Welcome to Breaking Down Patriarchy. I'm Amy McPhee Allabest. Our cultural motion away from patriarchy and towards a more egalitarian society has already come a long way. We've studied much of that progress here on the podcast before, including how women fought for and secured the right to vote, how we've expanded access to education,

we've expanded access to careers, access to birth control, and much more.

And we can and should celebrate the progress that our four mothers and their allies have made for us.

However, there is some work yet to be done. We have a long way to go in

our work of deconstructing all oppressive systems. And one of the most challenging aspects of

doing this work is being able to look at the pain that these systems have already caused and are

actively causing. All of that is to say that on today's episode,

we're going to hear some hard stories. And as a caution for listeners, these stories will

include explicit discussions of physical and sexual abuse, child marriage, domestic partner

violence, and self-harm. And we recognize that this subject matter won't make for easy listening.

But we hope you'll stay with us because these stories not only spread knowledge and challenge

our empathy, they also help us to understand how women and non-binary people can persevere

through hardships and still share a light with the world. Later in the episode, we'll hear from

artist and educator Susan Warren as she tells stories of her childhood, of struggle and abuse,

and her unrelenting optimism for the future. But first, we're going to be joined by Red O'Hare

to hear a heart-wrenching and unflinchingly honest essay about

men's rights activism, mental health stigmas, violence, manipulation, and ultimately what it means

to be a survivor. As a short introduction to Red O'Hare, she writes that her pronouns are

she, her, and that she is a human.

She was born in Northern California, grew up in Southern California, and now currently

lives in the Pacific Northwest, where she works in a pub.

She says she invited Polly Shore to her bat mitzvah, but he didn't come.

...