The National Organization for Women (NOW) Political Action Committee and the Feminist Majority Political Action Committee made a joint announcement endorsing Congresswoman Carolyn D. Maloney to take over Clinton’s seat.
Questions from the audience reflected a hunger to examine a wider range of issues. One frustrated attendee prefaced her query with, “Look how much time we’re spending on Sarah Palin, and what does it say with her as a choice?”
Augmenting McCain’s commitment to overturn Roe v. Wade, Palin ratcheted up the discourse with her position of no abortion exceptions in the case of rape or incest. “She can’t keep the women’s vote if they actually know what she is suggesting,” was the popular wisdom. Yet, there were a lot of female voters who weren’t clear about her record. That’s when a core group of women, using new media and an approach that has defined the 2008 election, jumped in to present another point of view.
Feminists have often been accused of not having a sense of humor (How could they survive without one?), but this relaxed event had laughs to spare. Before the eight female stand-up comics strutted their stuff, I asked several people what they had found funny in 2008. They had to think hard.
With the understanding that women do not getting their narratives adequately told – if told at all – the need for a fresh playing field is palpable. In the new media, women have an opportunity to create their own communities and their own brands.
The letter began: “Friends, compatriots, fellow-lamenters,
We are writing to you because of the fury and dread we have felt since the announcement of Sarah Palin as the Vice-Presidential candidate for the Republican Party.”
On a visceral level, as a single Mother, I resent the Republican appropriation of the “family values” brand. I feel more connected with a man, Joe Biden, who questioned whether he should take his seat in the U.S. Senate after his wife and daughter were killed in a car crash.
Behind Steinem was a large screen, with her image projected upon it. I contemplated the symbolism of Gloria standing on the podium, alongside her larger-than-life size image. Like other public leaders, she has represented so much to so many. For countless women, she is the personification of their own struggle with gender issues.
My concern about the future of the women’s movement was put to rest as I listened to the presenters on intergenerational feminism. The motivated, fervent twenty-somethings were impressive. They made it clear that the time had come for the older generation to step aside and pass the baton.
"The Jump Rope Line" by Marcia G. Yerman is included in the Seal Press anthology Dancing at the Shame Prom.
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