Now this is a song to celebrate
The conscious liberation of the female state!
Mothers, daughters, and their daughters, too
Woman to woman, we're singin' with you
The "inferior sex" got a new exterior
We got doctors, lawyers, politicians, too
Everybody -- take a look around
Can you see? Can you see? Can you see?
There's a woman right next to you
~ The Eurythmics
(My son suggested that I include a link to a youtube video of the songs so my followers can listen while they read. So if that floats your boat, go for it! Thanks, Sam!)
Today is the Women's March on Washington. I'm dedicating this post to my daughters and to my son and to all the women and men who will be marching for women's rights and in protest of the new administration and its threats to women's health care, among other issues. Katrina will be traveling from North Carolina to Washington DC to march, while Jenna will march in New York City. Needless to say, I am proud of my daughters.
This 1985 Eurythmics song was written by Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart, who make up the duo. The link to the video will treat you to a rollicking performance by Annie Lennox and Aretha Franklin. Three members of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers -- Mike Campbell on guitar, Benmont Tench on organ, and Stan Lynch on drums -- provide a get-up-and-dance feel to the tune. It is, after all, "a song to celebrate." The truth is, many of us don't feel too celebratory as of late, but perhaps this gathering of feminists will inspire us to believe again in hope and change.
It may be that I have come about my feminism naturally. Or maybe not. My mother, a smart and autonomous woman, served in the U.S. Coast Guard during WWII. She achieved the rank of Chief Yeoman, outranking my father (U.S. Army) in the process. After the war, she raised three children while also working outside the home. Widowed young, she took on home maintenance projects with grit and guts. Was she a feminist? She would say no. And I would agree with that. Despite her independence and strength, she still believed that men were somehow superior to women. Her indulgence toward my brother compared to her treatment of my sister and me would support that belief. I am not faulting her; she was a product of a different generation. And yet, her feisty self-sufficiency was not lost on me.
As for my daughters, I would like to think that they came upon their feminism naturally, and not just from their mother. Their father was unashamedly proud to call himself a feminist. Although we sometimes fell into traditional male/female roles, we were equal partners in our marriage. And while Pete could make a great French toast, I built our coffee table.
The other day, I read my friend Wally Lamb's latest novel I'll Take You There. It's a great read, one that illustrates "the feminine ideals and feminist realities that all women, of every era, must face." In thanks to Wally and in honor of all the women and men marching, I will offer this gem from the novel, a quote credited to the Taiwanese-American stand-up comic Sheng Wang: Why do people say 'grow some balls'? Balls are weak and sensitive. If you wanna be tough, grow a vagina. Those things can take a pounding.
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