Victoria Smith on Hags and "unkind" women

Standard Issue Podcast

Standard Issue

Society & Culture

4.8 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 24 February 2025

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

‘Seasoned feminist hag’ Victoria Smith is sick to the back teeth of women being told to ‘just be kind’. This was catnip to our Mickey, who you’ll already have heard wanging on about Victoria’s 2023 book, Hags: The Demonisation of Middle-Aged Women, which asks why middle-aged women are treated with such active disdain and traces the hatred and fear of them back through history. To be clear, Victoria's latest book, Unkind: How ‘Be Kind’ Entrenches Sexism, has no beef with actual kindness – in fact, she’s a big fan – but instead looks at how three little words – “just be kind” – can cost women way too much. And how a baked potato brought perspective. Both of Victoria’s books are available now, and you’ll find her on X and Bluesky @glosswitch. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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1:00.5	Standard issue for all women. All righty there, lovely listeners. Welcome to a fresh week
1:06.6	of standard issue podcasts. It's Mickey kicking things off with some proper feminism, courtesy of this chat
1:13.3	with self-proclaimed seasoned feminist hag, Victoria Smith. I am totally taking that label for myself too.
1:20.5	We are talking about her old book, Hags, the demonisation of middle-aged women. Why would that appeal?
1:26.1	And also her new book, Unkind, how Be Kind, entrenched
1:30.8	sexism, both available for your bookshelves now, and let me tell you, they're going to look
1:35.4	pretty good on there, and indeed, in your brains. Also coming up this week, Jen caught up with
1:40.8	best-selling author A.O. In Ivy about her new novel, Blackwood's Blue Sky,
1:45.5	seeing the good and bad in people and Alaska's main character energy.
1:49.8	In Rated or Dated, we're trying not to glitch while discussing 1975's The Steppford Wives,
1:54.7	and on Thursday, Hannah and I look at the news and scream into the sky for the Bush Telegraph,
	...

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