I was traveling last week – in Copenhagen with my family. The first time I visited that city was almost a decade ago, when I went to speak at a conference on International Women’s Day.
What I remember so clearly was how the day, 8 March, was celebrated so fully – it was on the front page of newspapers! It stood in such stark contrast to the US, where feminism was still somewhat considered uncool and man-hating. (If you only knew how many bra-burning jokes we had to endure at the time!)
When we went this year, as embarrassing as it is to travel as Americans under the Trump administration, it felt different. Because at home women were coming out against their abusers, the nation was watching brave women take down Larry Nassar, and feminism was the most talked-about political movement of the moment. And that, despite everything, made me feel proud.
We’re dealing with a lot – be it Trump or the backlash – but women are still rising, working, and creating a cultural shift like we’ve never seen before. So maybe it’s a new day, after all.
Glass half-full
A 16-year-old Australian girl, after skiing to the South Pole, had a message on Facebook dedicated to online sexist haters who had told her to “go make a sandwich”. She took a picture of herself holding a sandwich and wrote, “I made you a sandwich (ham & cheese). Now ski 37 days and 600km to the South Pole and you can eat it.”
What I’m RTing
Hi David Brooks do you know why people need abortions after 20 weeks? Have you ever spoken to anyone who's been through it or told you why or what it was like or how difficult it was? https://t.co/fk17B9vf8h
— Rebecca Traister (@rtraister) February 2, 2018
"Among 12th-graders, only 8 percent could identify slavery as the cause of the Civil War." https://t.co/QMEbw9oajo
— #GeniusTweeter (@prisonculture) February 1, 2018
has any picture summed up Twitter as well as this one pic.twitter.com/zoK9XfLw1I
— Old Salty Crab (@NoMagRyan) January 30, 2018
Taking babies from undesirables and giving them to agents of the state to raise as their own is a practice with a history. https://t.co/sZzTDWcA4B
— Angus Johnston (@studentactivism) January 31, 2018
Who I’m reading
Molly Osberg with an incredible personal story about illness in America; Alana Massey on skincare and sexism; and Jemele Hill on the abuser Larry Nassar.
What I’m writing
On #MeToo, backlash and women asking for more than the bare minimum.
How outraged I am
David Brooks published one of the most ill-informed and misogynist pieces on abortion to date, so I’m at a full 10 out of 10. Thankfully the Planned Parenthood VP Dawn Laguens wrote a retort – but that doesn’t change how furious I am, and how furious we all should be.
How I’m making it through this week
The Good Place season finale (and these wonderful interviews with the cast) are giving me some much-needed life.
