Election Eve and Early International Women’s Day

Ahhh, exciting times we live in, especially this first week of March.

Tomorrow, in early celebration of International Women’s Day, I will be leading a chat that most fabulous, wonderful, stupendous boutique, Hoopla Traders, in the Adams Morgan section of DC, at 2314 18th Street NW, as part of the neighborhood’s First Tuesday celebration, and Hoopla’s Living Green Salon. Not only do I run out of great adjectives when describing this place, but I also am tickled by the fact that the boutique is a fellow member of Co-op America.

In keeping with the international nature of the day, I will be having a discussion regarding how fair trade has helped women in Cambodia. If I can figure out my new laptop, I will also have photos of some of the women workers.

(Just a note: although the photo above is not of women making fair trade products for Three Stone Steps’ customers, or even in Cambodia, it is my absolute favorite photo of women and one of my favorites from my many travels to Vietnam. Hope you enjoy it as I do.)

Please join me if you can. If you can’t and find yourself in ournationscapital, and want to shop, you honestly can’t do much better than stopping at Hoopla. It really is a warm, wonderful, and special boutique, and I’m not just saying that because they carry much of Three Stone Steps’product line!

While my little chat at Hoopla will pale in comparison to the excitement of refreshing the computer over and over and over again as the election results come in from the Texas, Ohio, Vermont, and Rhode Island primaries and primacaucus on Tuesday night, the effect that this race has on women and the discussion its garnered in the feminist community cannot go without mention, especially in the context of International Women’s Day. Who really dreamed of a primary contest that didn’t include two middle-aged white men?

Honestly, I really never thought of the Democratic contest in terms of a white woman versus a black man thing, but many do, and I know that this has garnered much debate in the feminist community. I know that my late mother, who held consciousness raising and assertiveness training sessions in our paneled suburban club basement in the 70s, would be beside herself just knowing that a woman was running and actually did/does have a shot at becoming president. I know that I, too, would like to see a female president in my lifetime, although I’m unsure if it should be this female. But, I so don’t want to go there now.

Anyway, if the feminist aspects of this amazing primary contest interests you, I would strongly suggest reading a blog post by the Zaftig Redhead (really, how can anyone think a blog by that name could be anything other than interesting?) called Divisive Primary Hold Potential Fallout for Women’s Rights Community. And, despite my comment about just knowing that my mother would be out in force for Hillary, Zaftig Redhead’s analysis doesn’t just talk about the split in terms of generational differences, or first versus fifteenth wave feminism.

So, there you have it. Loads going on these days, and a few long nights waiting for results and next steps lie ahead.