RIP Edith Windsor

For many of us, our greatest wish is not to love and be loved in return, but also be able to share the one we love with the world. Unfortunately, for many gay and lesbian couples, they had to live and love in the shadows, unable to share themselves and their love with their neighbors, family and friends.

Then came Edith Windsor. Her partner of several decades was Thea Spyer. They married 10 years ago in Canada. After Dr. Spyer passed away in 2009, her wife inherited her estate. The problem was that in 2009, gay marriage was not yet recognized as an acceptable legal partnership and the IRS send Ms. Windsor a bill for nearly $400,000. She sued, paving the way for the lesbian and gay couples to have the same rights as heterosexual couples.

Edith Windsor passed away today. She was 88.

All she wanted to do was to have her love recognized, to be seen as if she was married to a man instead of a woman. In doing so, she not only opened the door for other couples in her situation to have rights, but to also open people’s minds that love is love and marriage is between two people (regardless of sex) who love each other and are willing to make lifelong commitment.

RIP Edith Windsor.

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Gilded Suffragists: The New York Socialites who Fought for Women’s Right to Vote Book Review

It is a common misconception that the first wave of feminism in the early part of the 20th century was solely run by working class and immigrant class women. That is fallacy.

This year, writer Johanna Neuman’s new book, Gilded Suffragists: The New York Socialites who Fought for Women’s Right to Vote was published. Ms. Neuman writes of the women at the top of the social ladder who put their money where their mouth was to further the cause of feminism. Women belonging to the well-known families with names like Astor, Morgan, Belmont, etc, came together (as best they could) with their working class and immigrant class sisters to work towards a brighter future for generations of American women to come.

The beginning of the book was a bit slow, but when it picked up, it really picked up. By the end of the book, I was reminded that feminism does not just belong to a particular class of women or women who belong to a specific ethnicity. It belongs to all us and it is up to all of us to ensure that our daughters and granddaughters continue to have the rights and privileges that have been so hard-fought for.

I recommend it.