How do you analyze the fact that the current debate on feminism is totally dominated by Western middle-class individualists, i.e. well educated women and whining men, and without any global perspectives whatsoever?
Rob

I must admit that my perspective is not very global, so it is hard for me to answer this one. In fact, it is hard for me to answer much of anything as jet lag as I am. But I do want to thank all of you for being on line, and I want to thank everyone in Norway for being so welcoming, and I don't really know what else to say. I am sorry I did not manage to answer more questions, but I hope you all keep asking more of them-not just of me, but of THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD. takk- Elizabeth

How much do you like JRR Tolkien?

Do you like JRR Tolkien and would you like to make an essay on elven female characters?
Kimme Utsi

I think this is a good question to end with because JRR Tolkien is yet another glaring gap in my education. I tried to read The Hobbit when I was much younger, and I never got through it, and I have not tried again since. I would like to write an essay on eleven female characters, and I think there are at least that many in Bitch, so I am hard pressed to think of more.

Where does individuality end and gender begin? Isn't defining the latter always restricting the first?
Rob

Yes.

Feminism?

Hi, I've read "Bitch" and think it's quite interesting and sometimes funny. Keep up the good work! However, I just want to say that I don't understand the comparison between you and feminism. "Bitch" isn't about feminism at all as I see it, it's more about unhappy women in general. Do you really consider yourself as a feminist?
Grizzly

I am a feminist, and, unfortunately, I am also frequently unhappy. I realize that things did not work out so well for many of the women I wrote about in my book-in fact, I don't think things turned out very happily for any of them. But it is not just a book about feminism-it is meant to be an analysis of how things got to where they are today, and that has often not been a very happy story. By the way, why is your name Grizzly? That is sort of worrisome.

One of them!

I'm one of them. How can I, in general, be able to not feel guilty, when all I want is to be happy with a woman? You tell me! André
André Espelien

If you are asking these questions, you are already way ahead of most men. You will be fine.

Mrs President

Hi. When will USA get their first female president???? Regards Birgitte:-)
Birgitte Førsund

When hell freezes over, the Arctic boils over-and Hillary Clinton gets out of the way.

Rebellion

Hi, I like your way of writting. Do you think that angry women are able to find peace or is rebellion a lifelong fight? Maria.
Maria

A moment of peace is worth every war behind us. Unfortunately, rebellion is not just a lifelong battle-it is a millenia-long battle. So on it goes...

Open your eyes

How come that the "new breed" of young feminists today are so selfish, so ego-centred, greedy, seemingly spoiled, unhappy and sexually frustrated? Please -- open your eyes and see the real world. Not the artificially created mediaworld of fashion and make-up, glamour, celebrities, sex and money. When you discover the real world you will hopefully start thinking about things that really matter in this world: caring about people who REALLY need to be taken care of. Eva
Eva M. Ohlsson

Sorry.

Hi Elizabeth

I have read in some other interviews you have made that you have been suffering from bad depressions. Are you still struggling, or is life better for you now? Best wishes from Paul
Paul

To be perfectly honest, and I should probably lie about this, the depression has not got all that much better. Years go by, and life improves-in fact, life gets to be really nice-but at the end of the day, you are still you, and if you are given to depression, it is hard to get rid of. Actually, I have been in very good spirits here in Oslo, because I have been VERY busy and everyone has been SO nice (except the person before who does not like magazine covers). But if I did not take medication and go to therapy and do all those things that make everybody think that New York City is one big Woody Allen movie (it is), I would not manage to get through. So thank you for asking, and best wishes to you too.

Women behaving badly

Having read "Bitch" I can't say that I was entirely impressed. I find it almost insulting that women, as I understand you, should not take responsibility for their actions on the same level as men do. I can not see any real difference between the pressure that Amy Fisher was submitted to and that of any homeboy from the ghetto that takes part in a drive-by shooting. If women wants to be liberated they can not be excused for their bad behaviour just because they are women. Personal responsibility goes beyond gender.
Lise M. Rogne

WOMEN should hot be excused for their bad behavior, but GIRLS definitely should be.

What's up?

