Let's Make Us Visible

Since my search for a feminist "movement" in America has only lead me to a few monthly donations and a magazine subscription which is hardly a medium for a two-way conversation, I decided to blog. I have made a HUGE revelation and I seriously want to shout it as loud as possible:)
Here it goes:

Many of us have read Gloria Steinem's article in New York Times, Women Are Never Front-runners. Her article started a debate among several prominent feminists on the subject of Hillary vs. Obama. I am not going to lie, I would love to live vicariously through Hillary, close my eyes and step into the oval office as the first female president. I also understand the impact that the image of a female American president can have on American girls and girls and women around the world. I also feel her pain in trying to get into the MOST male-dominated job in our country and the opposing expectations that she must fulfill. Yes, I do want to support a woman pioneer...

But as I was thinking about this whole thing and arguing with my friends about this and that aspect of this and that candidate, I had a revelation. WOMEN ARE INVISIBLE. It looks like the discussion is all about women, but really when you look at it hard, women are the losers of this debate. Why? Because everyone is talking about who women will vote for, but nobody is talking about what is at stake for women. Nobody is talking about CEDAW and how it was never ratified in the US; nor are they talking about the Equal Rights Amendment. I didn't hear anything about not-so-equal pay. I also care about what happens to my job when and if I get pregnant and whether my husband will be able to share the responsibilities or I am assumed the baby-care-taker of the house in our system?
Anyway, I don't even know exactly what all the issues are...! And I need to know so bad.

This is an amazing opportunity for the American feminists to start getting on the same team - and I don't necessarily mean Hillary Clinton's team- and make women's issues known. Maybe even feminism can be revived again in the US.

As I explain this idea to my mom, who is an avid Hillary fan, I can hear her tone change. She is now talking about things SHE cares about, like insulting images of women in advertisements and her voice begins to shake a little. I know that her life has been affected by the images of what she is "supposed to" look like (and whose life hasn't?). Although she doesn't suggest a solution for this, but she understands well that this is a problem and it is something that affects her life and other women's lives. She wants to write a letter to someone and ask them to bring up these issues with the candidates. I don't know if anyone will hear her though.

But the function of a women's movement is to advocate for women. What do we (as women) have at stake here? What do we want the future president to do for us? Maybe we can shift the focus of the discussion to what WE need. Maybe we can remind ourselves that our womanhood is part of our identity, and that it matters. Maybe we can even start to affect our crappy culture (where right now young girls sing to the tune of "I reached back like a pimp and I slapped the ho" on kroq).

Maybe we can make it so that women are the ultimate winners no matter who is in the white house.

ps. I understand that everyone has multiple dimensions and womanhood is not the only identity of any of us, but it still should not be ignored as a shared identity.