Movies, TV, History, Culture, Music, Books: What they say about women and what women say about them. Written and hosted by two college professors.
Episodes
Friday Dec 11, 2020
Friday Dec 11, 2020
In our 50th episode, we celebrate a woman so talented, kind, sincere, and funny that many people call her “Saint Dolly.” That’s right - it was long past time that we dedicate an episode to singer, actress, philanthropist, and Christmas-enthusiast Dolly Parton.
We’ll discuss her history, her rise to fame, some of our favorite Dolly songs and films, her charitable work and giving, and how she became the best thing about 2020 and just about the only thing all Americans can agree on.
Want extra reading? Check out our sources:
- NYT: The Grit and Glory of Dolly Parton
- LA Times: Country Stars 'Break the Silence' on AIDS : Campaign: Clint Black, Tammy Wynette, Wynonna Judd, Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson are among 35 performers who will appear in print, radio and television ads beginning Jan. 13.
- Guardian: Working-class women are too busy for gender theory – but they're still feminists
- CNN: Dolly Parton learned she funded the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine when the rest of us did
- The Boot: Dolly Parton and Charity Work
- NPR: Dolly Parton's Imagination Library Delivers 100 Millionth Book : NPR Ed
- Tennessean: Obama says it was a 'screw up' not awarding Dolly Parton the Presidential Medal of Freedom
- PARTON, DOLLY, and Karen Jaehne. "CEO and Cinderella: AN INTERVIEW WITH DOLLY PARTON." Cinéaste 17, no. 4 (1990): 16-19. Accessed December 1, 2020. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41692590.
- Hoppe, Graham. "Icon and Identity: Dolly Parton’s Hillbilly Appeal." Southern Cultures 23, no. 1 (2017): 49-62. Accessed December 1, 2020. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26391677.
- Pennisi, Elizabeth, and Nigel Williams. "Will Dolly Send in the Clones?" Science 275, no. 5305 (1997): 1415-416. Accessed December 1, 2020. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2892255.
Profess-Hers is presented by Misty, a History professor, and Allegra, an English professor, both of whom are here for having a serious, fun conversation about looking at literature, history, current events, pop culture, and media through a feminist lens.
Find the Profess-Hers Podcast on Twitter and Instagram @Professhers.
Profess-Hers is written and created by Allegra Davis Hanna and Misty Wilson-Mehrtens. We produce the show ourselves, with help from Austin Haynes.
Thursday Nov 12, 2020
Thursday Nov 12, 2020
In our second episode celebrating and discussing Women’s Suffrage and the 100th-anniversary of the 19th Amendments, we interview best-selling authors Fiona Davis and MJ Rose, who edited the short story collection Stories from Suffragette City.
Their book focuses on one day in the history of women’s suffrage in the United States - October 23, 1915 - the day of the suffrage parade in New York City (about 25,000 women marched). Many of the stories include historical figures, such as Ida B. Wells, Alice Paul, and Mabel Ping-Hau Lee, who were also on our recent episode. This book, which is available as of last month, includes short stories by Fiona and MJ, as well as 10 other authors.
Fiona and MJ were also gracious enough to share with us their writing processes, and advice for writing students.
- To see the colorized footage of NYC from 1911 that MJ Rose refers to: https://youtu.be/hZ1OgQL9_Cw
- To find the book Stories from Suffragette City: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250241337
- For more about MJ Rose: https://www.mjrose.com/content/
- For more about Fiona Davis: https://fionadavis.net/
- To see more images from the 1915 NYC Suffrage Parade: https://nyheritage.org/exhibits/recognizing-womens-right-vote/parades
Profess-Hers is presented by Misty, a History professor, and Allegra, an English professor, both of whom are here for having a serious, fun conversation about looking at literature, history, current events, pop culture, and media through a feminist lens.
Find the Profess-Hers Podcast on Twitter and Instagram @Professhers.
Profess-Hers is written and created by Allegra Davis Hanna and Misty Wilson-Mehrtens. We produce the show ourselves, with help from Austin Haynes.
Friday Oct 30, 2020
Friday Oct 30, 2020
In our third (!) Halloween episode, we discuss cults - how they affect women, how they work, and historical and modern American cults.
