Hey folks, I know that we haven’t seen one another in awhile and a couple things like my hair in particular have changed. Do you know what? I’m going to give you a second to just digest that plus I really want to show it off.
Now that that’s done let’s move on to more important issues like 2014 is coming to a damn end. I thought it would be a good idea to focus on some amazing feminist highlights in 2014.
Now in no particular order, let’s start off the list with Mo’ne Davis. If you don’t know who Mo’ne Davis is, you must’ve been hiding under a damn rock.
Now take that rock and now hit yourself over the head. Shame on you. But no worries. I’ll catch you up.
Mo’ne Davis is a 13-year-old superstar pitcher. She’s the first girl to win the Little League’s World Series game and the girl has an arm. She throws 70 miles per hour. I’m too scared to drive 70 miles per hour and this girl’s throwing a ball that fast.
Mo’ne Davis in all her greatness is an absolute feminist highlight of 2014 because she is redefining what it means to throw like a girl. Because now when I think of Sports Illustrated, I’m not really thinking about half naked women on the cover. I’m thinking of bad ass female athletes.
Shonda Rhimes, Shonda Rhimes, Shonda Rhimes. From 8 o’clock with Grey’s Anatomy, then 9 o’clock with Scandal, then 10 o’clock with How to Get Away with Murder, Shonda is straight up crushing it. Even if you don’t like any of her shows, you have to admit the tremendous advances that she has done as a woman of color, a black woman working behind the camera and I don’t know about you, but at the very least, TGIT has made my week go by way faster, so thank you Shonda.
In 2014, we saw women and girls who were victims of sexual assault, of rape, reclaiming their story, reclaiming their narrative. 16-year-old Jada’s rape became a viral meme along with the hashtag jadapose. This didn’t stop Jada from publicly turning to the media to tell her own story.
Or Emma Sulkowicz, Columbia College student, who took the matter into her own hands when her university did nothing to reprimand her rapist. Emma has carried around the very mattress that she was assaulted on publicly around her campus in order to bring awareness about campus rape culture and she will continue carrying that mattress until her rapist is expelled.
Their bravery allows for conversations about rape culture to go from how not to be raped to how not to rape.
Whether it be her being nominated for an Emmy for her role in Orange is the New Black or her taking any opportunity to redirect the conversation about trans folks as she did on the Katie Couric show, or her presence on the front cover of Time Magazine, any way you put it, Laverne Cox is a badass feminist.
I could stand here and list all of the unarmed black and brown men, women and children whose lives have been taken away from them due to police brutality, but instead I’d rather take out some time for us to focus on the women, the women of color, the black women who have been on the front lines of these marches and protests demanding for justice.
Women like Melissa McKinnies, Dasha Jones, and Cheyenne Green of Ferguson’s the Lost Voices, like Chicago’s Jessica Disu, also known as FM Supreme, like Carmen Perez and Cherrell Brown of New York City’s Justice League and like Umaara Elliott and Cid Nichols who organized NYC’s Millions March.
Women have been at the front lines of many movements throughout history but they’ve been purposely erased and that’s why I’m happy to see that these women are getting the credit that they deserve.
I don’t know about you, but my feminism includes deconstructing masculinity along with femininity so seeing Aziz Ansari break down what feminism was on the David Letterman Show was huge. I think that someone like Aziz, a comedian, an actor, a guy of color, identifying as a feminist allows for other guys to not feel shameful being part of the movement.
And lastly, what would 2014 feminist highlights be without mentioning Beyonce. Queen B publicly identifying as a feminist is everything to me.
I feel that we both have a lot in common when it comes to our feminist journey. We didn’t come from a feminist background, no sisters or elders in our family who identified with feminism who could teach us the ropes. We don’t come from a background of academia like taking gender studies or women’s studies and so I think that’s really refreshing.
Not only was Flawless a dope-ass song in itself, but then she includes one of my favorite Ted Talk presenters, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. That’s like a feminist overload.
I’m really thankful for all the love that you have shown me throughout the years with your comments and your Facebook posts and your shares and your tweets.
Thank you so much and I guess I’ll see you next year. Bye.
