I believe there is a rise of a new matriarchy and it will provide humanity a better future. It’s time.

Last night on Netflix I watched “Feminism, what were they thinking”. It was a documentary through the eyes of an amazing portrait photographer of the era. This morning I happened upon “Mary Pickford: The Muse of the movies” on TCM. I highly suggest both.

Mary goes back to the early 1900s, she was a name I knew but had no idea the MAJOR impact she had on things we take for granted today, both in and out of the movie industry.

She was a singular woman in a field of men. She was an equal partner because she made it happen, held her own with dignity and strength and led the way through a fledgling industry. She knew her value, though she admittedly wasn’t all that sure of herself. The sexist part is the omissions of her influence, not her breakthrough of barriers. The barriers didn’t really exist yet in the field she helped build.

Flash forward to the Feminists of the 70’s, now fighting for what Mary achieved with ferocity and great numbers. The early success of some women only seemed to have tightened a grip on the social role put upon us over several generations. Patriarchs survive by domination and the next generation of woman wasn’t gonna take it anymore.

The Feminist movie represent an era I was alive for, though too young to know. To see what is now vs. then I can’t believe the simplest things we take for granted were a fight to get. I’m thankful for their actions and appalled we’re still fighting for such basic conceptual thinking like equality.

I was about to say the few woman who broke the mold early weren’t highlighted, they were minimized, but I realize in that statement we don’t know. We don’t know how many woman were leaders or partners with the men whose name holds claim. That’s my point. One “new” story after another reveals women’s roles in history that we weren’t really told until now.

Thanks to storytellers who are empowered to enlighten, children will know a female inclusion in history my generation didn’t. It’s not just important to girls, it’s important to everyone as it shapes perceptions that affect us all. Our value is in our individual expression and contribution, not our gender.

Fast forward to yesterday, a day that the most women (and diverse candidates) in history were elected into political offices with record turnout of next generation voters who simply don’t want to take it anymore.

Newly elected woman may come to the table with different views and values but their milestone won’t be so easily washed from the records. Now that they’re in it’s time to go to task. These men and women have a big house to clean.

The best reason to look back is to learn how to do better going forward.