It's the guy from the "Ask-a-Silly-Question Department" again: Having become an American Icon at a young age - what's your next project?
Espen

They are making a movie version of Prozac Nation, starring Christina Ricci, which they plan to start shooting in the spring. (The director, though this is not yet confirmed, will probably be Scandinavian, since I don't trust anybody else.) I will be spending every second of every minute of every hour on the set when they are making the film, because if they fuck up at all, I will be forced to kill them, and I would rather not do that, because in the United States we have capital punishment, and if George W. Bush becomes our next president, no one in the whole country will escape alive.

Hypericum perforatum

Have you tried the herb Pericum (Hypericum perforatum)? Research has now established that this herb have the same effect on mood disorders and depression as Prozac, but without the side effects. I have used it myself for 6 months and it works! The 'grey blanket' as I call it is completely gone...
John Francis Pastorius

I am always in search of new cures for what I call the 'black wave.' Unfortunately, in my experience none of the herbal remedies (Saint John's Wort, SAMI) ever seem to work as well as good, old fashioned pharmeceuticals made by large drug conglomerates. I am always glad to hear that people have found more natural ways of dealing with depression, but my feeling is that in some strange way, the good Lord created the scientists who invented Prozac and all those other drugs, which have helped me a lot, so far be it for me to argue.

Why the idols if you want to be free?

Would you rather take madcap celeb's from the glossy press as rolemodels than try and come to terms with the fact that people ARE different? Why don't you just tell people you don't like to piss off and take good care of the rest, however few they may be in number?
Eivind Lilleskjæret

Piss off.

Music

hi, Elisabeth. What kind of music do you like? What do you listen to when you are down? The cure?
push

When I am down, the last thing I want to listen to is whiney British music. Or not whiney British music. America invented rock and roll, and God bless us for it, because we also have invented many bad things, like handguns and Republicans. Also, the electric chair. But I digress. I must admit that I am now over thirty, and kind of out of it. Until very recently I did not know that Sean 'Puffy' Combs and Puff Daddy were the same person, and I still cannot figure out how one person can get into so much trouble-and go out with Jennifer Lopez. But once again, I digress... Point is, mainly I listen to 'old people' music like Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Bruce Springsteen, Emmylou Harris, Lucinda Williams, and a lot of folk and country. And yes, I must admit, I am a very big fan of the Indigo Girls. Lately my favorite album has been this collaboration between Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt called The Western Wall, which is really amazing, even if you don't know/like either of them. EVERYBODY should own that album, particular if you are in spiritual crisis. It is ridiculously beautiful. Also, the soundtrack to the movie Magnolia, which is hands down the best film I have seen since Robert Altman's Nashville, is wonderful for when you feel down. Also, for the frustrated teenage boy in all of us, the first Violent Femmes album rules. (They are playing very soon in Oslo). And I have recently rediscovered the Replacements, especially the album Let It Be, another truly adolescent piece of work. Paul Westerberg's Suicaine Gratifaction (he used to be the lead singer of the Replacements) is one of my favorite from the last year. And, in fairness to the British, I still listen to the Sex Pistols when thw whole world seems to be falling apart, which is unfortunately more often than I would like.

A sample copy for extreme Arctic weather

I'm just a poor student but a avid reader of English literature. Can't afford you book, would like to read it as the weather makes reading really worth. So please send me a sample copy and I'll write my honest feeling about it The best from Jonny
Jonny Jamtjord

I hope that the book makes it into Norwegian libraries, since I have no idea where you are, or how I would send you a book. (I don't even know how the Norwegian postal system works.) Also, in the United States we have these bookstores with tables and cafes and couches in them, where people can spend hours just hanging out. Many people have told me that they have read the whole book that way. Anyway, good luck with it, and with the extreme Arctic weather. I hope they have copies of Playboy wherever you are.

Just a "thank you"!

Dear Elizabeth, I finished reading "Prozac Nation" a couple of days ago - what a great book! Thanks for sharing your fight for/against life with me. I wish you the best in life. Hege :-)
Hege

Thank you. I am very excited that the book will be coming out soon in Norwegian, so it is good to hear that someone here liked it now. That book meant/means a lot to me, so it is always good to know that it has reached people out there in the world. Thank you again.