What do silverware, self-help groups, and science fiction actors have to do with cults? You’ll find out!
Misty discusses the Oneidas - their surprising beliefs on gender roles and their dangerous approach to communal living. Allegra shares an overview of how Keith Raneire built NXIVM on misogyny.
Whether it’s a doomsday cult or a utopia gone wrong, cults are dangerous, sometimes especially for women.
Want extra reading? Check out our sources:
- The Vow, HBO
- Dr. Janja Lalich “Why Do People Join Cults?”: Ted Talk
- On the Oneidas: http://www.nyhistory.com/central/oneida.htm
- The Oneida handbook: https://library.syr.edu/digital/collections/h/Hand-bookOfTheOneidaCommunity/
- Women and Cults: https://www.bitchmedia.org/article/power-female-cult-leaders
- “Holy Shit, We’re In a Cult” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3ess8txBX0&feature=youtu.be
- “I Grew Up in a Cult. It was Heaven - and Hell” (Ted Talk) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qS7mBbXxJYA&t=396s
- Nice Try! Podcast, Episode 4 “Oneida”
- The Truth About True Crime Podcast, Season 1 (Terror in the Jungle, about Jonestown)
- The Truth About True Crime Podcast, Season 2 (Ministry of Evil, about the Alamos)
- Uncover Podcast: Season 1: Escaping NXIVM
- “The ‘Not Me’ Myth,” by Margaret Thaler Singer. Published by IDEA: http://www.ideajournal.com/authors.php?id=4
- “NXIVM leader found guilty,” NPR: https://www.npr.org/2019/06/19/734116183/nxivm-leader-keith-raniere-found-guilty-of-all-charges-in-sex-cult-case
- Lost Women of NXIVM - Investigation Discovery
- Seduced - Starz
Profess-Hers is presented by Misty, a History professor, and Allegra, an English professor, both of whom are here for having a serious, fun conversation about looking at literature, history, current events, pop culture, and media through a feminist lens.
Find the Profess-Hers Podcast on Twitter and Instagram @Professhers.
Profess-Hers is written and created by Allegra Davis Hanna and Misty Wilson-Mehrtens. We produce the show ourselves, with help from Austin Haynes.
Friday Oct 16, 2020
Friday Oct 16, 2020
In this episode, we discuss the fight for women’s suffrage, the imperfect history of suffragists, and what it means for women to vote. Misty gives us the history (of course), Allegra recommends some books, and both share insights about voting patterns, voter suppression, and important women in the battle for universal suffrage.
Women gained and lost the right to vote a few times in American history, and even when we achieved the victory of the 19th Amendment in 1920, not all women were able to vote. This is the story of how women fought for suffrage, and then of how women have accessed and used that right. In a future episode, we will talk even more about some of the suffragists who did the work, and some literature about that fight.
Want extra reading? Check our sources:
- What We Mean When We Talk About 'Suburban Women Voters' - NPR
- Mattel adds Susan B. Anthony to its Barbie lineup - CBS
- Don't Mess With the Jiu-jitsu Suffragettes
- Women's Suffrage Reads for Fiction Lovers | The New York Public Library
- Ida B. Wells-Barnett - National Women’s History Museum
- The 1913 Women's Suffrage Parade - The Atlantic
- This Day in History: The 1913 Women's Suffrage Parade - White House Archives
- Woman Suffrage and the 19th Amendment - National Archives
Books we recommended in this episode:
- Why They Marched by Susan Ware
- The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis
- Saving Savannah byTonya Bolden
Profess-Hers is presented by Misty, a History professor, and Allegra, an English professor, both of whom are here for having a serious, fun conversation about looking at literature, history, current events, pop culture, and media through a feminist lens.
Find the Profess-Hers Podcast on Twitter and Instagram @Professhers.
Profess-Hers is written and created by Allegra Davis Hanna and Misty Wilson-Mehrtens. We produce the show ourselves, with help from Austin Haynes.
Friday Oct 02, 2020
Friday Oct 02, 2020
We’re back! In this episode, we discuss women in Social Media, including some famous women from social media and internet history, a recent social media whistleblower, and facts and research about what happens to women online (it’s not all bad, but it’s mostly bad).
