WILL THE GENERATIONS OF WOMEN COME TOGETHER IN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION?
Continuing the intergenerational conversation among women I jumped into on this blog below in “What’s That About a Sisterhood Split?“, two young writers who have already distinguished themselves as influential feminist thinkers, Courtney Martin and Deborah Siegel, have penned an op ed published in the Washington Post today. It’s entitled “Come Together? Yes We Can”, and definitely worth a read. Not just your “can’t we all get along?” plea, but rather a look at the generational divide revealed by the Democratic primary competition. An excerpt:
The idea that all young female Obamaites are anti-feminist and all older Hillaryistas are old school plays into the worst kind of lazy black-and-white thinking. Feminist history has taught us that social change is as complex as the humans who try to enact it.
Take us. The one who voted for Obama believes that he will lead this country with a diplomatic — not military — mindset in foreign policy and will be able to persuade Americans to become engaged citizens in a time of undeniable interdependence. The one who voted for Clinton is inspired by the senator’s record of accomplishment, her stance on universal health care, her commitment to families and children, and her dignity in the face of humiliation. Both of us are feminists, and neither’s opinion threatens our sense of what that means.
The personal is still political, the political is personal, and we’re bound to feel passionately about two such historic candidates. But the question of whether you can be a feminist and still support Obama has about as much integrity as the question of whether you can be a feminist and wear lipstick. Those who ask it play into the divide-and-conquer model that real feminism tries to renounce.
As Jessica Valenti pointed out, debate about significant issues is good for women and everyone else. For goodness sakes, that’s what democracy is supposed to be all about. But at some point we do have to make decisions and move forward with a candidate for the sake of the nation. How much better if we declare up front our intent to move forward together after the volatile primary season has come to a close than if we force the generations to choose opposite sides of a chasm that Evel Knievel himself couldn’t leap. (Link provided for those too young to remember him.)
INTENTIONING
Sex, Power, Pandemics, and How Women
Will Take The Lead for (Everyone’s) Good
The new book from Gloria Feldt about the future, taking the leadership lessons learned from this disruption and creating a better world for all through the power of intention.
Come to think of it, I invite any feminist–or any moderate to progressive woman who doesn’t identify with feminism–so ideologically pure that she wouldn’t support whichever Democratic candidate prevails to test out that symbolic leap for herself. I suspect she wouldn’t like the consequences of missing the opportunity to end eight years of right-wing stranglehold on our country and our lives.
GLORIA FELDT is the New York Times bestselling author of several books including No Excuses: 9 Ways Women Can Change How We Think About Power, a sought-after speaker and frequent contributor to major news outlets, and the Co-Founder and President of Take The Lead. People has called her “the voice of experience,” and among the many honors she has been given, Vanity Fair called her one of America’s “Top 200 Women Legends, Leaders, and Trailblazers,” and Glamour chose her as a “Woman of the Year.”
As co-founder and president of Take The Lead, a leading women’s leadership nonprofit, her mission is to achieve gender parity by 2025 through innovative training programs, workshops, a groundbreaking 50 Women Can Change The World immersive, online courses, a free weekly newsletter, and events including a monthly Virtual Happy Hour program and a Take The Lead Day symposium that reached over 400,000 women globally in 2017.