Wednesday, March 23, 2016
Women's History Month Celebration at the MA State House
The Women's History Month Celebration was held at the MA State House, and it was full of great and empowering women in public office. The program began with an introduction from Massachusetts State Representative Gloria Fox who was, as always, incredibly enthusiastic and passionate about the progression of women. She proclaimed many memorable quotes, especially on the topic of representation for younger generations of girls. "We're not scared, we're moving up!" Representative Fox exclaimed when talking about women of color in public office.
Although there were many highlights of this event, two of them very much spoke to me. The first coming from the Honorary Keynote Speaker, Jean Kilbourne, Ed.D. Jean is internationally recognized for her groundbreaking work on the representation of women in advertising, as well as her critical studies of alcohol and tobacco advertising. Kilbourne is the creator of the award-winning film series "Killing Us Softly: Advertising's Image of Women," and she was recently inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls. Jean Kilbourne showed us some very powerful videos that shine on the topic of how women are represented in media and in advertising. These video's include "We Are #WomenNotObjects" (https://www.youtube.com/
Jean Kilbourne's TED Talk can be watched here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Another highlight, which was a little more personal to me, was the speech from MA State Representative Jen Benson. She brought up the topic of the next generation of feminists and women leaders. She talked about how her 19 year old daughter is incredibly involved in the world of feminism and making a change for women across the county. This, to me, was very empowering, and made me feel like I could really do something to make a change despite age barriers.
The event concluded with multiple women pitching upcoming events across Massachusetts for their organizations, and then a final speaking once again from State Rep. Gloria Fox, and a closing quote.
"It is so important for young girls to see representation, and what we are doing."
Courtney Lynch, MWPC Intern
