The Feminist and Her Daughter

From: Karen Brown
Length: 06:31

A prominent feminist from the 60s and her grown-up daughter have an intimate conversation about family, work, politics, and the very different choices they each made. Read the full description.

Piece Audio

Playing: The Feminist and Her Daughter
From: Karen Brown

Aliceandninarossi_small Alice Rossi harkens from the old guard of feminists -- a contemporary of Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem. She helped create "NOW" (the National Organization for Women) and led some of the early abortion-rights rallies of the sixties. She sparked a national controversy in 1964 when she called for equality in parenting. But Rossi's three children have often pointed out that Alice wasn't as successful in her home life. Today, Alice is 85 and suffering from emphysema, her daughter Nina is 47 and a single mother, and the two women have been recording a video memoir together about family, work, and politics. A shortened version ran on NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday.

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Piece Description

Alice Rossi harkens from the old guard of feminists -- a contemporary of Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem. She helped create "NOW" (the National Organization for Women) and led some of the early abortion-rights rallies of the sixties. She sparked a national controversy in 1964 when she called for equality in parenting. But Rossi's three children have often pointed out that Alice wasn't as successful in her home life. Today, Alice is 85 and suffering from emphysema, her daughter Nina is 47 and a single mother, and the two women have been recording a video memoir together about family, work, and politics. A shortened version ran on NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday.

Broadcast History

Produced and broadcast at WFCR in Amherst, MA in October, 2007. A shortened version aired the same month on NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday.

Transcript

NINA ROSSI VISITS HER MOTHER ALICE -- A RAIL THIN BUT STILL COGENT WOMAN -- EVERY SUNDAY FOR TEA, BUT THEIR RELATIONSHIP HASN'T ALWAYS BEEN CLOSE. IN THE SIXTIES AND SEVENTIES, ALICE WAS A NATIONALLY-RENOWNED FEMINIST AND SCHOLAR ? HEAD OF THE AMERICAN SOCIOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION, FOUNDING MEMBER OF NOW, AUTHOR OF A SEMINAL BOOK CALLED THE FEMINIST PAPERS. LOOKING BACK, ALICE ADMITS THAT AS SHE WAS TRYING TO SAVE THE WORLD?S WOMEN, SHE MAY WELL HAVE LET HER OWN DAUGHTER SLIP THROUGH THE CRACKS.

[CutID: rossi ax - critical years.wav
Time: 14s
Title: rossi ax - critical years
Description: alice
Out-cue: shortcuts in parenting]

[there was a period of nina's life that i felt that i was critical, where i was a neglectful parent. bc of the busy-ness of my life, and i took shortcuts in parenting]

SITTING TODAY IN ALICE?S AMHERST HOME, AS HER MOTHER?S MEDICAL TUBES CRIS...
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Timing and Cues

NOTE: Other stations will want to cut out "for WFCR and WNNZ" from the outcue.

Suggested intro:
Alice Rossi harkens from the old guard of feminists -- a contemporary of Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem; she helped create "NOW" (the National Organization for Women) and led some of the early abortion-rights rallies of the sixties. She sparked a national controversy in 1964 when she called for equality in parenting. But Rossi's three children have often pointed out that Alice wasn't as successful in her home life. Today, Alice is 85 and suffering from emphysema, her daughter Nina is 47 and a single mother, and the two women have been recording a video memoir together about family, work, and politics.