A Reflection on Women’s Equality Day
Feminist history.
The eyes glaze over and people start wondering how long the diatribe is going to take. But isn’t it worth remembering that there was a time in our not-so-distant past when women weren’t allowed to vote or even open their own bank accounts?
What do you have to say as a 20-something to an audience full of well-respected iconoclastic battle axes other than “Thank you for the freedom and privilege to take your achievements for granted?”
This is the question I was struggling with when asked to give a brief talk about the Shrinking Violet Society at the 12th Annual Women’s Equality Day celebration in Comstock Park.
As with too many intergenerational efforts, this request wasn’t the result of some well-planned strategy to bridge the cultural gap between the baby boomer elders and their increasingly adult children. No, it was a well intentioned last minute effort to gain some insight into “just what those young people are up to.”
And last minute it was!
I had all these grand schemes of talking about the die-hard homesteading of my great-grandmother Betsy, the 50′s lipstick iconism of my Grandmother and household matron Lily, and the Teacher-Secretary-Nurse career options for my college-educated NOW member mother. I wanted to explain the difficulty that many young people feel in handing their personal allegiances and attention over to organizations, be they private, political or otherwise.
But of course, it didn’t turn out like that at all.
My first attempt to introduce the intergenerational theme was met with bad associations from feminist philosophy of the past. I stammered a few things about our deodorant making party, our brunches, and the history of our name and sat down. Did I fail to represent young feminists? Was their understanding out there in the audience somewhere? Certainly there was curiosity and hope.
The highlight of this year’s picnic was a theatrical presentation of “That Woman & Big Noise,” an interactive play focusing on the stormy relationship between May Hutton and Emma Smith DeVoe of Tacoma who were instrumental in the success of Washington’s Suffrage movement.
Written by Sandra Hosking, noted local playwright and Co-Playwright-in-Residence at the Spokane Civic Theater, the play stars Claire Rudolf Murphy and Penny Lucas, and carries a powerful message of the need to work together to accomplish change.
I am one of those 20-somethings who doesn’t know what to say about this whole movement! I probably wouldn’t've gone except Mariah asked me to go with her. Once I got there, though, I felt like I was in the presence of greatness. It’s cliche, but true: there are so many things that we need to be reminded of if we want to continue to take steps forward! This sort of group-consciousness storytelling was just the thing for me to remember.
Also, Mariah, your speech was great, as evidenced by all the people who came up afterwards who were talking with you about how meaningful it was!