Women Supporting Women: Creative Solutions

I was raised in a misogynistic society and my family was a microcosm within, where all of the assumptions regarding the roles and abilities of women and men were reinforced by people to whom I am related. So, right off the bat that is pretty messed up. People who you believe to love you are reflecting back the lies and negativity coursing through global currents swirling around the jagged rocks of beliefs about gender. I fought back as well as I could. My life followed a predictable trajectory. I loved my mother, but she was not a strong role model. The women in my family have struggled. Women all over this planet are suffering. Women bring life into the world, we nurture, we create children and love them. Women comprise half of Earth's population. All over this planet we are fighting against poverty, rape, marginalization, and every type of abuse possible. We re trying to keep our children safe, not to be used in the cogs of the war and prison machines. The reality TV actor currently posing as the U.S. president - only because his pal Vlad is still using him after getting him illegally 'elected' - openly displays his disrespect for and hatred of women. Yet, even as a father of daughters and grandfather of granddaughters, he advocates 'grabbing women by the pussy,' and mocks Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, a sexual assault victim, who is only trying to elucidate the criminal past of Supreme Court nominee Judge Kavanaugh. The MAGA reality TV actor dog whistled to all the good ol' southern boys when he mocked her giving her testimony. Toxic masculinity, misogyny, borne of ignorance and fear. These same people would deny women our reproductive rights, financial equality, work promotions, time off work for child and elder care, our own care - because we are sick, sick with care for everyone and not enough for ourselves. Women continue to try to make ourselves heard when so many of us have been sexually assaulted, emotionally, physically, and financially abused. We are shamed, ostracized, called liars, labelled as mentally ill as we articulate and signal our grief, our hurt to a world that does not see or hear our truth, our anguished faces and hoarse voices. Women are strong. We are resilient. We use our words. We embrace our sisters with knowing familiarity. We strike up conversations everywhere, anywhere and we help each other. We console, empathize, listen, share, cooperate. We love and care for each other and for each others children. Our precious babies we created and nurtured. There are cooperative housing initiatives in Scandinavia and other spots in the world. Multi-generational women supporting women through cooperative residences, childcare, meal preparation. On Sunday, September 30, California passed a law (California Senate Bill 826) that requires more women on boards. California is proactive on the gender equity front. Women have been looked over - literally and figuratively - for roles that match their experience and skills. Of course, this does not even address intersectionality - older women, physically challenged women, women of colour, LGBTQ, but as always we are expected to be patient, be happy with a little progress. Women represent the best of humanity on this planet. We are joined by our allies - feminist men, trans, bi, queer friends. There really are a lot of us. If we collaborated - we would make some serious changes to our ailing societies, and our beautiful planet. Peace. Love. Cooperation. Collaboration. Beautiful.