Top Ten Moments of Feminism in 2008

Published December 17, 2008 @ 08:24AM PT

Equality prevailed this year with the election of Sen. Barack Obama as the first black commander-in-chief. Endorsed by The Feminist Majority PAC for his commitment to civil justice and protection of women's rights, Eleanor Smeal, President of the Feminist Majority said this about the newly elected Presidential team: "Obama/Biden are running on the strongest platform for women's rights of any major party in USA history. But it's not just platforms. Voting records show the stark difference between the Obama and McCain tickets."

2. Hillary Clinton: 18 Million Cracks

Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign to become the first female President of the United States showed women that there is hope for one day crashing the final glass ceiling into the White House. Additionally, her perseverance during the primaries is one of the major reasons why the Democrats found success on November 4^th as she kept the Democratic platform in the media spotlight far longer than the Republican Party was able to do. On the day she conceded to Sen. Barack Obama she embraced the history she helped to create saying: "Although we weren't able to shatter that highest, hardest glass ceiling this time, thanks to you, it's got about 18 million cracks in it. And the light is shining through like never before, filling us all with the hope and the sure knowledge that the path will be a little easier next time."

3. Gov. Sarah Palin: Firing Up Feminists

The nomination of Gov. Sarah Palin as Sen. John McCain's running mate during the 2008 election certainly got everyone to sit up and pay attention - especially the feminists. With her "five children, successful political career, $1.2 million net worth and beauty pageant looks" - she seemed to be the candidate that every woman and man in Republican Party was looking for. However, her nomination also fired up the women's rights movement and brought it front and center within the street fight for the Presidency. While some perceived Palin as part of a post-feminist world, her candidacy turned out to be nothing more than a shallow attempt by the GOP to partake in identity politics. In a historical essay written by Gloria Steinem she helped women understand the severe Catch-22 about Palin:

Here's the good news: Women have become so politically powerful that even the anti-feminist right wing -- the folks with a headlock on the Republican Party -- are trying to appease the gender gap with a first-ever female vice president. We owe this to women -- and to many men too -- who have picketed, gone on hunger strikes or confronted violence at the polls so women can vote. We owe it to Shirley Chisholm, who first took the "white-male-only" sign off the White House, and to Hillary Rodham Clinton, who hung in there through ridicule and misogyny to win 18 million votes.

But here is even better news: It won't work. This isn't the first time a boss has picked an unqualified woman just because she agrees with him and opposes everything most other women want and need. Feminism has never been about getting a job for one woman. It's about making life more fair for women everywhere. It's not about a piece of the existing pie; there are too many of us for that. It's about baking a new pie.

4.Unmarried Women Tip 2008 Election in Favor of Barack Obama

Unmarried women delivered a stunning 70 to 29 percent margin to Barack Obama and delivered similarly strong margins in races for Congress and the U.S. Senate. The 2008 election represented the highest margin recorded and a 16-point net gain at the Presidential level from 2004.

5. Sex and The City Movie Inspires New and Old Generations

The premiere of the Sex and the City Movie this year brought many women together to celebrate the trials and tribulations of life, love and the pursuit of a decent apartment. This movie recorded the biggest opening ever for an R-rated comedy and for a romantic comedy, and also for a film starring women. Additionally, a small movement was born to register voters at the movie premiere by Mobilize.org titled, "Sex and The City, and a side of Voter Registration."

6. Bitch Magazine Forges Ahead in Fiscal Crisis

With the struggling economy, it almost looked like feminists would lose one of their favorite publications - Bitch Magazine. However, when Andi Zeisler and Debbie Rasmussen turned to their friends on the Internet, they were able to exceed their fundraising goal of $40,000. Rasmussen writes on the Bitch blog: "This tremendous and swift outpouring has been honoring and humbling -- particularly because you've offered it during the worst days the U.S. economy has seen this year. Thank you. We're deeply grateful."

7. Workin' 9 to 5 Goes to Broadway

28 years after the cult classic premiered in theatres, "9 to 5 The Musical" arrives on Broadway to remind women about the continuing struggle against sexism in the workplace - but with a side of humor.

