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Ep. 70: Jill Filipovic Talks The H-Spot and The Feminist Pursuit of Happiness

"Across the US, one thing that did really stand out was how many [women] felt like they were really failing at whatever they were supposed to be doing in life, and that part of that came from this expectation of whole and unending sacrifice all the time. That they were supposed to be buttressing their husband's careers, supposed to be the best mom in the neighborhood at all times, that they were supposed to be doing 150% in 8 different roles, which doesn't work."

Jill Filipovic is a contributing opinion writer for the New York Times, a lawyer, and the author of The H-Spot: The Feminist Pursuit of Happiness. In her book, Jill advocates for prioritizing women's happiness and pleasure in forming public policy. On this episode, Jill shares how the cult of female sacrifice does a disservice to women, how attitudes toward sex are disconnected from reality, and the importance of working both to change the rigged system and to make personal and cultural changes within the existing system. Jill also talks about her bold career path, from working at a law firm to becoming a full-time writer living in Kenya.

"It eventually became very obvious that trying to make ourselves equal to men in a system that has been made by men, for men, according to their interests and priorities and life rhythms, was not going to be super effective...the ultimate goal of anyone's life isn't to be equal to someone else, it's to be happy. So I was curious to answer the question of what that would look like, both policy-wise and culture-wise."

Learn more:

  • http://www.jillfilipovic.com/
  • https://www.amazon.com/H-Spot-Feminist-Pursuit-Happiness/dp/1568585470
  • Twitter: @JillFilipovic

“I would love to see a total reimagining of both how our workplaces reflect our out-of-work lives and also how we think about the role of work.”