Experiencing The World As A Woman…A Cosmic Shift?
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This morning, on the front page of the Sports section of my local paper, readers were treated to photographs of Danica Patrick (congratulations, Danica, on making racing history!), Serena Williams (congratulations, Serena, on your Family Circle Cup win!) and Lorena Ochoa (congratulations, Lorena, on being the first LPGA player in 45 years to win for four straight weeks!).
Last night, I saw a political ad featuring the woman who is vying to be the Democratic nominee for governor of my state. Likewise, photos and images of Senator Hillary Clinton are everywhere as she is seeking to be her party’s nominee for president. Could it be that something is afoot? Are we on the precipice of some definitive change as others have stated before me?
Don’t misunderstand – I try not to be the kind of person who divides the world into two (or even 22) categories. I am the kind of person who believes, however, in the “male” and “female” energies, yin and yang, I guess. I don’t automatically ascribe “female energy” to a woman, or “male energy” to a man, and I’ll admit that I truly don’t know enough about humans to say I fully understand the difference. However, I’m perfectly comfortable with the notion that we humans, as individuals, bring different approaches to problem-solving, different leadership styles, different ways of looking at our world, different talents … all of which have been shaped by our respective life experiences, experiences which most certainly have been shaped by our respective genders. Likewise, the way in which the three young women (all are 26 years old) featured in this morning’s Sports section, have experienced the world is quite different from the way in which women of my generation are experiencing it, which is, likewise, different from the way in which the women of Senator Clinton’s generation have experienced the world.
As I say, I try not to divide the world into two’s, but I am a bit of a simpleton, so it gives me the illusion of “order” if I can sometimes generalize. So, yes, I do notice when, for example, a news station’s website features the photographs of only its white male anchors and hosts. I do notice when women are treated differently (in a bad way) than their male counterparts in the press. What was it then that struck me this morning as I regarded the sports page, and thought about the way I’m seeing women in the news lately? What does it all mean? Does it mean that women have finally gotten their act together? Har-dee-har-har.
Women haven’t suddenly begun to accomplish great things, as if we have just “evolved” into more capable versions of “woman;” we haven’t suddenly found our respective callings. Throughout history, women have made their share of contributions. Often, women’s roles in shaping the world have been described by using such terms as “behind the scenes,” as if those roles were always surreptitious or anonymous or secondary, somehow. And, naturally, “traditional” women’s roles have always been undervalued, not because they were not important contributions in their own right, but because they were performed by women. Of course, you can discover stories about women doing amazing things in history, but there’s no denying that there have been giant gaps in our history books. So, too, are there gaps in our newspapers and other widely-disseminated “sources” of information, gaps designed for the glory of some and not others.
There is no branch of the human family, no division, no tribe that deserves to have its collective voice always silenced. Likewise, there is no branch or division that deserves to have its voice always and forever dominate the conversation, but I feel we have had just that. I feel that sentiment more strongly every day. I am, you see, not only experiencing the world as a woman myself – I’m experiencing it as the mother of a daughter. And so, if there’s some cosmic shift, no matter how slight, if a true sharing of the “talking stick,” has begun, I can only say … it’s about damn time.