Women are more active on platforms like Facebook and Twitter, though they are less likely to be listened to and more likely to be harassed. Allegra shares some history about Radia Perlman, whose inventions helped make the internet possible, and Joan Ball, who was the first person to make computer-based dating successful. Misty discusses Facebook whistleblower Sophie Zhang, and what Facebook has been up to (it’s almost entirely bad).
We’re inspired by all three women. Plus, we talk about what we’ve been up to since March.
Want extra reading? Here’s where we did our research:
- A brief history of Facebook | Technology- The Guardian
- Facebook Is Failing in Global Disinformation Fight, Says Former Worker - NYT
- Whistleblower Says Facebook Ignored Global Political Manipulation - Buzzfeed
- How Social Media Has Reshaped Feminism - Council on Foreign Relations
- Twitter still failing women over online violence and abuse - Amnesty International
- Women equal men in computing skill, but are less confident - The Conversation
- Toward a cyberfeminist future: A new study centers African women as protagonists online - Global Voices
- 15 of the most important women in tech who changed the world - Mashable
- Radia Perlman: Don't Call Me the Mother of the Internet - The Atlantic
- The Mother of All Swipes - About Joan Ball - Logic Magazine
- Rewind - Before Tinder, there was Dateline | 1843 magazine - The Economist
- Women have about half the followers of men on Twitter and otherwise diminished influence - IHE
Profess-Hers is presented by Misty, a History professor, and Allegra, an English professor, both of whom are here for having a serious, fun conversation about looking at literature, history, current events, pop culture, and media through a feminist lens.
Find the Profess-Hers Podcast on Twitter and Instagram @Professhers.
Profess-Hers is written and created by Allegra Davis Hanna and Misty Wilson-Mehrtens. We produce the show ourselves, with help from Austin Haynes.
Tuesday Feb 04, 2020
Tuesday Feb 04, 2020
In our first of three episodes about Unstoppable Texas Women, we discuss two women who were great friends, awesome political forces, and very funny Texas women: Ann Richards (our 45th governor) and Molly Ivins (reporter and writer). We’ll get into what made them unstoppable, some favorite quotes from each, ordeals they overcame, and their best barbs aimed at the Bush family.
We’re inspired by Ann Richards and Molly Ivins because they told the truth, worked hard for others, and weren’t afraid to be themselves on a public stage.
We start the episode with a round-up of other women notable in Texas history, like Ma Ferguson and Clara Driscoll.
Want extra reading? Here’s where we did our research:
- A Texas Monthly article about the legacy of Ann Richards: https://www.texasmonthly.com/politics/the-renaissance-of-ann/
- Ann Richards’s bio from the Texas Politics Project: https://texaspolitics.utexas.edu/archive/html/exec/governors/31.html
- Info and photos of Ann Richards, from the Austin Public Library: https://library.austintexas.gov/ahc/ann-richards-54629
- Ann Richards’s Keynote Address to the DNC, 1988: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtIFhiqS_TY
- “The Price of Being Molly Ivins”: https://www.texasmonthly.com/politics/the-price-of-being-molly/
- “Why We Need Molly Ivins’s Wisdom Now More Than Ever”: https://www.texasmonthly.com/the-culture/molly-ivins-raise-hell-film-janice-engel-politics/
- Profile of Molly on “Americans Who Tell The Truth”: https://www.americanswhotellthetruth.org/portraits/molly-ivins
Profess-Hers is written and created by Allegra Davis Hanna and Misty Wilson-Mehrtens. We produce the show ourselves, with help from Austin Haynes.
Monday Jan 27, 2020
Monday Jan 27, 2020
We’re back, and we’re ready to share what we’ve been watching (binging) and loving. We discuss the (possible) gains the TV + movie industries made toward better representation, what’s terrible about the Oscar nominations (basically everything), and lots of great shows and movies we’ve been watching and want to share.
We’ll discuss feminism, female representation, gender, sex, language, and why they can’t say “vagina” on a medical drama.
