You've Seen Hulu's 'Mrs. America' — Now Hear the Real Story

Real-life lawyer Brenda Feigen, who's portrayed in the Hulu miniseries, shares her take on what the show gets right—and wrong—about the battle to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment and her personal confrontations with ERA opponent Phyllis Schlafly.

July 31, 2020 at 02:58 PM

1 minute read

By Vanessa Blum
VP, Innovation

By Zack Needles

The original version of this story was published on Law.com

The Hulu miniseries 'Mrs. America' portrays the campaign to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s through the character of Phyllis Schafly, played by Cate Blanchett.

On the other side of the issue are a Who's Who of the feminist movement, including writers and activists Gloria Steinem and Betty Friedan and presidential contender Shirley Chisholm.

On this Legal Speak podcast, we catch up with Brenda Feigen, a real life lawyer in Southern California whose story is woven into the show's plot. Feigen's 2000 memoir, Not One of the Boys: Living Life as a Feminist, has just been released as an e-book.

Feigen, now in her 70s, describes what it was like to watch her character's scenes and talks about her experiences as a feminist activist, including working alongside now-Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg at the ACLU's Women Right's Project.

Listen to the podcast above or subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify or Libsyn.

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