8. Female Bloggers Take On The Internet

The 2008 Blogher conference in San Francisco demonstrated that women are making their mark within the online space - but still face high threats to privacy, deep concerns about sexism in the blogosphere and struggle to find financial independence within the medium. The high attendance, in addition to the attention paid by major corporations and media at this year's conference demonstrated that the Blogher network is an unprecedented way to help women find a voice online. As seen with the recent Motrin ad campaign fiasco, these female bloggers are learning how to wield their influence and hold parties accountable for any online offense.

9. Sex Slavery Finds A New Face Of Justice

This year Somaly Mam was awarded the World's Children's Prize for the Rights of the Child in Sweden for her "dangerous struggle" to defend the rights of children in Cambodia. Her work has helped Americans become increasingly aware of the global problem of sexual slavery. Time Magazine honors her story saying: "As a girl, she was sold into prostitution in Cambodia. She doesn't know her age, her given name or any family members. But she knows how to fight human-trafficking, which in the past 12 months has claimed as many as 4 million girls and women."

10. Female Human Rights Activist Released From Captivity

Franco-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt returned to France at the beginning of July 2008, after six years as a hostage of Colombia's Farc guerrillas. The 47-year-old Colombian-French citizen had been campaigning for president of Colombia when FARC soldiers took her in 2002. As reported by TIME Magazine, her imprisonment "eventually became a cause célèbre in Europe, and after a Colombian government operation freed her and 14 other hostages in July, Paris rejoiced. Later in the year, Betancourt toured South America to call attention to the plight of the 700-plus hostages that FARC still holds. It remains to be seen whether she can convert her own celebrity into freedom for others held victim to Colombia's dysfunctional politics."

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Comments (14)

I remember in 1978 when I joined NOW and worked for the ERA. I remember when Mrs. Ford, Mrs. Carter and Mrs. Johnson were campaigning for that Constitutional amendment that is still not ratified.

Interestingly, the amendment that ratified after nearly 200 years is the one that gives Mrs. Clinton some difficulty in taking the Secretary of State position. Ironical, isn't it?

It is also difficult to point to a Right Wing reactionary woman and call her a significant "feminist" moment when she joins Geraldine Ferraro as a major party vice presidential nominee who were both unsuccessful.

This time, of course, is with our new First Lady, and like the present one, the mother of two daughters. Another coincidence.
There will be a time when women will finally shatter the ceiling.

This year, the first woman four star general was promoted. We might have the daughter of the 35th POTUS move to the US Senate and maybe beyond. JFK once predicted that she would be involved in politics some day. We all knew that her late brother, JFK Jr., was not the brain power that his elder sister had.

I would say, on the whole, and in the whole, 2008 was a good year....and oh yes, Oprah Winfrey, a black woman billionaire.

Posted by A B on 12/17/2008 @ 11:41AM PT
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Jen what a great list! I was so excited about Betancourt but had forgotten all about her, and I'm so glad you included BlogHer which is, for me, a critical relationship. I love what they've built and how they've built it - always with the community in their minds. Generally, big congrats for a great aggregation of some amazing moments.

Posted by Cynthia Samuels on 12/17/2008 @ 11:45AM PT
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While I appreciate the redefining of women's roles, do we really need a black woman billionaire (who's been a billionaire for, I dunno, a decade?) or a female military general? And isn't it dangerous to reduce the presidential role to "commander-in-chief"? That doesn't sound like baking a new pie to me.

Just trying to keep things multi-dimensional. Great post, thanks.

Posted by Luella - on 12/17/2008 @ 01:10PM PT
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Palin's selection got the discussion about the <a href="http://www.autismvox.com/special-needs-mommy-wars/">special needs mommy wars</a> going again, and also about working mothers (of young children; of young children with disabilities). For myself, I don't think of Palin as a "<a href="http://www.autismvox.com/looks-like-the-special-needs-mommy-wars-arent-over/">potential leader for working mothers</a> or for special needs mothers like myself, for that matter. Am very curious as to what she says about disabilities, Down syndrome, and much more as time passes.

