It wasn’t about Hillary.
It was about us.
We the Women of the World.
The ‘othered’
The invisible minority.
It was about us.
Every single one of us.
As we saw her bullied, attacked and dragged around town
For things that her fellow male politicians, including her opponent won’t even get a rap for
We saw what happens to women when they stand up and speak up
We saw what happens to women when they aspire to and stake claim to what’s ‘rightfully’ a man’s – control, power, and the top chair.
We saw what happens when a man repeatedly, intentionally, degrades women, objectifies them, on a very public and global forum – he becomes the President of the United States and world leaders line up to congratulate him.
And we hurt.
This election reopened old wounds.
We’ve all been there. We the women.
We’ve all been put down, degraded, denied, ignored, or silenced – not because we were not good enough, but because we’re women. Each and every one of us.
We’ve all been groped, leered at, assaulted. Not because we asked for it. but because we’re women. Each and every one of us.
Back then, we just buried the hurt, ignored it and carried on. Trying to pretend it never happened. Working even harder, more determined.
The last few weeks opened up the floodgates
Those memories all came flooding back
The hurt
The anger
The grief
The helplessness
The determination.
For decades we’ve been told
You can
You can do whatever it is you want
Just work hard
Just speak up more
Just trust the system
And we did.
But it didn’t help.
Not one bit.
The few of us who managed to break the glass ceiling…
The few of us who managed to speak up and get justice for sexual assault..
Paid a heavy price and continue to do so…
It takes inhuman strength and courage….
And that’s why we rooted for Hillary
She stood for all of us
She spoke for all of us
She was ‘hope’ for all of us
The hope that, perhaps, we could
Perhaps we could crack that glass ceiling
Perhaps we could be recognized for our work, our brains, our contribution to the world – instead of just as objects of pleasure
Perhaps we could be recognized as humans in our own right
We the women.
Yes, I feel
I feel deeply
We all do.
Yes, I grieve.
I grieve deeply.
We all do.
And yes, I also stand more determined than ever
To not give in the the fear, not any more.
To speak up, a little bit more
To stand tall, a little bit more
To want, a little bit more
To be, a little bit more.
To demand, a little bit more
A little bit more, one day at a time.
Though it feels like too much to ask of ourselves right now.
But we will.
We the women.