This is the summer of Barbie!

I was initially dismissive of a movie about an over-sexualized doll from my childhood and my daughter’s childhood. When I learned more about it, though, I had to see it and am so glad I did. The movie showed Barbie for who she really was – the vibrant star, owner of her own mansion and car, with a Ken accessory. It was an empowering view of female reality. (Rumor has it some guys got their feelings hurt – not in my family.)

I played with Barbies as a kid, sometimes along with my brothers’ G.I. Joes. But by about age 11 or 12, I became fascinated with ventriloquism and asked for a Danny O’Day dummy for Christmas.

What does it say about me that I loved the male doll that spoke only when I pulled the string at the back of his neck?

Truth – I’ve been a feminist since I was old enough to know what the word meant, in the early days of MS. Magazine and NOW. The late Patricia Schroeder and Gloria Steinem were my she-roes. Then RBG. I saw Roe V. Wade passed, a protection we thought would last forever, though in 1972, I likely had very little understanding of abortion.

College brought some uncomfortable situations with boys and that one professor. I absorbed all the slights and diminishments a young woman faced in the professional world. (Nowhere near what my sisters of color faced and is their story to write.) I made less money than a man might have. I lost a promotion to good ol’ boy nepotism. I persevered, overcame, and made a long career with few regrets. I bore children and juggled the challenges of motherhood and a stressful job. I worked with strong women, and my profession evolved from predominantly white male to a more even and diverse mix. I watched women get elected, and today, the first woman VP of the U.S. Progress has been slow, but it’s progress.

My daughter and her generation have been beneficiaries of all we gained, yet even in her first post-college job, she recounted uncomfortable comments made in an elevator. The millennials and Gen Z’ers among my tribe are strong, accomplished women, though often burdened with enormous student debt and out-of-sight housing costs.

And yet….we find ourselves at risk of losing all the gains. Roe V. Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court last year. One of the most extreme conservative justices is a woman. Religion – specifically, Christianity – and patriotism have become conflated. Voting districts are being gerrymandered and voting rights are threatened. States, especially Florida, are charging ahead with more and more restrictive laws on abortion and free speech. But never on guns. How did the clock turn backwards?

My current band of feminists is mostly my age and older, and I’m no kid (63, if you’re counting). Strong, proud women who have managed careers, children, political activism, all while dealing with everything from blatant misogyny to more subtle discrimination. We are the tribe of OG feminists standing loud and proud for the LGBTQ+ community, supporting public education, opposing book banning, advocating for sensible gun laws and accessible health care for all, and fighting for reproductive rights while seeing them stripped away. The women who are out registering voters and whose cars sport liberal stickers and magnets. We are the army of gray-haired women with no f**ks left to give. We won't back down!

HAPPY WOMEN’S EQUALITY DAY!!!