Friday evening, I attended “Good and Mad with Rebecca Traister” at the central branch of the Kitchener Public Library.
This Premiere 85 Queen Event was well-attended by fans (predominantly women) of the award-winning journalist and best-selling author of Big Girls Don’t Cry, All the Single Ladies, and Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women’s Anger.
After a brief introduction, an animated armchair conversation with Associate Professor Aimée Morrison followed.
Aimée began with the question: “Why are women afraid to get angry?”
Without missing a beat, Rebecca answered, “We fear the expression of anger.” She then went on to explain that feeling anger is a response to all sorts of unfairness—from the familial to the political—and is entirely rational.
This runs contrary to what many women have experienced throughout their lives. The message—If you are nice and polite, things will change—is reinforced while female expressions of anger are labeled emotional and hysterical. Women often put their relationships, careers, and lives at risk when showing anger.
On the other hand, powerful white men are granted rationality. Their anger is considered legitimate.
Later, this prompted the following question from an audience member: “How can we express anger in a world that wasn’t built to accept it?”
Rebecca admitted that we can’t change the world, but we can connect with others who are angry. Major social movements have occurred because people came together and organized.
Building community was the advice repeated throughout the evening. At no point did Rebecca suggest individual women let the anger loose. She did, however, allude to her own unique situation, joking that she lives in a biodome. She is literally being paid and rewarded professionally to be angry.
Rebecca is also reaping the health benefits of expressing that anger. During the four months she wrote Good and Mad, she experienced one of the physically healthiest periods of her adult life. She ate and slept well, exercised more than usual, and had great sex.
Quotable quotes from Rebecca Traister…
I’m deeply suspicious of all calls for civility.
If you keep your anger inside, you are isolated.
When you voice your anger, you become audible and visible. Others listen and join in the conversation.
When Lynda Carter assumed the role of Diana Prince/Wonder Woman in the 1970s television series, I made a point of watching each program. Eyes glued to the screen, I waited with anticipation for the inevitable displays of Amazonian power. I especially liked watching Diana fling the magic lasso and use her golden belt and bracelets to deflect bullets.
As someone with anxiety, writing is my way of speaking. When my verbal skills fail, my pen excels. I have always had something to say to the world and to the humans residing in it, I just could never get my mind and mouth to be on the same level. So, I picked up a pen and haven’t looked back. I have a message for you. A message for my family, my friends and to all the beating hearts. Dear You is a letter personally written, from me to you.
Diagnosed with hypothyroidism in 2006, I make every effort to incorporate thyroid-nourishing foods into my diet.
In 
Terue. The girl who was plucked from obscurity to become the most sought after geisha in Edo’s Floating World. The geisha who was so beautiful and talented that one of the richest nobles in Japan desired her as his wife.
In Japan, it is widely believed that everyone’s life is bound by the red thread of their fate. The thread connects to all those we come in contact with throughout our lives. Thus, each path in life is predestined.
The war in the Crimea is over. Delighted to be reunited with her husband, Lord Kyle, Terue thinks she will soon be home again in her beloved Scottish Highlands.
I started my career in the heavy industry of British Gas and ended it in the rarefied atmosphere of the British Library. Now, I share a blissful early retirement on the wonderful Costa Blanca, living in a male dominated household with my long suffering husband, a cat and a dog.
The ancient Greeks and Romans believed that asparagus possessed medicinal qualities, curing everything from toothaches to rheumatism.
Joanne Guidoccio 