In this episode: Little Women, The Good Place, Watchmen, The Witcher, Grey’s Anatomy, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Marriage Story, Greta Gerwig, Awkwafina, Jennifer Lopez, 911: Lone Star, Regina King + more.
Want extra reading? Here’s where we did our research:
- Time Magazine thought the “era of female-run TV was coming to an end” last year: https://time.com/5511730/female-run-tv-shows-ending/
- The latest “Boxed In” study from San Diego State: https://womenintvfilm.sdsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/2018-19_Boxed_In_Report.pdf
- Variety’s comment on progress of female representation last year (“it’s not all good news,” they said): https://womenintvfilm.sdsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/2018-19_Boxed_In_Report.pdf
- Variety’s comment on that progress this year (it was better news): https://variety.com/2020/film/news/captain-marvel-little-women-female-protagonists-study-1203460436/
- An LA Times article highlighting that most gains for female representation were for white women: https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2020-01-08/women-film-hollywood-gender-study
- Den of Geek’s discussion of gender on HBO’s Watchmen: https://www.denofgeek.com/us/tv/284399/beyond-silk-spectre-women-hbo-watchmen
- Den of Geek on fantasy and feminism in Netflix’s The Witcher: https://www.denofgeek.com/us/tv/netflix/282415/the-witcher-netflix-series-magic-feminism-fantasy
- Empire’s review of Little Women: https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/little-women-2019/
- NPR’s review of Little Women: https://www.npr.org/2019/12/20/789740628/little-women-again-greta-gerwig-s-adaptation-is-both-faithful-and-radical
- Published in the New York Times, “The Bearable Whiteness of Little Women”: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/13/opinion/sunday/little-women-movie-race.html
Profess-Hers is written and created by Allegra Davis Hanna and Misty Wilson-Mehrtens. We produce the show ourselves, with help from Austin Haynes.
Profess-Hers is presented by Misty, a History professor, and Allegra, an English professor, both of whom are here for having a serious, fun conversation about looking at literature, history, current events, pop culture, and media through a feminist lens.
Find the Profess-Hers Podcast on Twitter and Instagram @Professhers.
Tuesday Nov 12, 2019
Tuesday Nov 12, 2019
This episode is all about Elsa, Anna, and all your favorite (or least favorite) Disney princesses - Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Moana, Tiana, Merida, Mulan, Jasmine, Ariel, Pocahontas, and Belle. We discuss why folks love Disney, what princesses do to girls and girl culture, how to keep girls from being “eaten” by Cinderella, and the impact of Disney around the world. We get into unhealthy body images and relationship models, giving your voice away, and getting “princessified.” It’s not all bad news, especially once we get to Frozen and our hopes for Frozen II.
Want extra reading? Here’s what we consulted for our episode:
- Peggy Orenstein, Cinderella Ate My Daughter
- Rebecca Hains, The Princess Problem: Guiding Our Girls Through The Princess Obsessed Years
- The Washington Post article that published findings about female characters in Disney movies: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/01/25/researchers-have-discovered-a-major-problem-with-the-little-mermaid-and-other-disney-movies/
- This Time magazine article defending The Little Mermaid: https://time.com/3586569/sexist-little-mermaid/
- This NPR story about how Disney affects girls around the world: https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2019/05/24/726129132/how-disney-princesses-influence-girls-around-the-world
- This Bustle article with lots of love for Ursula: https://www.bustle.com/articles/155394-why-ursula-from-the-little-mermaid-was-actually-the-movies-hero
Profess-Hers is a podcast written and presented by Misty, a History professor, and Allegra, an English professor, both of whom are here for having a serious, fun conversation about looking at literature, history, current events, pop culture, and media through a feminist lens.
Written by Allegra Hanna and Misty Wilson-Mehrtens. Find the Profess-Hers Podcast on Twitter and Instagram @Professhers.
Tuesday Nov 05, 2019
Tuesday Nov 05, 2019
In our second episode about Witches, we talk about women who embrace the label of witch because they don’t accept typical gender roles, and women maligned as “witches” by others, including Hillary Clinton and AOC. Plus, WITCH protest groups, Lindy West, and pop culture witches that made a statement about gender and feminism, including The Craft, AHS: Coven, and Sabrina. We also discuss Disney witches, including Maleficent and Ursula. It won’t surprise you to know that most witches in film and TV are not great representations of women. Still - why are so many of us drawn to the idea, imagery, and symbolism of a witch? What is inherent to witches that leads feminists to identify with them?
