Most Interesting People 2011
- Doug Bahniuk
- Cindy Barber
- Scott Bickel
- Johnine Byrne
- Angelica Campos
- Brandon Chrostowski
- Norris Cole
- The Rev. Jawanza Karriem Colvin
- Brittany Dell'aglio-Mitchell
- Marshall Emerson III
- Roe Green
- Peyton Hillis
- Chris Hodgson
- Cashmere Jackson
- Kasumi
- Erika Lauren
- Dr. James Levine
- Ramon Lugo III
- Valerie Mayen
- Michael McIntyre
- Dr. Steve Nissen
- Grafton Nunes
- Jim Sheeler
- Bella Sin
- Charles E. Smith
- Tricia Springstubb
- Dusty Street
- Maya Thomas-Bey
- Julie Zeilinger
- Matt Zone
Julie Zeilinger
Blogger | 17
Why she's interesting ... This Hawken senior saw a need for girls her age to have an outlet to speak up about issues that affected them. The end result is the F Bomb, a feminist blog. In just a year, it has received national and global attention for Zeilinger: She was named one of More magazine's 12 new feminists in its November 2010 issue.
How it all started ... Eighth-graders at Hawken are required to give a speech about a topic of their choosing. Zeilinger's speech was about female feticide and infanticide. After learning it was a global issue that no one was doing anything about, she was motivated to learn more about women's rights. "I couldn't even imagine how if people knew that this was happening why they were just sitting by."
That book that changed everything ... Full Frontal Feminism by Jessica Valenti, given to her by her academic adviser. "That was the first realization I had that feminism could be applicable to my life and it wasn't just this historic battle, that it was continuing, that it was something I could be involved in."
Giving girls a voice ... "Girls my age don't feel they have anything valuable to say or don't feel that they can say it, when that's not true at all."
On Gloria Steinem ... She interviewed her idol and the mother of the modern feminist movement for her blog, which then got picked up by The Huffington Post. "I was simultaneously terrified, and it was the greatest moment of my life."
Her two favorite blogs ... Feministing and Jezebel. While Feministing focuses more on political and feminist issues, Jezebel is known for its feminist take on pop culture, both of which are inspirations for the F Bomb. "I get something different from both of them."
In her spare time ... She is applying to colleges, mostly in New York and Ohio. "I'm pretty sure I want to end up in New York City." She is also working on a book about feminism slated for a 2012 release.
