I know I’m SUPER late to the game here (puns intended) but anyway, how about that halftime show?! I didn’t see it live, but after about a week or two of countless meme’s, gif’s, and other social media references I just HAD to watch it. And damn, I was not disappointed. We had two beautiful, proud, talented women celebrating their culture and femininity while at the same time showcasing our nation’s current state of affairs regarding discrimination and oppression. Oh, and not to forget, J-Lo’s very freaking casually executed yet gorgeous and appropriate as heck pole routine! I think we can all tip our hats to one another for being part of Aerial Dance Studio and be honored to be a part of what may eventually be known as the 3rd wave of the women’s rights movement. Why not, right? Why not bless the world with unashamed feminine pride and glory? I’m not asking anyone to dwell in the past here or take ownership of actions or situations that occurred before we even existed on this earthly timeline-but I do ask that we ask ourselves this. How did we get here, where did we come from, and where are we going? What’s the intention? Have we learned our prehistoric lessons?
Disclaimer- of course this post couldn’t exist without some attempt at a history lesson so here’s the super abridged version of what I know about women’s rights movements. The first wave was in the 19th-20th century. A LOT happened during this time. A key point to remember is that when this first wave women’s right movement (or American Feminism as it’s been called) ended-it was with the passage of the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution in 1919, granting women voting rights. (Kind of…we’ll circle back to that).
The second wave feminism of the 1960’s-1980’s had a vibe of “The Personal is Political” and concentrated on equality and how our cultural and political climates were delicately interconnected, and how that reflected the patriarchal (or sexist power as I like to call it, for equality’s sake) structures that were presently known and shown.
So here we are, balancing our boards on the third wave of feminism, documented to have begun in the early 1990’s. We no longer abide by the antiquated doctrines that delegate men, and in America, white men, as the alpha upper echelon. Here’s where we circle back, because even when women’s rights became women’s rights the first go ‘round, they did not become ‘colored’ women’s rights. So now again we challenge to redefine the feminine experience to be inclusive, not to blindly view success as the triumphs that we could reasonably attribute exclusively to our middle to upper class white sisters, as the victory of all women. And furthermore, for all beings. We do it for ourselves, our mothers, our sisters, our daughters, our friends, our neighbors. Race, ethnicity, religion, gender, class-these factors are important when it comes to matters of feminism. Think about pole in Russia. Think about what it took to get pole classified as a sport. Not just a sport, a competitive OLYMPIC sport! Damn ladies. And beyond that, for me at least, I think of this feminine awareness as tuning into our earth mother. This amazing planet we exist on. Women’s rights belong to her, too. We are all Mother Nature’s children.
What a time to be alive, what a time to align with our sisterhood at Aerial. To ride this wave, not knowing if we are rising up, on the crest, or ready to crash on the break of the wave. We are a part of what may one day historically be known as 2020, the year of the pole. I mean, who knows. There are lots of moving parts and I’m so honored to be a part of this with all of you. In the words of the Manitowoc Minute Guy, Charlie Berens- “Keep ‘er movin.”
Let’s keep it moving ladies, our bodies and our collective women’s rights movement.
“We are the music makers, we are the dreamers of dreams.” Arthur O’Shaughnessy