so much of the kennedy story that we know today would have been drastically different, and perhaps drastically better, if the kennedy women, namely rose kennedy and her daughters, had been given more autonomy and opportunity to pursue a career, whether it be in the political field or in another. so much would be different if they’d been allowed to embrace the multi-dimensional, hard-working women that they were. when jean kennedy told her father her plans about wanting to become a doctor after spending multiple summers volunteering at the hospital, joe sr shut her down and mistakenly said that women weren’t doctors; that the profession wasn’t suitable for a woman.
despite being repeatedly silenced and hindered, they still accomplished so much that unfortunately remains unrecognized, undermined and/or overshadowed. a great example is eunice kennedy. although she was just as involved in public service at the time that her brother jack was serving as a US rep, much of it isn’t acknowledged. they were actual roommates lol. she’s a legend in her own right! i truly recommend reading up on her and the other kennedy women, beyond their relationship with the kennedy men.
as maria shriver has said, “so much of the focus on this family has been on the men, and the women in the family have also accomplished extraordinary things. and so i think sometimes people forget that [eunice] did what she did, that jean has done what she did, that pat did what she did, that rosemary really was a catalyst for so much of the work that all of them have done. so i’m not taking anything away from teddy, or jack, or bobby, but there were some women in there. there were women in this family who were extraordinarily accomplished at a time when people didn’t have high expectations for women. it’s even more extraordinary what they were able to accomplish when very little was expected of them.”
happy international women’s day! <3
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