The Golden Globes celebrated women tonight.
Women celebrities wore black in solidarity. All lauded the roles of powerful women they played. There were words of righteous anger, there were heartfelt tears, there were "right-on's!" We're not gonna take it anymore!
Various women were lauded, from Rosa Parks to Margaret Atwood to Recy Taylor to a slew of fictitious women.
This, when we just saw the first woman become the nominee of one of the two major political parties... A woman who fought back sexism her whole life, who endured ongoing harassment as we all did, who broke all the 'norms' of first-lady as an accomplished woman in her own right (who didn't particularly care about her hairstyle or clothes or cookie recipes, thank you very much).
She took on health care when nobody else would touch it. She fought for children's rights, for minority rights, and yes for women's rights, worldwide. She became the most qualified candidate in modern history (some say equaled by George HW Bush, but she fought battles he couldn't have imagined).
Seeing her defeated by a monstrosity of misogyny, hostility, dishonesty, racism, homophobia, xenophobia, megalomania and abject disqualification for the presidency was a SHOCK.
So many people underestimated the power of sexism, its insidious persuasion and the depths of its effects, too many people were sure she would win (a narrative pushed by some opponents).
The shock *prompted* the 1/21/17 women's march in Washington. Women who'd spoken out against Trump were magnified to a level that couldn't be ignored.
Here we are, shy of a year later, preaching about courage, milestones, and women's progress! Lots of women at the Golden Globes, in glittering black gowns, surgically altered to look 1/3 their age, oh so proud of their sisterhood -- and none would DARE say the name of that one woman.
The one who didn't get makeovers, facelifts, tummy-tucks or liposuction. The one who fought tooth and nail to accomplish what she did from the time she was a little girl. The one who excelled on her own brilliance, and her own courage to work for causes she believed in. Sorry, she looked frumpy, and was never cool. She's not a thing you feel really cutting-edge, in-the-know admiring aloud at parties.
Just like the word "FEMINIST," her name was made into a pejorative by a strong backlash early on. Once a step of progress was accomplished, the reaction was swift -- "Feminist" became an uncool word to avoid. "I'm all for women's rights, but I wouldn't say I'm a feminist."
Now it's "I'm all for women's rights, but I wouldn't say.... HER name."
We can't move forward if we keeping sweeping every step we make under the rug, because it's immediately culturally shut away in the past, no longer relevant, no longer welcome, hip, or worthy of mentioning.
Can't we just say her name proudly, as the first woman to come as far as she did?
I'll start: Hillary Clinton!!