a moment for women to march together
At 50, I am a member of Generation X. I was born with the right to vote, to own property, to have a credit card in my own name. When I decided to pursue law and later joined a notably traditional law firm, I did not consider whether another career was more “female friendly.”
Indeed, the only gender related thought I had was my decision to never, ever cut my long hair for the sake of my career. That decision reflected my view that I should never forsake my female identity for my lawyer identity.
I still have long hair. So there is that. But I have since learned that gender does in fact play a very real and powerful role in the world, professional and otherwise. What surprised me (then) was the strange current of antagonism among women of different generations. An unspoken resentment prevailed. My mentors were men; no woman offered to take me under her wing and I did not seek out mentorship from even those women I quite admired.
None of this is all that surprising, although I didn’t have the perspective to understand that at the time. The tensions between the generations is, I believe, no different than the tensions that existed between the early Italian and Irish immigrants. This plays out today ― Trump attempts to incite the minorities (not for long!) of this country to resent immigrants― “they take Black jobs!” When the opportunities are limited, those seeking those opportunities often turn against the competition.
For women, we now have an opportunity in this moment of history. I admit that I took for granted the many rights that the women before me fought for. I don’t anymore. Every generation of women now faces the endless attacks against our bodies and our lives. The rhetoric so casually thrown around is abhorrent; words are used that in times past no one would have spoken (at least publicly). DEI hire? Cat lady?
We all now face one reality, one challenge, one attack. And have no doubt, it is an attack. For the first time in my life, I feel scared for my own safety. The tide of aggression against women seems to never ebb.
What has inspired me is this dark time is the images of grandmothers, mothers and daughters all standing together, signs of protest held high. For perhaps the first time ever, we are living the same experience. If there is a silver lining in all of this, maybe we will come out on the other side supporting each other instead of distrusting each other.
* I have always avoided writing about politically divisive topics because I wanted to focus instead on the issues that join us, regardless of political views. It is a sign of the times that I am breaking from that practice. This matters too much.
