 |
| "Fight Like a Girl!!!" (and, on the shirt in the background: "Love is Love") Women's March, January 20, 2018 |
'I want equal pay,' her 11-year-old daughter, Xenaya, chimed in. 'And equal rights.'"
- From the New York Times article: Women’s March 2018: Thousands of Protesters Take to the Streets.
 |
| "Feminism is the radical notion that women are human beings." Women's March, 2018. |
"There are many skeptical questions that tend to get lobbed at events like this: What’s the point? Is this a theatrical distraction? If someone spends all day marching, will she ignore the more pragmatic and immediate work of calling her representatives the next morning? These questions are valid only insomuch as they presume that the goal of protest is merely to facilitate immediate change. But what if it isn’t? For me, marching on Saturday was a way to reënergize and to find strength and fortitude in the strength and fortitude of others, to let them hold me up now with the hope that someday, I might be able to do the same for them. Feelings of solidarity aren’t inconsequential or fruitless. To minimize the power of that experience—to reduce protest to its quantifiable returns—feels both irresponsible and naïve. I started the March feeling hopeless and ended it feeling tougher, more present."
- Amanda Petrusich from her New Yorker article (January 20, 2018) The Women's March Returns to New York City.
 |
| "Girls Rule!" Women's March, January 20, 2018 |
"I am a feminist because I dislike everything that feminism implies. I desire an end to the whole business, the demands for equality, the suggestion of sex warfare, the very name feminist. I want to be about the work in which my real interests lie, the writing of novels and so forth. But while the inequality exists, while injustice is done and opportunity denied to the great majority of women, I shall have to be a feminist."
- Quoted from a 1922 letter by writer and activist Winifred Holtby found on this 2018 Myth and Moor Women's March tribute.
 |
| "Girl Power" Women's March, January 21, 2018 (Because it's never too early to learn...) |
"I think women have an opportunity to say we don't just want to be at the top of this world, we want to change the world [and] the way it is designed," says Huffington." Because let's face it, right now this world is not working for women [and] it's not working for men."
- Arianna Huffington, found here.
***
 |
| Look Back, March Forward. |
Well, here we are, a year later and coming to the end of another anniversary: the international Women's March of 2018. In terms of this blog, the initial event which took place last year seems as if it took place merely a week ago. But, there are some differences. Notably (in 2017), Donald Trump had just been sworn into office the previous day. This year the office is closed due to the latest "government shutdown." You must admit, there's a sort of satisfying symmetry in all of that.
As for me, well, no, I wasn't out there marching or showing solidarity. As I mentioned in my last post, I'm still trying to rid my self of the latest flu bug. The good news is that I'm living indoors for the moment, and I'll tell you why.
It's like this: regarding the novel "The Traveler" (also mentioned in the previous post), well, I'm about halfway through it now. But, as I read more about Maya, the female assassin, I began to note a strange, inward transformation taking place. That is, in a very subtle (and unexpected) way, I began to feel renewed and empowered. Say what? you might ask... can just reading about a fictional character actually transform one? Well, I'm here to tell you: yes, it can.
 |
| "He 4 She" Women's March, January 20, 2018 |
 |
| Halifax, Nova Scotia, WM 2018 |
Taking care of oneself (i.e., realizing ones own worth), then, is a kind of empowerment, and, as you might have guessed, empowerment is what this post is all about. It is, however, merely under construction and there will be a great deal more added in the next 48 hours.* Meanwhile, I want to thank all of the women and men who did manage to attend the Marches across the globe. Your dedication is both inspiring and... well, empowering.
* Update (January 25): As is usual with this blog, plans often get altered when new material emerges, and I'm afraid my original plan to supplement this post has changed. A separate post is currently in the works, tentatively entitled Qualifying Feminism: Empowerment and the Arts. The minute the post is finished, this title will serve as a link.
Thank you for your patience! ;-)
Thank you for your patience! ;-)
Here's to self-care and empowerment! It can take time to realize the truth about the your brightest self that is plain to everyone else.
ReplyDeleteThank you, TB. I guess the goal is to ensure that future generations of females feel empowered at a very young age without having to flounder for years in self-doubt, confusion and self-loathing.
DeleteAnd, judging by the photos in this post, I'm encouraged.
I for one am glad regardless if you are resolved to take care of yourself and know your own worth, however you define it! Now and future generations! Hooray! Onwards!
Delete