Being oneself on the cover of Vogue

If all you really want is to be yourself (that is how I interpret the Introductory chapter in Bitch), why are you so obsessed with the lives of celebrities and their iconised existences on the covers of magazines? If you're so concerned with living an authentic life, why do you think so much in terms of public image? It seems to me you're combining the fallacy of authenticity with a petty bourgeois sensitivity about "what will the neighbours think?"
Eivind Lilleskjæret

I like magazines.

Documentary

Dear Elizabeth! I must say I jumped when I saw this site on the Net, since I see myself as your biggest Norwegian fan! I have red both your books and they truly did a lot for me, you are such an honest and GIFTED writer! I saw you on RUBY WAX, BBC (with B. Easton Ellis and Carrie Fisher) which I really enjoyed - my question is: Has anyone ever made a Documentary portrait on you, if not - would you be interested in it? AT the moment I am in pre-production on a documentary on Femenism & I would love you to appear; would you consider it??? Thanks for being the best feminist Rolemodel! O. Royset, London
Oddhild Royset

I am glad to hear that you saw the RUBY WAX show. I myself still have not-nobody has bothered to send me a tape! I always have a great time whenever I am in England, since people seem to have a great deal more intellectual curiosity than they do in the United States. (I keep saying such unkind things about my native land, which is not really accurate, because I do truly love it, problems and all.) People here in Norway have also been terrifically full of curiosity and energy and interest about all these topics. As far as the documentary question goes-as far as I know, no one has ever made one (imagine that), though perhaps someone has, and nobody has bothered to send me a tape. As far as your documentary is concerned, you should get in touch with Quartet, my British publisher, and talk to them about it.

Exhaustion

Living in Norway, a so called "enlightend society" - compared to for instance Afghanistan - I do get weary of hearing about "slowing down because we (women) have already come so far". What a load of B.S! Ever been "accuced" of being "a butch lezzo" for not having endless patience? Join the club! How do you find the strengt to go out on a limb like this? Hang in there - and have a nice stay in Oslo! Respectfully, Kathrine (impatient & quite bitchy)
Kathrine Kristiansen

Nobody, as far as I know, has ever accused me of being a butch lezzo. Thank you for welcoming me to Oslo, which does seem like an enlightened society-not just compared to Afghanistan, but compared to the United States, which is actually quite barbaric. I do try, if not to have 'endless patience,' then at least to have some. It takes time to wake up the living dead. Also, it is not so hard to go out on a limb when you believe the cause is a righteous one. But for the most part, people (like you) have been quite nice, which makes it a lot easier.

Charles Bukowski

Do you consider yourself as a femenist? That makes me wonder if you have read Charles Bukowski? If so, did you enjoy his literature? Kjell Lopez Pedersen
Kjell Lopez Pedersen

Rather pathetically, I have not really read any Charles Bukowski-at least not that I know of (these things have a way of seeping into your consciousness whether you mean to have them there or not). I did see the movie Barfly, which was supposed to be about Bukowski, and he mostly just seemed drunk, which is probably not fair. Anyway, there are large, LARGE gaps in my education, and this is one of them. As far as considering myself a feminist (whatever that has to do with Bukowski), I definitely do. The thing I am wondering about right now is where you are from, since your middle name is Lopez, which does not sound very Scandinavian. At any rate, I don't just consider myself a feminist-I am one.

Scandinavian feminisme today

Hi, I'm curious to know how you percieve the Norwegian/Scandinavian feminist trends of today, i.e. the swedish book "Fittstim", because I, as man & not from this country, feel there is still some work left before the antagonisme is replace with interlectual dialog. :-)
Thomas

Thomas- I wonder what country you are from. Actually, I am very impressed by the feminist conversation that seems to be going on here in Norway right now. Everyone is very enthusiastic and interested in these topics, which is really most of the battle. As long as we keep talking...I don't sense that feminism, at least this time around, is anatagonistic at all-at least not toward men. I think most of us women are trying to figure out how to have (romantic) relationships that work, and that make all of us happy. It's hard. And it will take some time. We have not been discussing these things for such a long time, so it feels like we have to start all over again, where we last left off in 1978 or so. But give it time-it takes time to have time.