The first interview in this series about inspiring feminists is with my friend of 7 years, Chloé Skye Weiser, a copywriter and journalist working on environmental sustainability and social responsibility, including sexual and reproductive justice. In this interview, Chloé reflects on her journey towards self-acceptance, finding literary and real-life role models, and pushing the envelope on interpersonal communication.
Which women did you admire growing up, and why?
The first woman that I admired was probably my mom. Even though, from the outside, my mom has followed quite a conventional path – she got married, stopped working when I was born, and became a homemaker – she taught me from an early age to be outspoken and stand up for myself.
How did she teach you that?
I’m a short person and she would say to me, for example, “Good things come in small packages.” She had these phrases to reframe otherwise uncomfortable situations. Let’s say a friend was treating me poorly, so she would say it’s their loss to not have the benefit of being in my company. I didn’t have the typical insecurities about shrinking in the face of conflict. I always knew that I had to trust my inner voice.

Was there anyone else you admired?
I really admired my uncle, who died when I was 15. My uncle was a quirky dude who lived outside the norm. He was a bird breeder and sold antiques, but never had a lot of money. He and my aunt kept a hundred birds in their apartment, and he would make friends with people of all sorts.
My aunt and uncle lived in a low-income community, whereas my family was middle-high income. Visiting them, I often met their friends who lived and behaved differently than I was used to. My uncle taught me that it’s totally possible to bridge these gaps despite our differences, and to value humanity. I adopted a lot of that philosophy: There are always points of connection that we can make.
I should also add that my uncle saw the potential in me and supported everything I did. He thought my sister and I were the greatest. He would call and recommend me books to read. He wanted me to better myself and be an intellectually curious person.
Sounds like the best uncle! It’s nice you had a lot of support while growing up. What type of environment did you grow up in?
I grew up Jewish in a town where most people were white, Irish Catholic and wealthy and there was this assumption that everyone fit those norms. There was also a focus on materialism and status, like who was driving their own car to high school or who was wearing clothes from this special brand. I didn’t feel the need to fit that mold. In my family, my dad especially taught us to appreciate what we had.
How did you cope with being different?
I read a lot of books with female characters who were “the odd one out,” but proud of it (such as Stargirl and Flipped). I related to that because I always felt more mature than other people around me, and these books helped reinforce the feeling that, even though it’s nice to fit in, I don’t have to be like other people.
Funnily enough, I also admired some Disney princesses, like Belle from “Beauty and the Beast” and Jasmine from “Aladdin.” Belle was a reader and everyone thought she was weird, which is what people thought I was when I was a kid, too. She didn’t want to do what others told her to do.
Meanwhile, Jasmine resisted the idea of getting married simply because it’s tradition. Ever since I was a kid, I always wanted to have a partner and be in love but I never had the feeling that I need or want to have kids. I wonder if, ironically, it came from the Disney movies – even though they traditionally end with marriage, I interpreted the characters’ personalities in a way that I can be an independent woman and do what I want to do.

It’s fascinating how powerful these role models can influence our adult lives. What else formed you when you were a teenager?
My teenage years were hard because my mom began abusing substances. She had to take care of our sick grandparents and the home, and she struggled to create healthy boundaries.
Who helped you at that time?
When everything in my life felt like it was going off the rails, I found my support systems at school, including in my English teachers and social worker. I knew that they were cheering me on.
The social worker really helped me see that I was dealing with situations that were out of my control and she helped me navigate it. She encouraged the potential that she saw in me and told me to hold on to the core of myself no matter what was happening.
One English teacher, who was the advisor of the school literary magazine that I joined, always encouraged my creative talents. She showed me humanity, empathy, compassion and kindness in many ways. Because we share a love of literature and writing, we became close friends after I graduated and still are today.

Were there any books that saved your life or made your life worth living?
When I was young, I read one book over and over again. It’s called A Girl in a Cage, and it was fictional retelling of true events. A Scottish king’s daughter was captured and humiliated in a wooden cage. It’s a lot about resilience and retaining your individuality.
As a teenager, I discovered the author SARK, aka Susan Ariel Rainbow Kennedy. She handwrites all her books and adds colorful illustrations. Her whole thing is not losing touch with the playful and childlike part of yourself. At that time, I felt I had to be so serious because there was so much bad stuff going on at home. She had a huge influence on me.
At the same time, I happened upon Winnie the Pooh. I admired him as a character because he was just totally simple, loveable, caring and getting into all kinds of shenanigans. He taught me that one can seek out adventures every day.
You’ve read a lot of inspiring books. Were there any TV series that influenced you?
When I was 11, I started watching Charmed, a series about three sisters who discover they are witches and try to save the world. For me, they were a great model of powerful, smart, sexy and independent women. In recent years, one of the actresses has spoken about how much sexism she faced while on the set of a show that was supposed to be busting gender stereotypes. It was a progressive show in terms of women’s power but behind the scenes, it apparently didn’t match the message.
How was your life in college? Any inspiring teachers, classmates?
I had a few interesting teachers who were passionate about poetry and literature and I liked their classes, but nothing much had such a huge impact on me. The person who probably inspired me most was my roommate because she was intellectually curious.

