About the hosts

Allison McNeely

My name is Allison and I've been a feminist since grade 7, possibly earlier. I'm not really sure when I decided that women's issues mattered to me, but I remember that a boy named Jon wrote "feminazi" on my yearbook when I was 12, so I count from there. Delightfully precocious, I know!

I work as a writer and editor in Calgary, and I blog about feminist issues, volunteer with Take Back the Night and co-host Yeah, What She Said in my spare time.

As a feminist, I'm very interested in the representation of women in pop culture, reproductive politics, sexuality and women in the workplace — how we feel about female bosses and the wage gap, for example. Some of my favourite feminist blogs are: Feministe, Feministing and Jezebel.

I am inspired by feminist bloggers and authors writing today, but I do appreciate second-wave feminists like Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem. I think feminists should be reading Jessica Valenti, Jaclyn Friedman, Tracy Clark-Flory, Amanda Hess and anyone from Jezebel. I strongly dislike Camille Paglia.

When I'm not getting my feminism on, I play floor hockey, support local theatre, write, watch TV and eat in as many restaurants as I can afford.

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Geea

A bit about me: I was born in Romania and immigrated to Canada with my parents in 1992. I have a BA from the U of C in Philosophy, and I'm currently working on a BSc in Psychology and Neuroscience. Afterwards, I hope to go to law school and become a criminal lawyer. In my spare time, I enjoy reading books on criminal psychology and profiling, making jewelery, shopping, and getting my nails done.

In addition to co-hosting Yeah, What She Said, I volunteer with the Take Back the Night committee to raise awareness about violence against women.

I've probably been a feminist my whole life, but I didn't start calling myself one until I got to University and started taking Women's Studies classes. I strongly believe in the diversity of women, and I feel that there's room for women of every size, shape, ethnicity, religion, and background within the scope of feminism. As a woman in the global community, I hope to do my part to encourage all women to find their voices and unite against the patriarchy.


Jennie Thunder

My name is Jennie and I have been an active member of Calgary’s feminist community since 2004 and involved with Yeah What She Said since 2006. My definition of a feminist is simply, “someone who believes in social, political and economic equality between men and women.”

I love hosting the show because I’ve had the opportunity to interview so many inspirational women, and researching new topics for the show keeps me constantly learning. The aspects of feminism that I’m most interested in are body image, advertising and media, and self esteem.

There are a number of feminists who inspire me, but some of my favourites are Naomi Wolf, for her excellent book, The Beauty Myth, which I think should be required reading for all feminists, and Dr. Betty Dodson, a feminist sex educator. I also like Gloria Steinem because her definition of feminism has changed as her views have been challenged over five decades of activism.

Some of my favourite feminist blogs are Jezebel, Sociological Images, Copyranter (which focuses on media/advertising) and Gender Focus (a Canadian feminist blog).

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