No Capes, No Masks, No Boundaries: Super-Women Unite!

Below the Belt: A Biweekly Column by NOW President Kim Gandy

June 18, 2008

Coming up with a theme for NOW's annual national conference is always a fun and challenging endeavor. For 2008, we definitely wanted a theme that conveyed the breakthroughs that women are making, our power, our progress, and the strength that women exhibit every day in the face of adversity. We also wanted to touch on the global component of this year's conference. And last but not least, we wanted something not-too-stuffy that would catch people's attention.

NOW...WOW! - something of an inside joke as conference themes go - led to the more action-oriented NOW...POW! The cartoon image it conjured up led us to think about women as superheroes. After all, the conference is in the middle of July, deep in summer movie season - that time of year when big action flicks, particularly those of the superhero variety, dominate the landscape. So far we've had Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk, and coming soon are The Dark Knight (the latest incarnation of Batman), Hellboy II, and Hancock (something new with Will Smith).

What do all these films have in common? Well, they all revolve around men, of course. Throughout the history of the comic book genre and the movies they've inspired, the vast majority of superheroes have been men. A few women have made their mark - Wonder Woman, Supergirl, Catwoman - but they sure don't get the same ink or screen time as the men.

How about feminists as superheroes?

So we decided to do a side-by-side comparison of feminists and fictional superheroes, and we uncovered some stunning similarities.

Both feminists and superheroes are dedicated to fighting injustice. In order to do this, they often face off against corrupt, malicious villains out to dominate the world (Bush and Cheney, anyone?).

Like most superheroes, many feminists experience a defining moment in their lives when they realize their destiny. Often an act of violence, cruelty or discrimination targeting them or a family member leads a feminist (or a superheroe) to spend a lifetime helping others avoid the same fate.

What makes feminists even more special is that they don't need masks or capes or phone booths to turn themselves into superheroes, and they don't have superhuman powers--just a lot of pride, passion and patience.

Feminist superheroes include both famous and not so famous women. Hillary Clinton, for running the most successful presidential campaign ever for a U.S. woman, while under attack from the sexist media, is definitely a superhero. But so are all the mothers and caregivers who juggle multiple responsibilities every day. Not to mention all the women around the globe who survive under brutally oppressive circumstances.

And talk about superheroes - we have some real "women of steel" speaking at the NOW conference this year. Barbara Hillary became the first African-American woman to reach the North Pole -- at the age of 75, no less -- and she's already planning her expedition to the South Pole. Lilly Ledbetter was just your "average" hardworking woman, until she spoke out against wage discrimination; now she has federal legislation named after her. Each will receive NOW's Woman of Courage award at the conference.

Dedicated to increasing youth voter engagement, Jehmu Greene took Rock the Vote from 1,500 members to over a million, and was named one of Essence Magazine's 40 Women Under 40 Shaping the World. Irshad Manji has been called "Osama Bin Laden's worst nightmare" for her efforts to promote Muslim reform; her book is banned in many countries, but Manji reaches readers by posting free translations on her website.

Patricia Ireland found her calling when she confronted discrimination as a flight attendant; she went on to serve 10 years as NOW's president and is being honored at the conference as a Woman of Vision. Nancy Redd, who was named "most likely to succeed-at anything" by Glamour magazine, is the bestselling author of Body Drama, which empowers young women with knowledge about their bodies, told and illustrated in a bold and honest way.

Carol Jenkins is an award-winning TV journalist who aims to increase women's participation in the media, but she also has time to promote the cause of women and children in war ravaged Africa. Dr. Yakin Ertürk strives to eradicate violence against women as a special rapporteur at the United Nations, and has worked on women in development projects in a number of developing countries.

Having grown up during the war in Nicaragua, Mónica Alemán resolved to devote herself to creating peace, security and human rights for all; now in her early 30s, she is a leader in the struggle for indigenous women's rights. Finally, journalist and syndicated columnist Marie Cocco dared to name names in a column about the sexism directed at Hillary Clinton during the primary season; she has also exposed government pollution and uncovered the movement to privatize Social Security.

As if that's not enough, NOW and the NOW Foundation will honor five more fearless women at our annual Intrepid Awards Gala on July 17, the night before the conference. The impressive line-up of awardees features civil rights icon Dr. Dorothy I. Height, whose life exemplifies her passionate commitment to a just society and her vision of a better world; at the age of 96 she is now chair and president emerita of the National Council of Negro Women.

The honorable Janet Reno served as the first, and to date only, female U.S. Attorney General from 1993-2001, appointed by President Bill Clinton. Marna Tucker is trailblazing lawyer, founding board member of the National Women's Law Center and the first woman president of the National Conference of Bar Presidents.

Linda Chavez-Thompson is the highest ranking woman ever in the U.S. labor movement, and now executive vice president emerita of the AFL-CIO. And we are especially pleased to honor Katie Couric, anchor and managing editor of the CBS Evening News, who in 2006 became the first female solo anchor of a weekday network evening news broadcast and who this year took on the sexism in her own field. These five women meet the definition of "intrepid" - fearlessly courageous and bold - and will receive our Intrepid Award on the 17th.

Whew! Who needs comic book fantasy when we've got real women like these to serve as our superheroes? By all means, enjoy yourself at your local cineplex this summer. But if you want to witness some incredible, amazing women who are breaking down barriers and crashing through glass ceilings, come to the 2008 National NOW Conference and the Intrepid Awards Gala, too.

Note: After this column ran, more fantastic speakers were added to the National NOW Conference agenda: Hon. Donna Edwards, Dr. Erika Falk, and Hon. Carolyn Maloney. Unfortunately, Dr. Yakin Ertürk is unable to attend.

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