We love Mayim Bialik, and not just because of her role as neuroscientist Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler on ‘The Big Bang Theory’ which makes her an awesome STEM role models for girls. We love her because she is a great example of he diversity that exists within feminism.
Mayim has talked about being socially conservative in the past, while also unashamedly calling herself a feminist. The devout Jewish mother of two who is passionate about modesty as well as equal rights is certainly no shrinking violet. She has been a very outspoken and positive example to many other women like her who seem to contradict normal social boundaries, and isn’t afraid to discuss everything from the way the media objectifies women to why she believes ‘Frozen’ could’ve done a better job with its story line for girls.
She has previously written some insightful blogposts for Kveller.com and has now taken her loyal following to a new platform, her very own blogsite called Grok Nation. Here she combines her love of all things geek, acting, parenting, faith, feminism and culture and discusses them with her signature POV that allows for great discussion, while also giving permission to women not to feel ashamed of who they are. She doesn’t care that being religious in Hollywood isn’t “trendy”, it’s who she is and it doesn’t make her any less cool, any less of a geek, and certainly any less of a feminist. We believe this is an important message to send.
“All of you hail from different faith communities and political perspectives and with varying interests, concerns and passions. I want this website to be a place for all of you. I believe that there is a meaningful way to approach every issue – whether it be acting, science, parenting, faith – whatever it is; there is a way to look at every issue and find the underlying importance and meaning in it,” she writes in an introductory post on the site.
In an interview with SheKnows.com, she spoke about the idea behind Grok Nation, why she felt it was necessary to create her own platform, and her thoughts on including a feminist section on the site. First up, she makes a point of telling readers that Grok Nation will not be like Goop or the Honest Company, two sites founded by Gwyneth Paltrow and Jessica Alba respectively which sell a variety of consumer goods.
“Lifestyle blogs seem more consumer based, and I don’t mean that to be critical. For a lot of people — and a lot of women in particular — things to buy and ways to look trendy are really important to them. I don’t put down those people or have judgment about that; I’m just not that kind of person. What we wanted to do with this website was sort of the phrase “for people who collect thoughts and not things.” Our site is basically a literary site,” she says.
For the record, the term “Grok Nation’ comes from the science fiction novel ‘Stranger in a Strange Land’, and signifies a deep understanding of something that you become one with it. Sounds like the kind of literary site for us!
When it comes to feminism, despite the common perception that it doesn’t fit in with most religious ideologies, it is not a subject Mayim is about to ignore. In fact, being a feminist as well as a person of faith, she believes it is all the more important to write about it from her point of view to add to the diverse feminist voices that exist today, and perhaps give insight to other people in the Jewish faith why it is important.
“In the pieces that I’ve tried to put out there and will continue to put out there, I’m trying to shy away from those conversations that are superficial, like, ‘do you shave your legs or not?’ I wrote a piece that literally defines first-, second- and third-wave feminism, just so we all know what we’re talking about when we talk about it. I think it’s important, because I think we get caught up in ‘do you wear lipstick or don’t you?’ and that’s not really what the women’s movement is really about,” she explains.
“Those are superficial things that are fun to talk about, but I think the Rose McGowan piece that I wrote tried to get at the “grokability” of these issues. Like, what’s it really about? What’s really happening here? It was hard to write that piece! The fact is, that’s what it looks like when we have skewed visions of women in my industry.”
The Rose McGowan piece she is referring to is a blog post she wrote after Rose tweeted about a sexist casting description she was given for a part in an Adam Sandler movie. After publicly shaming the way Hollywood treats women as sexual objects, Rose was subsequently fired by her agent, which only made her fight for more roles for women in the film industry even more.
Mayim has some very strong views on feminism, and how often the current conversations surrounding the movement can distract from the bigger objective: gender equality.
“The true movement of feminism was about race, class and gender, and not about individual women and who they’re having sex with and how. Of course that was part of the conversation, but the idea was to break the bonds of race, class and gender, and that’s really what we need to keep fighting for.”
While also using Grok Nation as a platform to discuss geek culture, talk about her life as an actress on one of the most popular shows on television (including what’s happening with Amy and Sheldon) and parenting issues, Mayim also wants to ensure when covering topics like feminism, there is space to share resources with her readers so they can take the discussion from thought to action.
“If I can use this platform to put those issues out there in a bigger way, I want to give props to those people who have been doing and talking about this for years and actually are advocating for individuals and not just tweeting about it,” she said.
This is what we love about modern day feminism, that there is such a variety of voices contributing thought-provoking ideas and showing the world that a feminist just just come in a one-size-fits-all package. Keep on with your badass self, Mayim Bialik!
