The Leighton Inclusion: My Next Big Project

Op-Ed: The Gift of Truth-Telling Women

Our Responsibilities on the Centennial of Women’s Right To Vote

I was unfriended for posting that Marianne Williamson supports vaccinations. It was during the 2019 political campaign when social media insisted she was a fat-shamer and an “anti-vaxxer.”  One of my intelligent friends blocked me when I insisted that Big Cat Rescue/Tiger King’s “villain” Carole Baskin was loved by the Cat Writers’ community. 

The City of Boston excommunicated Anne Hutchinson, in 1638, because she taught religion in her home.  In her trial, the church leader that, initially, helped midwife Anne bury a stillborn baby, betrayed her confidence. He testified against her.

The “witches” of the Middle Ages disturbed the male-led world order as many were midwives who brought new babies into the world. They were accused of eating babies and having their cats sneak into religious leaders’ bedrooms to infiltrate their dreams!    

I would have been burned or hanged as a witch.  I love cats, and have spoken up for myself. From firing an assistant who bullied a black man to pointing out a dear friend’s hypocrisy, I’ve angered friends whom I’ve confronted! 

I’m grateful to be alive today, thanks to my mom, ancestors, and inspirational big sisters like Gloria Steinem, and those activists who fought for women before her.  I’m glad that people like me are speaking up, and setting records straight, because we’re getting great work done in honest and powerful ways. We care about people, and many men and women know it.

 

I think that because the “crazy” women have purposeful lives and reflect historical archetypes of the “witch”/ ”mother”/ ”sage,” these females are scorned even by other women. Carrie Chapman Catt was a leader of the women’s suffrage movement that helped women the right to vote 100 years ago, August 26, 1920.  First Ladies Eleanor Roosevelt and Michelle Obama are powerful and magical women, but regarded negatively by those with too much time on their hands and too little brains in their heads.

We still haven’t passed the Equal Rights Amendment, first introduced to Congress in 1971 (after almost 50 years of the first draft!).  We’re two states away from ratifying it to the United States Constitution. If it weren’t for the neighborhood feminist, who called me “Ms.” Leighton, I might not have voted for it.  It was my first time at the polls, and I didn’t know that I could be self-dependent being so new in the working world.

Fortunately, nobody made my way easy, and I adapted, taking care of business. What keeps us working is that we’re here to serve the planet and its people. I developed a professional showbiz career on my terms both as an artist and music services person.  

News of corruption, sexual misconduct, using government funds for personal use from national heroes, allegedly responsible leaders, and public figures coincided with the declining physical health of our world. We yell at our neighbors.  We saw our sisters lose careers if they spoke up against on-the-job abuse.  Some of us put them down, instead of going the extra mile to find out what was hurting them. 

One of the reasons we still struggle is that the truth-telling woman has been ostracized since the beginning of time.   

Smear campaigns… gossip… rumors.  Marianne Williamson posted on her social media, August 5, 2019 “There’s an ancient strain of misogyny that labels any women who doesn’t toe the line with the status quo of her time as ‘crazy’ or ‘dangerous.’ We will not have full empowerment of women until we face that head on.” 

Gloria Steinem speaks of the importance of building up other women, not breaking them down. She never felt she could succeed alone. One of my showbiz online forums had a man posting that the Chicks were insincere and pandering to the public for dropping the offensive “Dixie” from their name.  A woman spoke up for the performers, “We should be happy they’re supporting blacks.” When he called them “irrelevant,” a lesbian posted that she appreciated their support all these years to the LGBTQ community, and that they collaborated with Taylor Swift. We can show the same support for our friends when they’re disrespected. 

None of us like gaslighting, nor people telling lies about us.  Even if there’s readily accessible proof of our innocence, we’ll see dishonest accusations. Maybe the bully is overwhelmed by the amount of content online.  Then again, perhaps the attacker has anger at the world, and wants to start a fight by belittling others.

Women need to speak up for themselves, especially if they’re the only ones willing to stand up for themselves!

We need to speak up for one another.  I first heard about Carole Baskin being bullied on the Netflix series “Tiger King” from Paw Project activist, veterinarian Dr Jennifer Conrad.  I was appalled as the Big Cat Rescue owners had been a great source when I wrote about jaguars and needed photos for CatFancy.  Tigers In America owner William Nimmo (tigersinamerica.org) said her rescue is a top tier animal sanctuary. Animal Planet’s Jackson Galaxy posted support on social media. She’s admitted on her website that she made mistakes in her early years, when she bred wild cats. But she moved on, and became a responsible animal rescuer. Part of her mission is lobbying Washington, DC politicians to pass HR 1380 and S2561:“The Big Cat Safety Act.” The goal is to diminish breeding and trade of wild cats.

Famous “witches” are Hillary Clinton, the Chicks (now and when they were Dixie), technology geeks, bodybuilders, Susan Boyle, Madam CJ Walker, Cher….   Even with deliberate adversity, these women seem to magically prove themselves because they’re smart, productive, and not involved with smear campaigns.  They’re busy making the world a better place, including doing their homework and being there for their friends.  

These women work in mysterious ways. They know their talents and purpose because they served the public, even making others powerful.  They’re so connected with the universe because they play and work with honesty, working for inclusion, especially for the underdogs....or abandoned cats.