Her Loss
In a piece entitled "Her Loss", Lindy West articulates so profoundly the deep pain experienced by many women, who for a moment felt the hope of "the birth of a world in which women's inferiority isn't a given."
Lindy West writes, "I cried because I want my daughters to feel that blazing pride, that affirmation of their boundless capacity — not from their husbands, but from their world, from the atmosphere, from inviolable wells of certainty inside themselves. I cried because it’s not fair, and I’m so tired, and every woman I know is so tired. I cried because I don’t even know what it feels like to be taken seriously — not fully, not in that whole, unequivocal, confident way that’s native to handshakes between men. I cried because it does things to you to always come second."
Embracing the outcome of the elections is a difficult task for many, with emotions running deep and the shock for many still needing to be absorbed. Part of the adjustment process is allowing for grief to take hold, and for the dream that young girls can grow up fully believing that they can be anything, even president, be mourned, or at best, be placed on hold. The pain for many is raw and is coupled with fear and uncertainty of how this new administration will affect the lives and liberties of many in this country.
As I write and looking outside the office window,
there is a direct view of the Empire State Building lit proudly in our national colors of red, white & blue, and yet, somehow my focus shifts towards the dark night sky surrounding it, enveloping it.
