10 feminist podcasts we should all be listening to right now
By Becky Kukla
5. How To Be a Girl
New podcast episode: My daughter is about to start 5th grade at a new school, where no one knows she's trans. How the hell to I handle this?! https://t.co/HdyBzUwZqz pic.twitter.com/LNwccm6rnj
— Marlo Mack (she/her) (@girlpodcast) August 22, 2018
How to be a Girl can be summed up by its tagline: daily life with my transgender daughter. It’s a podcast produced by Marlo Mack, who is the mother of a now 10-year-old transgender girl.
The podcast began when Marlo’s daughter was six, and had just begun to vocally identify as a girl. Marlo took to recording her journey as a podcast, to make some sense of what was happening but also to reach out to others who may be going through the same thing. In a recent episode, Marlo’s daughter was able to Skype with Jazz Jennings, in one of the most touching and adorable moments recorded yet. It’s a small moment, but one which is inspiring not only for Marlo’s daughter but for anyone listening to who is going through the same thing. Hearing someone else’s story can help pinpoint the light in the tunnel ahead and that’s exactly why How to be a Girl is so profound.
To protect their anonymity, Marlo Mack is not her real name, and all of the names used in the podcast are pseudonyms. Far from making it less personal, this anonymity actually makes How To Be a Girl feel like a universal story. On the one hand, it’s a very unique journey that Marlo’s daughter is on. On the other, there are so many relatable elements to Marlo’s and her daughter’s story for any young girl growing up in today’s world.