Women's Stories in a New Life

My head is spinning. I've got new ideas for direction for this blog even though it's clear blogs are no longer a particularly valid medium for self-expression. Readership is low, comments even lower. Besides, I've said about all I want to say about Woody Allen.

But there is so much more on my mind that having a blog seems like having a logical place to clear it out and make room for new ideas, new attitudes, and the new life that will inevitably come when the world opens up again in the fall or winter. The deserted streets are eerie indeed now; we zombies in face masks and gloves lumber through supermarkets almost empty of other customers, with shelves of common items now bare and forlorn.

Me in 1970

Before this all started I was excited about the "year of the woman." This year is the 100th anniversary year of women getting the right to vote, after having struggled and died for that little activity for almost a century before. I have done a lot of reading about those early Feminists and wanted to put together a theatre piece highlighting some of the forgotten ones--along with the all-stars like Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony.

I've started watching "Mrs. America," the television series about the Women's Movement of the 1970s, featuring Phyllis Schlafly, the anti-Feminist who worked to undo all the progress we were working for. If I can bear to relive those years, I'll review the series, but it is rather painful to watch at this point. I was among the women who marched with Gloria Steinem and Betty Friedan in 1970, and supported Shirley Chisholm for president in 1972.

Betty Friedan

 I've observed as the Feminist movement has evolved and its goals transformed but I'm not entirely happy to see so many younger women (and men) missing the point. History seemed a pleasant refuge until I read about how much more difficult it was for women in the 19th century than in the 20th.

Gloria Steinem

An early woman's rights advocate who captured my heart was Victoria Claflin Woodhull. She had such a complex life that the more I learned of her the more I saw her as a protagonist in a movie rather than a play. I've decided I'll post on the blog about her a few times and see if she still ignites imaginations. She was far ahead of her time, and her dilemmas and solutions still boggle the mind.

Victoria Woodhull, candidate for president, 1871

I said above that the harsh--to us--conditions of today challenge us to predict what life will hold in the upcoming year. I cannot know what to expect but my own self-examination might inspire you to think things through in your own life and commit to one project at a time to get through the days. Being trapped in four walls after a life of random errands and rabbit trails is a challenge. Let us proceed in hopes that we all get through it, and that our spinning heads come to a tranquil stopping place where we understand what got us here and where we can go.