Lucky 7: Our Seventh Year in Review
After suffering through painfully long primaries and the most anticipated general election this country has ever seen, we the people got it together and elected our first African-American President, Barack Obama. Like a women’s studies class at Smith College, the election forced us to talk openly about race, class and gender, dredging up the worst and best of the American psyche. Obama-mania swept the country and 2 million people flooded D.C. during the inauguration hoping to witness a little piece of history. Obama inherited a failing economy, a disenfranchised public and a war that he voted against in the Senate, but none of it has deterred him. Instead, he contines to woo the nation with his charm, and his smarts. As for his effectiveness as Commander in Chief, just stay tuned to GO, ladies. We’ll keep you up-to-date every step of the way.
The 2008 elections filled our hearts with hope even while the economic downturn emptied our pockets. We spoke out against corporate greed, fought for our right to marry and shamed those that would hold us down into becoming more tolerant. A crane collapsed in Manhattan; a plane landed in the Hudson River and justice prevailed with the country’s first transgender-related hate crime conviction. Here is a look back at the past year and the events that most affected us.
JJ. THANK YOU FOR BEING BEA
Bea Arthur, the beloved comic actress with
a showbiz career spanning seven decades, passed away at the age of 86 this April from cancer. Arthur got her start in New York
theater winning acclaim in original productions of Fiddler on the Roof, The Threepenny Opera and Mame. But she rose to even greater fame in middle-age after guesting on All in the Family. Her role as Edith Bunker’s liberal cousin Maude spun off into its own series, where Arthur portrayed the firecracker feminist for six seasons. In the ‘80s, Arthur was re-born as Dorothy Zbornak, a dry-witted and deep-voiced divorcee on The Golden Girls. Her brilliant timing and imposing stature will be greatly missed by tall girls everywhere.
