Letting It Out...One Last Time
I thought Clinton said most of it on Saturday, but Advergirl says the rest of it on her post. As thrilled as I am about Obama’s victory, there is a piece of me that must grieve the demise of the Clinton campaign. Yeah, I cried when I heard her speech.
Why? Why cry for a candidate who was so problematic, who we all knew would move into the White House with more baggage than even moi – yes, moi – can claim?
Well, there was this secret dream. It goes something like this. Woman gets into White House. We all rethink our gender-biased roles. Yeah, we did that back in the 1970s and 1980s, but we didn’t go far enough. Some of us hit glass ceilings. Others weirdly reverted into old gender games. And still others claimed themselves “post feminists,” which I still want someone to define.
Let’s break it down to the raw, real deal. We didn’t get a woman into the absolute highest position of power. And, for me and my 11 year-old-daughter, that’s just not good enough.
Someday I'll tell my grandkids how I was there, making speeches about the equal rights amendment to my grade school compadres, trolling neighborhoods for NARAL during college, working for Betty Friedan as one of my first post-school assignments. And you know what they'll say? Grandma, looks like you just didn't do enough...Yes, I know.
