The thing I keep thinking about as I start this new journey with Rebel Women is that I am also making this conscious choice to sort of personally educate myself too. Part of that thought pertains to the fact that these aren’t the types of books I normally read. I am an avid reader, (and occasional book-on-tape/audiobook listener) but the genre I generally like to read/listen to is fantasy/supernatural/science fiction, and not often non-fiction/auto/biographies.

One thing I am trying to be conscious of while I research these women is who wrote the book or who directed the documentary? I try to read autobiographies with a discerning eye, (we tend to talk about ourselves the most highly), and when the authors of the biography is a family member, I try to recognize that there is like a hint of romanticism in writing about someone that you love and admire. The same can even be said about an author that isn’t as closely connected to their subject because there has to be at least some air of admiration for them to dedicate a lot of time and resources to write an entire biography or film an entire documentary about them.

Of course, in picking these women to talk about, I am also doing the same thing. As I fall into these books and documentaries about these women that broke down barriers for the rest of us, I also start to paint a rosy picture for myself. I don’t know if that is the real goal though, and I as I take notes and plan the first episode, I have a goal of showcasing as much truth as possible.

I find myself asking, would this woman for the first episode call herself a feminist? To give you guys a little context, she was born in the late 1800’s. I’m not even sure feminism was an openly talked about idea then (though I am keen to find out). I wonder how many times I will ask that question of every woman I research. I wonder what the idea of feminism means to me versus someone else. I also wonder beyond what I am learning about each person’s accomplishments, what their political leanings were, what social circles they ran in, what books they would have read and contemplated on.

I thought the real work had started when I initially started building this website by myself, (hello new life skills) but I think it really hasn’t even started. Instead of reading for enjoyment, I am relearning the skill of critical reading and researched reading. I’m not going to lie, I haven’t done that in a long time! I have to keep a column of notes with questions like, “What are the outside influences?” “What personally motivated her?” “What was overcome to achieve this?”

Some of the other fun questions I have though are, “What was invented during this time?” “What was the breaking news of her lifetime that had nothing to do with her?” “What did the world powers looks like across the globe?” “What was the most popular song/book/television show?” I hope when I record this season, I can paint a picture of the world that that woman lived in.