For myself and many women I know, last night's election result was traumatizing. Or rather, re-traumatizing. Many of us have been in relationships with men who see us as less than, shameful, and something to control emotionally or physically. This morning I sobbed not just because of the obvious fear of what happens now -- to our foreign policy, our Supreme Court, our rights, and the future my children will live in -- but because those men who've mistreated us are now validated by, and embodied in, our nation's next president.
We have elected a man who unapologetically glorifies sexism, misogyny and physical/sexual assault of women. How can we recover from this giant step backward in women's rights? Where do we go from here?
Let's start by speaking up when we are treated unfairly because of our gender -- get out your hashtags ladies! Let's continue by gathering together and sharing our stories. Let's give to charities that support education for women and girls. Let's keep asking for what we need to succeed as entrepreneurs and leaders.
Above all, let's do what we do best: love and compassion. When we embrace our true nature as women, we will find an unlimited power to heal our nation. This election result is a symptom of the fear and pain (bred into anger), so many of our fellow Americans hold. We must see it, see them, and strive to lift them up to a place of truth. Education, civil rights, political reform -- this is our work. It never ends. Let us commit our hearts fully to it.