What Do Women Want?
“Women hold up half the sky.'“ - Mao Zedong
What do Women Want?
We want to be loved, appreciated and respected.
It’s really as simple as that.
What we do NOT appreciate is having our rights to autonomy systematically ripped away by politicians who are - one of my parents’ favorite phrases - non compos mentis. This means that these guys (and some women, too, alarmingly) are not in their right minds.
If they were thinking more clearly, they would realize that the obliteration of Roe v. Wade, followed by all kinds of weird legislative moves like calling embryos “children,” incarcerating women for having miscarriages and forcing women to bear children - are antiquated notions that are vastly unpopular.
If they were thinking more clearly, they would notice that in any political race requiring voters to decide on matters, the voters in Kansas, Ohio, Kentucky and Montana - RED states - overwhelmingly said “Yes” to a woman’s right to choose.
If they were thinking more clearly, they would not be doubling down on their cruel and inhumane policies. By their actions, they are showing that they loathe women.
These non compos mentis so-called “legislators” who refuse to do the business of the people who placed them in office continue to push their agenda.
So, Dear Readers, it is up to all of us to put our foot down in November, and pull the lever for President Joe Biden and BLUE all down the ballot.
Twenty Years Ago, When Women Had More Rights . . .
20 years ago my mother and I flew to Washington DC to participate in the March for Women’s Lives. On April 25, 2004, over a million people gathered to show solidarity for a woman’s right to choose. It was the largest march in history. I had a professional video camera with me and created a documentary called “My Choice.”
In it, I was able to capture most of the speakers and entertainers who graced us with their presence. Who was there? Cybill Shepherd, Whoopi Goldberg, Laura Dawn and Moby, Amy Brenneman, Ani DiFranco, Gloria Steinem, Susan Sarandon, Anthony Romero, Bonnie Franklin, Julianne Moore, Eleanor Smeal, Carole King, Camryn Manheim, Sandy Rapp, Kathy Najimy, Sarah Weddington, Tyne Daly, Christine Lahti, Janeane Garofalo, Holly Near, Ashley Judd, Representative Louise Slaughter (NY), Carole Moseley Braun, Ana Gasteyer, Gloria Feldt, Senator Barbara Boxer (CA), Patricia Ireland, Kathleen Turner and many others.
Participants protested the recently passed Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act (2003) as well as other policies they believed to be "anti-women" under the George W. Bush presidency. We were fearful that we were only one vote away on the Supreme Court from the extreme "Just-uses" overturning Roe v. Wade. Turns out we were right. This is now the fight of our lives. We can no longer trust the Supreme Court to do the right thing.
I’m happy to report that “My Choice” has won several awards in film festivals around the world.
In honor of March aka “Women’s Month,” and in honor of women around the world, I am making it available to everyone. Watch it. Get fired up. Share it with your friends and family and help them understand what the stakes are for women in the 2024 election, probably the most crucial election of our lives.
Whatever you do, don’t sit this one out. If it is not already obvious to you, a non-vote IS a vote. In this case, it would be a vote for the orange one.