Michele
Bratcher Goodwin recently headlined an event that I helped organize. She spoke
about "a woman's place, where we stand and what's at stake." Michele
did not sugar coat anything. Nor did she disappoint.
This
gathering of about 60 Orange County women was held at the Museum of Woman, a
unique and beautiful space run by a goddess queen named Ava Park. The venue
created a comfort and intimacy that really made the evening special. Michele
(like Ava) also has a timeless quality, and a sort of royalty about her.
I
wish I had taken notes on Goodwin's remarks, but here are a couple take-aways,
with apologies for any misrepresentations. Yes, there is indeed a war against
women the United States today. Michele shared many stories about women across
the country who have been or are being denied their basic rights and dignities
as humans. It is not unlike the treatment of African Americans as chattel
during and since slavery. Hundreds of women in Southern states and elsewhere have
been locked up for things like miscarriages and abortions in the past 2 years.
At the rate this roll back is going, a fetus will soon have more rights than a
woman. I believe Goodwin compared the country to a family in crisis, where one
parent is on a power trip, abusive and dismissive of all others. The other
parent is nurturing, validating, healing, listening to the young ones, holding
up the family -- and society -- by extension.
My
interpretation of where we stand is this: The unchecked structural and cultural
power inherent in our entrenched racist, misogynistic patriarchy plays the
leading role in the attack on woman's humanity. We have to keep calling that out.
The media plays a part in perpetuating and masking these hidden forces. The
majority of white women play a part by virtue of their voting record and
ignorance. The challenges for thinking women today include
- keeping
control of the microphone of our own movement
- inviting
nuance, complexity, empathy, and compassion into public discourse and holding
it there
- telling
stories that help lift the veil of ignorance and unite our species
- staying
focused
As
women in the US, we stand in a scary place. But we stand together. I don't know
all the ways this resistance will manifest for me or for us, but I know we need
to lean on each other and try to have fun along the way. Tomorrow, some of us
will turn out at the local versions of a nationwide protest themed #stopthebans
(re: abortion bans or restrictions, which have passed in 30 states since Trump was
elected). Katie Porter's campaign was also such a powerful Trump resistance experience
too. . . so maybe that’s my best vehicle for focusing my energy and reclaiming woman’s
place in 2020. Here's to chalking up the next win for KP and to staying on this
journey, for my daughters, my sisters, and the nieces I'm about to go adopt
(thanks to Michele).
PS The day after Trump was elected, the women’s
march brought millions onto streets around the world in protest. It felt like a
movement. A mere two years later, it has been torn apart. One might argue that
this is another case of a patriarchal media unable to accommodate the
intricacies of differing opinions amongst leaders and factions. The movement
has not gone away… #metoo happened, and we are all still here with intent to
keep progress moving forward in the face of increasing horribleness of rightwing
minority rule. But it’s a shame we can’t hold it together and claim more power
faster. I still believe that if women had
been in charge, we would not have looming climate disaster, a culture of hedonism
and rampant greed, a government sponsored system of corruption (citizens united),
a federal budget that prioritizes military spending over everything else, or a government
trying to gain more control of women’s bodies and keep brown bodies out. Boy, I
really hate this period in history we’re suffering through! Michele Goodwin says
we’re living in a time when we’re all in a constant state of PTSD. That idea
stuck with me, but that’s another post.
