When the issue of women in leadership comes up, I always think of a fossil I once saw of a bird that never gained use of one of its wings. It dwelt on the ground because it was never able to stretch out both wings and so gain flight. It’s exciting to think of the discoveries yet to be made as the female half of our humanity moves into science and into power. It is as if we have discovered that our species has a wing we have never fully honored.
To me, feminism isn’t just about justice, it’s about an awakening for our entire species. It is as if, like the fossilized bird, we have dwelt upon the ground because we never fully extended one of our wings. How many cures and discoveries never happened because we only listened to half of our wisdom? How many bloodbaths might have been avoided if we had known our feminine strength?
There is a coming day when and women will come together not to determine who is leader and who is servant, but as two wings of one organic being. When that happens, perhaps for the first time in our long sad history, we human beings will know what it feels like to fly.