It started with watching American Crime Story: The People Vs. OJ Simpson.
The main focus was clearly meant to be on OJ’s innocence or lack there of, as well as racism and police misconduct.
However, I kept coming back to the story of how Marcia Clark and Nicole Brown Simpson were portrayed and vilified in the trial. There was such obvious sexism in play and yet where was the outrage about that?
Then Confirmation, another example of how being a women can make it so much harder for someone (in this case Anita Hill) to make her case and be taken seriously.
Meanwhile, as a politics junkie, I have been following the 2016 Presidential campaign closely.
I am openly and passionately with her (i.e. I support Hillary Clinton) and believe she will be our next president, and an awesome one at that.
My friend Susan shared this piece, introducing me to Sady Doyle, which begins with Sady sharing her own experience with sexism in the professional world, and then explains so well how sexism has been in play during this election cycle:
There was also the coverage this week about Pope Francis possibly forming a commission to “study the question” of women in the diaconate. Something my mother has advocated for and I strongly believe in, as well as ordaining women as priests in the Catholic Church.
What put me over the edge though, was this fascinating piece (Jocelyn shared) about sexism from the perspective of people who are transgender and thus have experienced first hand how males and females can be and are often treated:
I am passionate about many things and though back in high school, and even college, I would’ve considered myself a feminist, for much of my adult life I have not focused a lot of my time and energy on women’s rights.
Until now…
I can feel something brewing.
I am woman.
Hear me roar!
Right?!
I don’t know what’s next.
But I do know that I care.
I intend to continue to seek to understand.
To read more.
To write more.
To share more.
To discuss more.
And through all of those avenues, I hope and believe I can help usher in change.
I will be the change I wish to see.
I will help continue he conversation about “women’s rights (being) human rights, once and for all,” that our likely democratic presidential nominee started so many years ago in Beijing.
How about you?
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m finding the sexism directed towards Hillary Clinton (& the sexism spouted by Donald Trump about just about any woman he encounters) to be sickening. I’m (cough cough) a bit older than you, Kathy, and I remember the Simpson trial and the Thomas confirmation hearings very well; in fact a friend & I saw Anita Hill speak shortly after that whole kerfuffle. She refused to address any specific questions about her testimony at that time, but she did speak about sexism in the workplace & elsewhere, in a general sense, and I was hugely impressed by her poise and courage. It drives me nuts when I hear young women say they’re not feminists because they think it means you don’t like men. I think some of them will change their tunes once they’ve been out in the “real world” for a while. In some ways, yes, we’ve come a very long way — but we still have a long way to go in many respects.
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I’ve been a feminist since high school. I’ve been sexually assaulted, served on the board of a domestic violence agency, experienced sexism in the workplace, and experienced the murder of a friend at the hands of her ex-husband. I’ve watched my friends who are female scientists struggle to be taken seriously, and adults tell me that science “isn’t sexist” or “culturally determined” in any way. I watch the political climate in this country become less and less hospitable to women (and people of color, but you can legally control women’s bodies in ways that at least you can’t control the bodies of people of color … that’s more insidious). I’m not sure if Hilary is the answer, but I do know that more women need to realize what’s happening, and to speak up and act for change. I’m glad you’re among them!
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