The Time I Went To A Feminist Rally

I saw a bit of the ceremony at the White House this morning for the brand new group of recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.  One could, I suspect, draw lines between many of them as their lives and work have intersected over the years - the two that I drew together were Gloria Steinem and Loretta Lynn.  Steinem is known for her strong voice as a feminist.  Lynn is known as a country music singer.  In my mind they are joined in this journey and it all goes back to the feminist rally I attended one evening in Louisville at Freedom Hall.
I am not a political rally kind of person.  I have beliefs and convictions and opinions, but I lack the energy for political rallys.  I do not question their value, I do question my ability to be useful in that setting.  So when I say I went to a feminist rally, what I went to was a Reba McEntire/Kelly Clarkson concert.  The rally was an unexpected bonus.  The concert was very good, both Reba and Kelly are excellent live performers with great catalogues of music to go to for material.  My attention though was really drawn to Reba.  And to the way the crowd responded to her songs.  Which ultimately crystallized in their response to one song.  The on their feet, singing along at the top of their lungs response to "Is There Life Out There".  It's the story of a woman who is invested in her family and yet has so consistently set her own life aside that she has lost contact with the world beyond her home and her work there.  The chorus conveys the core of the song...

                                                                Is there life out there

So much she hasn't done

Is there life beyond

Her family and her home

She's done what she should

Should she do what she dares

She doesn't want to leave

She's just wonderin'

Is there life out there

You can probably find country songs before Loretta Lynn that began to give voice to what the women who heard the songs were experiencing, but I think Loretta Lynn is a pioneer in singing songs that connected with the real experiences of real women living real lives and wishing and wondering if there wasn't possibly something more.  Loretta led to others working that territory.  Reba being one of them.  And still today fully within the country music genre, solo artists like Kacey Musgraves and groups like the Pistol Annies work similar ground.

It is good to celebrate the accomplishments and contributions of leaders like Gloria Steinem.  And it is equally good to celebrate the accomplishments of those who reached populations that might not be understood as the most ready ground for feminist thought by singing those values and concerns into their real life based songs and paving the way for others to do the same.