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*Editor’s Note: Elephant Journal articles represent the personal views of the authors, and can not possibly reflect Elephant Journal as a whole. Disagree with an Op-Ed or opinion? We’re happy to share your experience here.
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Women are tired of the patricidal names thrown around treating them as second-class citizens—it’s beyond late to end this damage.

In the early seventies, I sat at rallies to support the Equal Rights Amendment: ERA for women and proudly wore my bracelet—we won in 1974 and women across the country cheered. Things were looking up. Slowly and quietly, it began to look like it was doomed, and now 50 years later, the 2024 Presidential election could cast us into the depths of hell.

We sit anxiously to see if we have true democracy or if there will be a fall in an aristocratic society led by a person keen on destroying the freedom of all women and all folks of color.

A scary place to live.

Women will have to be ready for sex, and not a happy horizontal dance between the sheets. Chastity belts will be the fashion flair, young girls will cry as they are raped and tossed in pregnancies and forced to carry to term, some will die from ruptured ectopic pregnancies.

A quick glance at the language reveals words such as he, history, master bedroom suite, manslaughter—they can keep that one. Menses’, menstrual, and a good giggle with menopause.

Surprisingly, there are places today that are matriarchal spaces to live: parts of China, India, and Ghana are three. If they can do so, so can (and should) we.

How can I help? How can you and all of us?

The election and inauguration have passed and most of us have gone into deep mourning for a few days. Why only a few? Because we arise with a gentle push and fight to retain our equality…using tai chi rather than our usual taekwondo.

And now it is time to watch and listen during these next four years. I looked up JD Vance since I only knew he was an author. He is, I am not surprised, anti-abortion and anti-same-sex marriage and against being without children. Allegedly, he was abused by his parents and then raised by grandparents.

I would like more information on his stance of the “must” of having children. For example, is adoption fine? What if a young couple found their lives child-less due to carcinoma in her pelvis and slow unhealthy sperm leading to a vasectomy?

I am going to try to pay attention, especially to subtle clues during these next few years, like bills snuck into larger bills. Please write and share and listen. We need one another.

We are protecting our young children and teaching them to be strong, but loving, kind and compassionate.

Hugs not hits. Flowers not fists. We will educate the teen girls about our rallies in the late sixties and into the seventies.

I share this since I have not seen this topic on patriarchal versus matriarchal sociétés in print, although it most likely is on podcasts; I should start listening to some. Thanks for listening and please join in helping us build a community of love.

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