Introducing Like Mother, Like Daughter

 

When we all first embarked on this project, a requirement was to write about what drew us to our selected topic which, in Uterish’s case, was reproductive rights. My page was filled with admiration for the influence of my mother and grandmother and the involvement they both had in reproductive rights activism. Though my grandmother lives in New York City, I was able to convince both my mother and her to let me interview them during a family visit this past summer.

 

My Grandmother

Maria P. Lefkarites, Ph.D., worked in sexuality and sexual health education at CUNY-Hunter College in New York City. As a professor, she taught early classes in LGBTQ+ sexual health and was a pioneer in the women’s health/rights program at Hunter. Her doctoral thesis, received from New York University, was centered on birthing experiences of women living in rural Greece.

 

My Mother

Christine Lefkarites White, M.P.P., focused her career on research and education. She worked as a research assistant, after graduating college, at the Alan Guttmacher Institute which deals with sexual and reproductive health research. While working at the Guttmacher Institute, she also volunteered as a sexual health counselor at The Door, a clinic delivering health services to local teens in NYC. After some time, she left Guttmacher to pursue a graduate degree in Public Policy at the University of Chicago.

 

*Due to the length and density of the content, I will be releasing the interview in parts every Tuesday focusing on specific themes and questions from the interview. Stay tuned for weekly updates from the conversation!*

 

Alex

 

 

My grandma's faculty ID when she taught as a Gender and Sexuality professor at Hunter College in NYC.