Letter From the Editor: Why Solidarity Matters
The Women’s March. #MeToo. #NeverAgain.
In the past year we’ve seen a torrent of social movements take hold and shape our culture. But they didn’t start with hundreds of people automatically raising their hands to take to the streets. History proves that change begins when someone, often a woman, shares how she is fed up or too affected to look away from a problem that, with tenacity, really can be fixed. Then someone else says, “I’ll stand with you”—and just like that, a movement is born.
I’ve been blessed to have someone back me unequivocally like that—two people, actually. I’m one of what some call Irish triplets. I’m the middle child, anchored by Davina and Brendan on either side, all roughly a year apart. Beyond the obvious closeness that brings, we’ve forged a strong bond over the years, from conspiring against our parents at bedtime to sharing stories of teenage heartbreak. Today we are scattered, leading hectic lives—Davina with her husband and three children under five in Sweden, Brendan with his daughter and girlfriend in Ireland, and me in this new job in New York—but we’ve managed to stay in daily contact, thanks to FaceTime, WhatsApp, and a little determination. From our teen years to today, they’ve constantly had my back. Davina often tells me, “Walk out. And I’m walking out right behind you,” with Brendan already on his feet, saying, “I’ll get the door.” They’ve always made me feel supported.
In this issue we examine the big and small ways women come together in solidarity for a common good. I’m in awe of these women—from Anne Hathaway, who is part of the badass cast of Ocean’s 8 taking on a male-centric franchise formerly helmed by George Clooney and Brad Pitt and making it one of the most anticipated movies of the year, to the record-setting number of African-American women in Alabama running for office, who want to make sure the issues they care about finally get their due. As one expert told us about how those women joined forces: “There was this robust energy, and once energy like that has been released, it doesn’t go away.”
So here’s to movements, and the sisterhoods behind them. I hope you always have that person who says, “I’ll get the door.”