Discussion Questions
Use our LitLovers Book Club Resources; they can help with discussions for any book:
• How to Discuss a Book (helpful discussion tips)
• Generic Discussion Questions—Fiction and Nonfiction
• Read-Think-Talk (a guided reading chart)
Also consider these LitLovers talking points to help get a discussion started for When Everything Changed:
1. Point out some of the most egregious episodes that Collins recounts of female discrimination in the 1960's. What was most surprising to you...or most infuriating?
2. What led to—or precipitated—that moment in time "when everything changed"? Was there a single event or an accumulation of events? How do we account for it?
3. Talk about women's fashions and the degree to which they have reflected changing attitudes toward women's role in culture? What statement does today's fashion make about women?
4. What role has birth control played in the feminist movement?
5. Where does Collins see failures in feminism's ability to achieve change? Do you agree with her assessment?
6. Talk about the overall impact on society-at-large that has come about through the gains in female equality. In your opinion, what is beneficial...and what is problematic?
6. Discuss some of the follow-up interviews and epilogues at the end of the book. Which strike you most? Which do you find most enlightening?
7. In terms of freedom of opportunity, how does your life differ from your grandmother's or mother's life...or your daughter's (-in-law) life? Looking ahead, what do you see as the future of feminism?
(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)
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