After finishing your studies in New York, you went to the Czech Republic on a Fullbright program to teach English in a small town. What was it like?
I know that it sounds weird but after I moved here, the person who inspired me the most was myself. I had this challenging family life and struggled to feel like I fit in. When I moved here, nobody knew anything about me or the way I grew up and I could be whoever I wanted to be. It was so liberating.
What did you want to become?
From my earliest memories, I wanted to be a teacher and writer. All these books that I read gave me a feeling that it’s possible to go out on a path that people don’t expect. Oftentimes people would say I wouldn’t make much money. But for me, I wanted to feel fulfilled. And so I became a teacher.
Have you had any supporters?
Absolutely! I’ve been very lucky. My dad always supported my career ambitions and my mom always told me I could do anything I dream of. Now that I have shifted into copywriting, they don’t necessarily understand what I do, but they just want to know I am happy and successful.
Do your parents also respect your childfree choice?
My dad has never asked about me being childfree. He’s just like, “You’re living your best life and I’m happy for you”. My mom seemed to get the picture that I’m doing my life differently. She once asked if I wanted to have kids, and I said I didn’t think so. And my mom said “Yeah, the way the world is now, I don’t know if I’d want to bring kids into it, either”, and that was it.
What reactions do you get from other people around you?
When I was 23, I joined the school field trip. One of the student’s parents, a male gynecologist, joined as the doctor. In the evening when all the teachers were all sitting together, he started telling me, in Czech, to have children as soon as possible, “before I don’t have the energy to take care of them anymore”. I was furious, but I couldn’t argue much because my Czech wasn’t strong enough yet. Other than that, I have faced a lot less pressure and criticism being childfree than a lot of people I know. I haven’t encountered any opposition from my in-laws or my partner.
I’ve also spoken about being childfree at Femi Festival in Odense, Denmark. A lot of people told me they appreciated my perspective – that it helped show them this life is possible, or that it helped them understand a childfree person in their life, even though they themselves want children.

Who do you admire these days?
I am not into the cult of personality we see for a lot of politicians or celebrities, but there are two people I would take a bullet for. One of them is Margaret Atwood, who is famous for The Handmaid’s Tale, and writes widely about female sexuality and mythology, and the ambiguities of being a woman in a heterosexual relationship. She is the smartest, most outspoken and well-spoken person that I know, and she should live to 250 years old. I have read almost all her books, but I would never want to interview her myself because she’s so sharp and formidable, not hesitating to shut people down when they are wrong. I have seen her speak and met her briefly in person and I could never do that, but I admire it.
The other person I would take a bullet for is LeVar Burton, who acted in “Roots” and “Star Trek”. I’ve known him since I was a kid because he hosted the show “Reading Rainbow”, which taught kids to love books. He also had a podcast LeVar Burton Reads, which ended in 2024 but I still listen to it every night before I go to sleep. His voice is so soothing. Even though he’s famous, he still feels accessible, and I think he’s an example of good humanity. I love that man.
Are there any other inspiring women that you’d recommend the readers to check out?
I love Greta Gerwig. She is a relatively young and very successful female director making movies about the stories of real-life women. I find her style quirky and funny.
I’m a fan of Jen Gunter, a Canadian ob-gyn who writes about women’s health, sex and feminism. She busts myths about quack science on her newsletter The Vajenda.
I also love Anna Sale’s podcast Death, Sex and Money. Her superpower is being able to talk about difficult topics with empathy and compassion.
In general, I admire any woman who is out there speaking about the challenges of achieving success in their field due to sexism, racism, homophobia, and other forms of discrimination. I also admire any woman who makes it to the highest level of politics, like Hillary Clinton or Kamala Harris. Women should be able to be hard-asses just as much as men.
Fully agree! Chloé, maybe it’s an obvious question, but do you consider yourself a feminist?
Yes.
What’s your definition of feminism?
It’s simple. Feminism is wanting equal opportunities for women and men. It’s a neutral proposition.
But a lot of men don’t see it as a neutral thing.
A lot of men don’t want women to have equal rights and opportunities. If they give away their benefits, they create a fair playing field where they have to compete more, and many dislike it. Our modern capitalist way of life is made possible by a system where some people make less money and have fewer rights than others.
How does it feel being a feminist? Has it brought any challenges?
I’m lucky because I grew up in a place where there was a lot of acceptance of this. I volunteered for Planned Parenthood and Womankind, an organization that combats domestic violence in the Asian community. I always knew that there are people who believe the same thing as me. It’s much harder in the Czech Republic. You [Veronika] and I have similar beliefs but different amounts of support.
What has been your experience living in Denmark?
I live in one of the safest countries for women, and yet I’ve still encountered a lot of intolerant opinions, sexist jokes and rape apologism. When I’d speak up about it, people would ask, “Why are you rocking the boat? Women are already equal”. I think we can acknowledge how far we’ve come at the same time as we acknowledge there is work left to do. Few people want to look at the deeper reality of microaggressions and persistent income inequality. I was labeled a feminazi in a former workplace because I reported a male coworker who made openly discriminatory comments about me and my female colleagues.
What was it like being labeled a feminazi?
I felt very righteous; I never felt bad about it. If some people are not tuned into social injustice, it’s not my problem. Some of my female colleagues told me that it emboldened them to not accept things they don’t feel comfortable with.
Chloé, thank you for inspiring young women to speak up for themselves, for supporting justice and for speaking about the choice to be childfree!