Gina Barreca — feminist humor maven, UConn distinguished professor, and author of 10 books including the bestseller They Used to Call Me Snow White, But I Drifted — discusses her latest collection, Fast Famous Women. With wit, wisdom, and unflinching honesty, Gina explores what it means for women to claim the microphone, why humor cuts through fences and gates, and how famous women give the rest of us confidence by proxy when they refuse to apologize for taking up space.
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN
Why famous women are celebrated and torn down simultaneously
How confidence by proxy works when watching women claim space
Why women hesitate to speak up while others grab the mic
The complicated role of envy in our relationship with fame
How humor became Gina's tool for breaking into institutions
Why self-deprecation was currency for female comics
What "fast women" really means in Gina's book series
LEARN MORE
Get new episodes every Thursday
February 27, 2025
Gina Barreca
Celebrity, Fame, and Feminism
"There's still a lot of us who are like, 'Excuse me, I don't know if I got that right.' We hesitate, we wonder, we feel like we're overdoing it."
TIMESTAMPS
00:04:58 – Women claiming the mic unapologetically
00:05:29 – Confidence by proxy from famous figures
00:08:20 – Sylvia Plath and the bell jar of fame
00:10:40 – Everything comes at a price
00:11:34 – The difficulty of owning envy
00:20:11 – Self-deprecation as currency for female comics
00:32:12 – Learning to speak up through humor
00:35:37 – Lizzie Borden and true crime origins
00:46:52 – Fast women: holding up a compact mirror
00:48:33 – Reclaiming "just like a woman"
SHOW NOTES
For Women’s History Month, Dr. Dan speaks to bestselling author, humorist, and feminist icon Gina Barreca about famous women in history and why these women’s voices and stories matter now more than ever. Their conversation is impactful and thought-provoking whether Dan and Gina are talking about Taylor Swift, Joan Rivers, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Fannie Brice, or Patti LaBelle – all featured in her new book Fast Famous Women – because these women changed history and challenged the patriarchy.
With passion and purpose, Dan and Gina cover urgent 2025 topics including listening to women, believing women, and respecting women. They discuss power dynamics, the two “f” words (feminism and fear), and why Gina’s 4-volume Fast Women series is hopeful, timely, and necessary reading.
LINKS & RESOURCES
Gina Barreca
Fast Famous Women — latest book (75 essays on famous women)
Fast Fallen Women — previous book in the series
Fast Funny Women — book in the series
Fast Fierce Women — book in the series
They Used to Call Me Snow White, But I Drifted — bestselling book
Babes in Boyland — memoir about being one of the first women at Dartmouth
Psychology Today columns — over 7.5 million views
GUEST BIO
Dr. Gina Barreca is a Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor at the University of Connecticut and winner of its highest award for excellence in teaching. Hailed as "smart and funny" by People and deemed a "feminist humor maven" by Ms., she has appeared on The Today Show, CNN, BBC, NPR, and Oprah. Gina has written 10 books, including the bestseller They Used to Call Me Snow White, But I Drifted, and her columns for Psychology Today have over 7.5 million views. Her latest book, Fast Famous Women, is part of her popular Fast Women series.
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