Rebecca Walker

---

Born	November 17, 1969
Occupation	author
URL	rebeccawalker.com

Rebecca Walker (born 1969) is an American writer.

Walker was born Rebecca Leventhal, the daughter of Alice Walker^[wp], the African-American author of The Color Purple^[wp], and Mel Leventhal, a Jewish American lawyer. After her parents divorced, she spent her childhood alternating every two years between her father's home in New York City^[wp] and her mother's largely African-American environment in San Francisco^[wp]. When she was 18, she decided to change her surname from Leventhal to Walker, her mother's surname. Rebecca identifies herself as black, white and Jewish.

Walker has received several awards for her work, including the Women of Distinction Award from the American Association of University Women^[wp], "Feminist of the Year" award from the Fund for the Feminist Majority^[wp], the "Paz y Justicia" award from the Vanguard Public Foundation^[wp], the "Intrepid Award" from the National Organization for Women^[wp], the "Champion of Choice" award from the California Abortion Rights Action League and the "Women Who Could Be President Award" from the League of Women Voters^[wp]. Walker spends much of her time speaking about (her) multicultural identity, enlightened masculinity and intergenerational and third-wave feminism at universities and conferences around the world. She also teaches writing workshops and consults on non-fiction manuscripts.

Walker is the author of four books, To Be Real: Telling the Truth and Changing the Face of Feminism; Black, White and Jewish: Autobiography of a Shifting Self; What Makes A Man: 22 Writers Imagine the Future and her latest, Baby Love: Choosing Motherhood After a Lifetime of Ambivalence. She is currently working on a third anthology, One Big Happy Family: 18 Writers Talk About Polyamory, Open Adoption, Mixed Marriage, Househusbandry, Single Motherhood, and Other Realities of Truly Modern Love.

Walker lives with her partner, Choyin Rangdrol, an African-American Buddhist teacher whom she refers to as Glen, and in December 2004 gave birth to a son, Tenzin.

Books

• To be Real: Telling the Truth and Changing the Face of Feminism (1996) (Editor)
• Black, White and Jewish: Autobiography of a Shifting Self (2000)
• What Makes A Man: 22 Writers Imagine The Future (2004) (Editor)
• Baby Love: Choosing Motherhood After a Lifetime of Ambivalence (2007)
• One Big Happy Family: 18 Writers Talk About Polyamory, Open Adoption, Mixed Marriage, Househusbandry, Single Motherhood, and Other Realities of Truly Modern Love (2009) (Editor)
• Black Cool: One Thousand Streams of Blackness (Soft Skull Press, February 2012) (Editor)

Rebecca Walker[wp], daughter of Alice Walker[wp], who wrote "The Color Purple[wp]", says that her mother's radical feminist beliefs tore the two apart. Rebecca is now 38 year old and her mother is 64. Rebecca, for one, disagrees with her mother's belief that motherhood is a form of servitude. She herself is a mom. "The other day I was vacuuming when my son came bounding into the room. "Mommy, Mommy, let me help", she said, speaking of her son. "His little hands were grabbing me around the knees and his huge brown eyes were looking up at me. I was overwhelmed by a huge surge of happiness." "It reminds me of just how blessed I am. The truth is that I very nearly missed out on becoming a mother", Rebecca said, referring to her mother's influence on her life. "You see, my mom taught me that children enslave women. I grew up believing that children are millstones around your neck, and the idea that motherhood can make you blissfully happy is a complete fairytale", she went on to say. Rebecca also said that her mother told her that she doesn't need a man. "I was raised to believe that women need men like a fish needs a bicycle. But I strongly feel children need two parents and the thought of raising Tenzin without my partner, Glen, would be terrifying." Rebecca continued, stating that she believes that radical feminism has hurt families around the world. "Feminism has much to answer for denigrating men and encouraging women to seek independence whatever the cost to their families," she said. "My mother's feminist principles coloured every aspect of my life. As a little girl, I wasn't even allowed to play with dolls or stuffed toys in case they brought out a maternal instinct. It was drummed into me that being a mother, raising children and running a home were a form of slavery. Having a career, travelling the world and being independent were what really mattered according to her." Rebecca also said that she and her mother stopped speaking after she became pregnant. "I love my mother very much, but I haven't seen her or spoken to her since I became pregnant. She has never seen my son - her only grandchild. My crime? Daring to question her ideology", she said. "Well, so be it. My mother may be revered by women around the world - goodness knows, many even have shrines to her. But I honestly believe it's time to puncture the myth and to reveal what life was really like to grow up as a child of the feminist revolution."

– Daughter of "Color Purple" Author Says She Rejects Her Mom’s Radical Feminism, Black like Moin on March 13, 2012

External links

• Website: rebeccawalker.com