Posted by Kristina Chew on 12/17/2008 @ 10:16PM PT
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2008 was certainly an exciting and historic election year. But there is much more work to be done. With all the attention around Hillary Clinton’s run for the presidential nomination and Sarah Palin’s campaign for vice president, there has been less focus on women running for other offices. Although the number of women in the US Congress will increase in 2009, there are 19 states that will not be represented by a woman in either house of Congress – up from 16 states before the 2008 election. In 2008, these 16 states had no women in either the US House or Senate: Alabama, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, and Vermont. As a result of the election, three more states will have no women in Congress: New Mexico, Oregon and Virginia.

Posted by Nancy McDonald on 12/19/2008 @ 07:15AM PT
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Sex and The City? Feminist? To a degree yes, in that a lot of double-standards have been removed or reduced, for this to become a popular movie. But the obsessions with clothes and weddings hardly seems progressive.

Posted by Chris Watkins on 12/19/2008 @ 12:10PM PT
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I completley agree with the comment about sex and the city. If anything it should be a step back in feminism and gender roles. These women are the perfect example of the shallow fashined obssesed female who lives to shop. I guess the only liberating or revolutionary part of it is that now women are acting as shavonistic males promiting promiscuity. If men act like players and dehuminize women are women going to act the same way. Seriously how is that liberating.

Posted by laura Gonzalez on 12/22/2008 @ 08:34AM PT
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Thanks for the comments everyone. As for the Sex and the City choice - I think it's remarkable how successful this movie was in terms of a film starring women, and also how many women it brought together to watch it. While the film does highlight a lot of materialism - it also highlights a lot of real struggles that many women identify with such as infertility, choosing a career over a relationship, divorce, and yes - even being left at the altar. While it's not the most traditional example of feminism, I can't deny how inspiring the show has been for women of all ages and therefore I decided to include it in the list.

Posted by Jen Nedeau on 12/22/2008 @ 08:42AM PT
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I'm not sure that this show isn't inspiring for all of the wrong reasons. While I'm no feminist, I can't help but find this show far from helpful to the movement. yes, the show definitely brought together lots of women to do the same thing (watch the show). So did high heels, bras, I Love Lucy, bridge playing cards (actually sized smaller for "women's smaller hands), etc etc etc. just because something brings women together doesn't mean that it's necessarily in a positive way.

Posted by Kyle Bach,am on 07/07/2009 @ 04:06PM PT
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I am so happy at women in development and feminists achievements in 2008. 2009 will be greater!

Posted by Standtall The Activist on 01/01/2009 @ 03:34AM PT
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I am so happy at women in development and feminists achievements in 2008. 2009 will be greater!

Posted by Standtall The Activist on 01/01/2009 @ 03:34AM PT
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I have to chime in and agree about Sex and the City but I also think that you should add Mamma Mia to that feminist moment. Content aside, these are two films that star women and are about women and Mamma Mia was produced and directed by women too! Hopefully this will start a new trend in Hollywood taking the women's market seriously.

Melissa Silverstein
www.womenandhollywood.com

Posted by Melissa Silverstein on 01/06/2009 @ 05:32AM PT
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"The Secret Life of Bees" by an outstanding feminist author, Sue Monk Kidd, is a far more outstanding feminist achievement. Can we give proper recognition to this wonderful book & movie??

Posted by Bernice Farretta on 01/15/2009 @ 06:47PM PT
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How is Sex in the City a bright moment for feminism? The movie (and show) does little more than stereotype. How exactly does a movie that shows women as "dainty bitch" types longing for a stable relationship show any sort of independence? Am I missing something???

Posted by Kyle Bach,am on 07/07/2009 @ 04:01PM PT
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Author

Jen Nedeau is a social media consultant, progressive activist, feminist speaker and writer. She currently lives in New York City, where she works full-time as the Director of Digital Strategy at Air America Media. In August 2008, Nedeau was selected to be the Editor of the WomensRights.Change.Org where she facilitates daily discussion about the feminist movement. Additionally, Nedeau volunteers as the Chief Technology Officer for New Leaders Council, a non-profit that offers exclusive training for young leaders. You can follow her on Twitter @HumanFolly or learn more here: www.jennedeau.com.