Resources / Ripples & Wipeouts

Last night in Manhattan the Women’s Media Center honored a number of female journalists for contributing to the center’s mission “to make women visible and powerful in the media.” Among the honorees were Candy Crowley, the political reporter from CNN, Bonnie Erbe of US News & World Report and PBS, Pam Spaulding, whose blog Pam’s House Blend is a hub of insight and action for the LGBTQ community and Gini Reticker, whose documentary Pray the Devil Back to Hell follows the market women of Liberia, a group that exiled one president and installed another who became the first woman president of an African nation.

As you might expect, it was a great crowd, encompassing women (and men too) of all ages, colors and walks of life.  In fact, it may be the most genuinely diverse group of people I’ve ever seen at such an event.  The gorgeous room at the Sackler Foundation, which hosted the party, was so jammed that the wait staff could barely move around to pass the (all vegan) hors d’oeuvres.  Thus, I leaned back against the wall, made myself small (insofar as possible) and studied the crowd.

It was interesting to contemplate what exactly brought this wildly varied group together.  Clearly we crossed the usual dividing lines of gender, race and age.  But this group seemed to transcend other, less permeable boundaries, such as sexual orientation, income, and frankly, social class.  And then there was the vegan food, which even the carnivores seemed to accept. 

Perhaps the common bond was politics, although that assumes only progressives care about advancing the status of women, which I doubt.  Maybe it’s more subtle.  Maybe it’s about balance.  Is it my imagination or are people just tired of extremes?  Maybe we are weary of the polarization that has been the hallmark of the last 20 years and we’re ready for something new.  Maybe that involves taking some risks and connecting with people not in our usual sphere.

Maybe groups like the Women’s Media Center are serving a broader, social purpose beyond their stated missions – creating arenas where risks and connections can take place.