#ct forum

We call this one either "The Gang Plans Martina Navratilova's Wedding," or "Dan Savage and Martina Navratilova on the Importance of Marriage Rights," or "Dan Savage Says Marriage Can Be Any Damn Thing You Want it to Be." No matter what you call it, it's worth watching. Take a look!

Friday Oct 12th was the State of Women 2012 Forum at The Bushnell in Hartford, CT. The panelists consisted of Michelle Bernard, Ashley Judd, Connie Shultz, and Gloria Steinem and the event was moderated by NPR's Michel Martin. 

As to be expected, the event was nothing short of amazing. Sitting and listening to 5 iconic feminist women discuss everything from their individual accomplishments and foreign travels to their thoughts on the Shades of Grey series, to Disney princesses and their influence on women was unlike any other experience I've participated in. The tone of the event was relaxed and casual as if we were sitting on a living room sofa with one other sharing a class of wine like old friends. Connie Shultz in particular carries a very relaxed and comedic tone which held the audience captivated. She was sarcastic, funny, yet firm and so knowledgeable about politics and writing. Before this event I knew nothing about Connie but immediately became a fan of hers the moment she spoke.  

Actress and feminist Ashley Judd is so eloquent and precise with her words it was inspiring. She talked at length about mind/body connection and the importance of ones own practice of spirituality and boundary setting to enable women to stay grounded in even the most difficult of situations. My favorite thing Ashley Judd talked about was the importance and strength of "female to female alliances" and how strong relationships amongst women create a support network that is essentially priceless. She talked about having female mentors in our lives and the importance of participating in grassroots and community-based local organizations (such as CWEALF) in order to influence change. Her overall presentation is clean, determined, and honest. I had previously seen Ashley at The Women's Life march in Washington DC during my college years and she was just as fierce then as she is now.

Michelle Bernard spent a significant amount of time relating the war on women to the war on race. As the only black panelist of this event she offered her personal stories to explain challenges of being a minority woman in modern day America. Her take home message was "fear no man" which is a life lesson passed down to her from her parents, and she stressed to always be part of the fight you believe in. 

Gloria Steinem had a wealth of information to share considering she was the oldest panel member and is someone who has been identifying herself as an activist, feminist, public speaker, writer etc since before I was born. My favorite thing she said was "I don't want anything I don't have" and I loved that so dearly because it helped me to evaluate my own life. She is so accomplished and so iconic yet she is content in a way that does not feel complacent. She has stood up for what she believes in since forever and she said that when you are doing that, it's not work, it's love. I believe the women of CWEALF and the programs it offers operate under this mindset. Helping one another achieve great opportunities and supporting our young women to take over the fight and influence the world is why the STEM program exists and will continue to be important. 

Overall It has been a great year for me. I have been lucky enough to meet Eve Ensler, to see Maya Angelou speak poetry, and then to see these women do what they do best over the weekend.  The CT Forum puts on lots of amazing events such as these so check out ctforum.org for upcoming events.

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