Want extra reading? Check our sources and recommendations:
- About Kristin Sollee’s book: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/jul/05/witches-feminism-books-kristin-j-sollee
- About the 1960s WITCH protest group: https://broadly.vice.com/en_us/article/43gd8p/wicked-witch-60s-feminist-protestors-hexed-patriarchy
- “The Real Reason Women Love Witches” by Annie Theriault: https://medium.com/the-establishment/the-real-reason-women-love-witches-647d48517f66
- Witch protesters from 2017: https://www.lifesitenews.com/pulse/witches-violent-protestors-show-up-to-support-planned-parenthood-at-pro-lif
- About AOC being accused of belonging to a coven: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/progressivesecularhumanist/2019/02/conservative-christians-claim-ocasio-cortez-is-a-witch-leading-attack-against-trump/
- Review of AHS: Coven from Mic: https://www.mic.com/articles/80723/let-s-talk-about-the-extreme-racism-and-sexism-of-american-horror-story-coven
- Review of AHS: Coven from Feministing: http://feministing.com/2013/12/04/american-horror-story-coven-is-getting-race-all-wrong/
- There’s a great article from Critical Studies in Media Communication (a scholarly journal), but you’ll need access through a library or institution, called “There’s Nothing I Hate More Than a Racist: (Re) Centering Whiteness in American Horror Story: Coven,” by Amanda Kay LeBlanc.https://doi.org/10.1080/15295036.2017.1416418
Profess-Hers is a podcast written and presented by Misty, a History professor, and Allegra, an English professor, both of whom are here for having a serious, fun conversation about looking at literature, history, current events, pop culture, and media through a feminist lens.
Written by Allegra Hanna and Misty Wilson-Mehrtens. Find the Profess-Hers Podcast on Twitter and Instagram @Professhers.
Monday Oct 28, 2019
Monday Oct 28, 2019
In our Halloween-themed first of two episodes about Witches, we’re both really in our elements - Misty gets to talk about history, and Allegra gets to talk about witches. We focus on historical witches and witch hunts, the Hammer of Witches, Salem, Macbeth, the Crucible, what made someone more likely to be seen as a witch (surprise: Being a woman! Being a marginalized woman! Not having a husband or children!), and a lots of modern pop culture references to witchery.
Want extra reading? Check out our sources and recommended books:
- The Salem Witch Trials: A Day-by-Day Chronicle of a Community Under Siege, Marilynne K. Roach
- In The Devil's Snare: The Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1692, by Mary Beth Norton
- “Witchcraft and Old Women,” accessible on JSTOR: https://www.jstor.org/stable/3600840?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
- “Salem Witch Trial Victims” from Refinery 29: https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2018/03/192115/salem-witch-trials-victims-date-history-march-1
- An article about Tituba from Smithsonian Magazine: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/unraveling-mysteries-tituba-salem-witch-trials-180956960/
- From the University of Virginia Salem Witch Trials Archives, a list of important people in the historical records: http://salem.lib.virginia.edu/people/?group.num=G02&mbio.num=mb22
- From the University of Virginia Salem Witch Trials Archives, an entry about Sarah Good: http://salem.lib.virginia.edu/people/good.html
- From Newsweek on the increasing number of people who identify as witches and / or wiccans: https://www.newsweek.com/witchcraft-wiccans-mysticism-astrology-witches-millennials-pagans-religion-1221019
- From the LA Times, on wiccans in the military: https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2011-nov-26-la-na-air-force-pagans-20111127-story.html
Profess-Hers is a podcast written and presented by Misty, a History professor, and Allegra, an English professor, both of whom are here for having a serious, fun conversation about looking at literature, history, current events, pop culture, and media through a feminist lens.
Written by Allegra Hanna and Misty Wilson-Mehrtens. Find the Profess-Hers Podcast on Twitter and Instagram @Professhers.