Recently as I watched end of the year recommendations for me from social media, likely before nominations come out for The Golden Globes or the Oscars, I realized there have been a number of excellent TV series or films that define feminism and its her/story. The advocacy of women’s rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes has always been a priority for me having taught Women’s Studies and used innovation diffusion as a central variable in my doctoral dissertation from NYU in 1981. I used to play Helen Reddy’s song I Am Woman and have the students sing its powerful lyrics. I knew the words to all songs in the epic biographical film released in 2019, in which Reddy is played by Tilda Cobham-Hervey.
Having grandkids under six I hope this becomes their anthem. I Am Woman is timeless. Reddy died on 29 September 2020 in Los Angeles aged 78, Her children said at her memorial “Our hearts are broken. But we take comfort in the knowledge that her voice will live on forever. She was a wonderful Mother, Grandmother and a truly formidable woman.”
The TV mini -Series Mrs. America released in 2020 with Cate Blanchett, Rose Byrne, Uzo Aduba, Elizabeth Banks will surely be up for awards. In it conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly leads an unexpected fight against the Equal Rights Amendment. Phyllis Schlafly, Bella Abzug and Betty Friedan are pictured as they debate the Equal Rights Amendment and women’s liberation movement on Good Morning America.
Each film mentions Gloria Steinem. Ms. Magazine began as an insert in New York magazine in December 1971; its first independent issue appeared in January 1972. Under her direction, the magazine tackled important topics, including domestic violence. Ms. became the first national publication to feature the subject on its cover in 1976. Gloria Steinem is known for the saying “a woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle.” ,
https://www.biography.com/video/gloria-steinem-a-changed-life-12080707698,
I am so pleased that all this history/herstory is going on right now as I have two granddaughters age 6 & 3, and a grandson age 5 who need this kind of liberated thinking.
“Oh yes, I am wise
But it’s wisdom born of pain
Yes, I’ve paid the price
But look how much I gained
If I have to, I can do anything
I am strong
(Strong)
I am invincible… More