Rebecca Traister (born 1975) is an American author and journalist. Traister is a writer-at-large for ''

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

'' magazine and its website ''The Cut'', and a contributing editor at ''

Elle ''Elle'' (stylized ''ELLE'') is a worldwide women's magazine of French origin that offers a mix of fashion and beauty content, together with culture, society and lifestyle. The title means "she" or "her" in French. ''Elle'' is considered the w ...

'' magazine. Traister wrote for ''

The New Republic ''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hum ...

'' from February 2014 through June 2015. Traister regularly appears on cable TV news, commenting on

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

and politics.

Early life and education

Born in 1975 to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

father and

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

mother, Traister was raised on a farm. She attended

Germantown Friends School Germantown Friends School (GFS) is a coeducational independent PreK–12 school in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States under the supervision of Germantown Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Fri ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

and

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

. After college, she moved to New York City.

Writing and awards

Traister has written about women in politics, media, and entertainment from a feminist perspective for ''The New Republic'' and ''Salon'' and has also contributed to ''The Nation'', ''The New York Observer'', ''The New York Times'' and ''The Washington Post''. Traister's first book, the non-fiction '' Big Girls Don't Cry: The Election that Changed Everything for American Women'' (2010), was a ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' Notable Book of 2010, and the winner of the

Ernesta Drinker Ballard Ernesta Drinker Ballard (May 13, 1920 – August 11, 2005) was an American horticulturalist and feminist. Among the founders of the National Organization for Women, the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League, and Women's Way, Ba ...

Book Prize in 2012. One of the key arguments in the book is that 2008 was the year, "in which what was once called the

women's liberation movement The women's liberation movement (WLM) was a political alignment of women and feminist intellectualism that emerged in the late 1960s and continued into the 1980s primarily in the industrialized nations of the Western world, which effected great ...

found thrilling new life" because of the presidential campaign of

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

. Traister's second non-fiction book, '' All the Single Ladies: Unmarried Women and the Rise of an Independent Nation'' (2016), a New York Times best-seller, has been referred to as a followup to the first. Gillian Whitemarch of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' described it as a "well-researched, deeply informative examination of women’s bids for independence, spanning centuries." In 2018, Traister published her third non-fiction book, '' Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women's Anger'', another New York Times best-seller,

Awards and recognition

Traister received a "Making Trouble / Making History Award" from the

Jewish Women's Archive The Jewish Women's Archive (JWA) is a national non-profit organization whose mission is to document "Jewish women's stories, elevate their voices, and inspire them to be agents of change." JWA was founded by Gail Twersky Reimer in 1995 in Brookli ...

in 2012 at its annual luncheon. Longtime activist

Gloria Steinem Gloria Marie Steinem (; born March 25, 1934) is an American journalist and social-political activist who emerged as a nationally recognized leader of second-wave feminism Second-wave feminism was a period of feminist activity that began in ...

was the presenter. In 2012, Traister received a

Mirror Award The Mirror Awards are annual journalism awards recognizing the work of writers, reporters, editors and organizations who cover the media industry. The awards were established by the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications in 2006. Awards ...

for Best Commentary in Digital Media for two essays that appeared in ''

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (P ...

'' ("'30 Rock' Takes on Feminist Hypocrisy–and Its Own," and "Seeing 'Bridesmaids' is a Social Responsibility"), and one that was published in ''

'' ("The Soap Opera Is Dead! Long Live The Soap Opera!").

Personal life

In 2011, Traister married Darius Wadia, a public defender in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. The couple lives in New York, with their two daughters., New York institute for Humanities, December, 2011.

Works

* * *

References

External links

* * * Michael More interviews Rebecca Traister
Ep. 204: Rebecca Traister, Part 2 -- #MeToo, Harvey & Sexual Harassment In Our Left Media
, Rumble {{DEFAULTSORT:Traister, Rebecca 1975 births Living people 21st-century American journalists 21st-century American women writers American people of Jewish descent American political journalists American journalists American women journalists Elle (magazine) writers New York (magazine) people Northwestern University alumni The New Republic people Germantown Friends School alumni American feminist writers