242: Challenging the Status Quo - Interview with Anita Sarkeesian and Ebony Adams

DIY MFA Radio

Hey there word nerds!

Today I have the absolute pleasure of speaking with co-authors Anita Sarkeesian and Ebony Adams on the show!

Anita is an award-winning media critic and the creator and executive director of Feminist Frequency, an educational nonprofit that explores the representations of women in pop culture narratives. She is best known as the creator and host of the highly influential video series Tropes vs. Women in Video Games, and she dreams of owning a life-size replica of Buffy’s scythe.

Ebony Adams is an author, activist, and former college educator whose work foregrounds the lives and work of black women in the diaspora. She writes widely on film criticism, social justice, and pop culture, and lives with a steadily-increasing collection of Doctor Who memorabilia.

On top of all this these ladies are now co-authors of the YA nonfiction book History vs. Women: The Defiant Lives that They Don’t Want You to Know, which is a fascinating (and aesthetically beautiful) book highlighting the lives of women who made an impact on the world.

I couldn’t help but fall in love with this book! First off, with its gorgeous illustrations, my inner graphic design geek went off the charts. Then there is the subject matter, which is something I feel super-passionate about, and the fact that it’s YA makes this book even better. When we share the stories of strong, impactful women throughout history with the young women of today, we’re not just empowering the young generation. We’re empowering everybody to help make our culture and our society better.

So listen in as Anita, Ebony, and I chat about this truly awesome book, and the importance of challenging our own perspectives through what we read and what we write.

In this episode Anita, Ebony and I discuss:

• The research technique of “insistent archaeology”.
• How to translate scholarly texts into exciting stories.
• The dangers of passive reading.
• Advantages of the YA genre to get unknown stories out there.
• Why stories about women should be shared with young children of all genders.

Plus, both of these lovely ladies’ #1 tip for writers.

For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/242