FIGHTING IS FEMALE POWER
(this preamble is from the 2024 perSISTERS Calendar, looking back to when I made the first version of this print)

You see this is where we started, when we realized from within our secret online groups that the hatred of women in our country is so deep and pervasive and so undermining of our imaginations. We were supporting a mainstream candidate, a neoliberal moderate, a mother, why did we have to be secret?

The next morning I saw a woman walking on the sidewalk weeping, dressed for work. We went to work.

It turned out to be about as bad as I had imagined, but it would have been much worse without the women who worked so hard for these values and norms that Hillary speaks of below. Only a few of these fighters are in this calendar, but inspired by Dahlia Lithwick’s book, Lady Justice, I will be adding more next year.

A friend posted back then: I’m not sure what went wrong, but I do know that messaging is important.

And there it was: message as a verb. I set about making messages and the perSISTERS prints, and other things, were my work.

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Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton (born October 26, 1947) was the first female candidate to be nominated for president by a major U.S. political party. 

The words are from Clinton’s concession speech given on November 9, 2016. Most of this speech is reproduced here.

Image of Clinton based on a photograph by Lorie Shaull

“This is not the outcome we wanted or we worked so hard for, and I’m sorry that we did not win this election for the values we share and the vision we hold for our country.

But I feel pride and gratitude for this wonderful campaign that we built together. This vast, diverse, creative, unruly, energized campaign. You represent the best of America, and being your candidate has been one of the greatest honors of my life.

I know how disappointed you feel, because I feel it too. And so do tens of millions of Americans who invested their hopes and dreams in this effort. This is painful, and it will be for a long time. But I want you to remember this.

Our campaign was never about one person, or even one election. It was about the country we love and building an America that is hopeful, inclusive, and big-hearted. We have seen that our nation is more deeply divided than we thought. But I still believe in America, and I always will. And if you do, then we must accept this result and then look to the future.  . . .  Our constitutional democracy enshrines the peaceful transfer of power.

We don’t just respect that. We cherish it. It also enshrines the rule of law; the principle we are all equal in rights and dignity; freedom of worship and expression. We respect and cherish these values, too, & we must defend them.

Let me add: Our constitutional democracy demands our participation, not just every four years, but all the time. So let’s do all we can to keep advancing the causes and values we all hold dear. Making our economy work for everyone, not just those at the top, protecting our country and protecting our planet. And breaking down all the barriers that hold any American back from achieving their dreams.

We’ve spent a year and a half bringing together millions of people from every corner of our country to say with one voice that we believe that the American dream is big enough for everyone—for people of all races, and religions, for men and women, for immigrants, for LGBT people, and people with disabilities. For everyone.

So now, our responsibility as citizens is to keep doing our part to build that better, stronger, fairer America we seek. And I know you will. . . .

And to the young people in particular, I hope you will hear this—I have, as Tim said, spent my entire life fighting for what I believe in.

I’ve had successes and I’ve had setbacks. Sometimes, really painful ones. Many of you are at the beginning of your professional, public, and political careers—you will have successes and setbacks too.

This loss hurts, but please never stop believing that fighting for what’s right is worth it.

It is, it is worth it. [Cheers and applause]

And so we need—we need you to keep up these fights now and for the rest of your lives. And to all the women, and especially the young women, who put their faith in this campaign and in me: I want you to know that nothing has made me prouder than to be your champion.

Now, I know we have still not shattered that highest and hardest glass ceiling, but some day someone will—and hopefully sooner than we might think right now. [Cheers and applause]

And to all of the little girls who are watching this, never doubt that you are valuable and powerful and deserving of every chance and opportunity in the world to pursue and achieve your own dreams. [Cheers and applause]

Finally, I am so grateful for our country and for all it has given to me.

I count my blessings every single day that I am an American. And I still believe, as deeply as I ever have, that if we stand together and work together with respect for our differences, strengthen our convictions, and love for this nation, our best days are still ahead of us.

Because, you know, I believe we are stronger together and we will go forward together. And you should never, ever regret fighting for that. You know, scripture tells us, “Let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season, we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”

My friends, let us have faith in each other, let us not grow weary and lose heart, for there are more seasons to come and there is more work to do.

I am incredibly honored and grateful to have had this chance to represent all of you in this consequential election.

May God bless you and may God bless the United States of America.”

DESIGN NOTE

This design is inspired by classic prize fight posters. She fought so hard.

A woman Hitting a neo-Nazi with her handbag is a famous photograph taken in Växjö, Sweden on 13 April 1985 by Hans Runesson. It depicts a 38-year-old woman hitting a marching Nazi-skinhead with a handbag. The photograph was taken during a demonstration of the Nordic Reich Party supporters. The angle of the photo, her posture, facial expression, and what she’s wearing makes her look a lot older than she really is. The picture was published in the next day’s Dagens Nyheter and a day later in some British newspapers. It sparked a huge discussion in Sweden, and the woman—who suffered from anxiety and hated the sudden media spotlight—ended up committing suicide two years later.

The woman in the photograph is Danuta Danielsson. She was of Polish-Jewish origin, her mother had been in a concentration camp and she got very angry when she saw the young Nazis in her quiet town. When the incident happened she had only lived in Sweden for a few years. Dunata met her future Swedish husband at a jazz festival in Poland and shortly after that they were married. Her acquaintances described her as energetic and positive during their first years in the new country. But she had a darker side, sometimes she was mentally fragile. Very often she screamed menacingly to people on the streets, sometimes she muttered to herself. She was also treated at a psych ward and eventually threw herself from a water tower in 1988.

The neo-Nazi’s name was Seppo Seluska. He was a militant Nazi from the Nordic Reich Party, later convicted for murder. He tortured and murdered a Jewish homosexual later the same year.

rarehistoricalphotos.com

Addendum (2024)

This design from 2017 was one of three whose purpose was to explore iconic images of women protesting. For that purpose I chose images that had gone viral. These also include BE PRESENT and SHOW UP. Next I wanted to work with other historic images and that’s when I chose the image of Ruby Bridges. After I made that print I noticed how viewers couldn’t remember the details of the event, even though they recognized the image. For example, no one remembered that Ruby was in New Orleans. Everyone assumed it was Arkansas. So that was when I started writing the short blurbs to package with the prints. Over time the blurbs got longer, and now one could call them essays.