, arguments against the right to vote, and work-life balance for mothers. Dr. Amy Osmond Cook was born and raised in Provo, Utah, the daughter of musicians (her mother was an opera-singer; her father was one of the original four Osmond brothers). She obtained a bachelor’s and master’s degree at BYU, and a PhD from the University of Utah in Organizational Rhetoric. She works as the CMO of Simplus, an Infosys company, and founder of Osmond Marketing. She lives in Southern California and loves spending time with her husband and five kids.

Amy is joined by guest Shauna Rensch to discuss The Awakening by Kate Chopin. Topics include structural inequity, the panopticon of patriarchy, and contemporary feminist awakenings.Shauna Rensch is a wife and mother of four kids ages 15 to 5. She grew up in the north suburbs of Chicago but moved to Arizona with her family at the end of high school. She started at ASU but took time off to get married and have her first child. She went back to school in order to complete a bachelor’s degree at NAU and started teaching kindergarten. She has taught from kindergarten up through sixth grade and completed a master’s in elementary education from NAU in 2015. She has taken the last two years off from teaching but looks forward to more work within the education field in the future. Shauna loves reading, long walks with beautiful views, and road trips with her family.

Amy is joined by guest Shannon Hyatt Johnson to discuss The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Topics include hysteria, gaslighting, and the ideology of separate spheres.Shannon Hyatt Johnson grew up in the Western U.S., graduated from BYU, and is currently working and studying at Stanford. She likes watching tv that provokes impassioned family discussions with her husband and four daughters. Lately, that includes Derry Girls, Cobra Kai, and Ted Lasso. She loves the f-word. Both “feminist,” and the other one.