Christina Baker Kline
© Copyright 2007 Christina Baker Kline. All Rights Reserved.
Remarkably candid, THE CONVERSATION BEGINS is an examination of one of the most intimate,
complicated relationships of a woman’s life, and a portrait of the changing feminist movement.
In the questions they pose, Baker and Baker Kline attempt to identify the particular stresses and rewards of
feminist motherhood, and to chart a path for future generations. “By inviting real-life mothers and
daughters to tell the story of their relationship to feminism and to each other, we sought to explore how
women who have profoundly affected their generation have influenced the next at this most personal level,”
the authors write. A landmark book, it not only reports from the front lines of both Second and Third Wave
feminism, but also bridges the gap between them.
The main criterion for participants in this study was that either the mother or daughter (or both) has made a
public contribution to the contemporary women’s movement. Some are well known because of their
involvement on a national level; others who are working at the grassroots level will mainly be known in their
communities. Nearly half of the women identified themselves not only as Americans, but also by their
Native American, African, Latin American, Asian, or Eastern European ethnic heritage. The ages of the
participants range from seventeen to eighty-four, spanning virtually the entire twentieth century. The
narratives are arranged chronologically from oldest to youngest mother to give a sense of the evolution of
the women’s movement.
Of note, in the end, the feminist mothers in this book have, for the most part, raised feminist daughters.
Few of the daughters have rejected their mother’s political beliefs. Feminism has become the fabric of their
lives. The main difference is that the world the daughters live in is a world transformed, thanks to their
mothers. “What I had to fight for,” one mother writes, “my daughters can assume.”
Baker and Baker Kline write, “As mothers and daughters in our book talk to and about each other, many
conversations emerge across the pages. They reflect upon the nature of modern feminism, its promises and
costs, its successes and failures, its personal impact as well as its public agenda. Ultimately, we hope, our
readers will join the discussion too.”
complicated relationships of a woman’s life, and a portrait of the changing feminist movement.
In the questions they pose, Baker and Baker Kline attempt to identify the particular stresses and rewards of
feminist motherhood, and to chart a path for future generations. “By inviting real-life mothers and
daughters to tell the story of their relationship to feminism and to each other, we sought to explore how
women who have profoundly affected their generation have influenced the next at this most personal level,”
the authors write. A landmark book, it not only reports from the front lines of both Second and Third Wave
feminism, but also bridges the gap between them.
The main criterion for participants in this study was that either the mother or daughter (or both) has made a
public contribution to the contemporary women’s movement. Some are well known because of their
involvement on a national level; others who are working at the grassroots level will mainly be known in their
communities. Nearly half of the women identified themselves not only as Americans, but also by their
Native American, African, Latin American, Asian, or Eastern European ethnic heritage. The ages of the
participants range from seventeen to eighty-four, spanning virtually the entire twentieth century. The
narratives are arranged chronologically from oldest to youngest mother to give a sense of the evolution of
the women’s movement.
Of note, in the end, the feminist mothers in this book have, for the most part, raised feminist daughters.
Few of the daughters have rejected their mother’s political beliefs. Feminism has become the fabric of their
lives. The main difference is that the world the daughters live in is a world transformed, thanks to their
mothers. “What I had to fight for,” one mother writes, “my daughters can assume.”
Baker and Baker Kline write, “As mothers and daughters in our book talk to and about each other, many
conversations emerge across the pages. They reflect upon the nature of modern feminism, its promises and
costs, its successes and failures, its personal impact as well as its public agenda. Ultimately, we hope, our
readers will join the discussion too.”
The Conversation Begins: Mothers and Daughters Talk about
Living Feminism, co-authored with Christina L. Baker (Bantam)
Sisterhood, not motherhood, has been the focus of American feminism for
the past twenty-five years. In fact, during the 70s many feminists viewed
motherhood as a hindrance to women's progress toward equality, an
attitude that alienated legions of potentially feminist women by ignoring --
even disparaging -- the needs and concerns of those who were mothers.
Nevertheless, many of those women had daughters who now have come of
age and are reshaping the women's movement to suit their needs. The
passing of the torch has not been entirely smooth, however. As young
women define an agenda of their own, they also find themselves having to
assess the legacy of their foremothers -- for better and for worse.
In THE CONVERSATION BEGINS, Christina Baker Kline and her mother
Christina Looper Baker draw on talks with a diverse range of over sixty
women of both generations, asking provocative, often painful questions.
Revealing first-person narratives based on interviews with twenty-two sets
of mothers and daughters -- including Paula Gunn Allen, Letty Pogrebin,
Naomi Wolf, Barbara Ehrenreich, Tillie Olsen, Joy Harjo, Eleanor Smeal,
Nkenge Toure, Patsy Mink, Helen Rodriguez-Trias, and many others --
comprise the heart of this magnificent testament to the strength of
American feminism and the bond between feminist mothers and daughters.
Living Feminism, co-authored with Christina L. Baker (Bantam)
Sisterhood, not motherhood, has been the focus of American feminism for
the past twenty-five years. In fact, during the 70s many feminists viewed
motherhood as a hindrance to women's progress toward equality, an
attitude that alienated legions of potentially feminist women by ignoring --
even disparaging -- the needs and concerns of those who were mothers.
Nevertheless, many of those women had daughters who now have come of
age and are reshaping the women's movement to suit their needs. The
passing of the torch has not been entirely smooth, however. As young
women define an agenda of their own, they also find themselves having to
assess the legacy of their foremothers -- for better and for worse.
In THE CONVERSATION BEGINS, Christina Baker Kline and her mother
Christina Looper Baker draw on talks with a diverse range of over sixty
women of both generations, asking provocative, often painful questions.
Revealing first-person narratives based on interviews with twenty-two sets
of mothers and daughters -- including Paula Gunn Allen, Letty Pogrebin,
Naomi Wolf, Barbara Ehrenreich, Tillie Olsen, Joy Harjo, Eleanor Smeal,
Nkenge Toure, Patsy Mink, Helen Rodriguez-Trias, and many others --
comprise the heart of this magnificent testament to the strength of
American feminism and the bond between feminist mothers and daughters.
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