Allison Blevins
A HISTORY OF FEMALE EMPOWERMENT
In the 1940s, one in four women suddenly worked outside the home. Fashion armored women in military inspired jackets. My mother bought me a 1996 suit—green, lined with beige rayon, pencil skirt tight as a sleeve from waist to mid-calf. Boxy jacket heavily padded in the shoulders. Remember, much of the 90s was still the 80s. You know it’s true when you watch any 90s television show about lawyers. Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in 1979. Imagine, her bulky blue suit jackets with their six packs of gold buttons inspired Ally McBeal’s nearly invisible skirt. My mother bought the suit for me to wear to job interviews. Her hope hung voluminous on my frame. I bought pair after pair of black square heels, imagined conference rooms and confident standing and gesturing. Today, I called a friend to say, I know I have to increase my antidepressant. In the car, I think about unbuckling my belt, driving into every unguarded and unrailed ravine. Today, I’m day-old pajamas, soft and rumpled as snowbanks. I need a Working Girl shoulder pad. I need Heathers and Dynasty, my body suddenly V-shaped and sharp could cut its way back into the world.