The Cluster
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From Susan B. Anthony to Hillary Clinton, most so-called heroes of Women’s History Month made great leaps for women in America. But they have something else in common, too: they’re white, cisgender, heterosexual women whose work primarily benefited other white, cisgender, heterosexual women.
There may be a place for them in our celebrations of women’s contributions to society and culture, but they shouldn’t be the only ones whose names we remember and whose likenesses we commodify every March.
Yes, they’re women who stood up for women’s rights — but those were largely the rights of women who were not marginalized on other bases, privileged women who inhabited bodies that are considered palatable and worthy of respect. These were white, educated, able-bodied women with traditional white families who advocated for other women who looked and lived the way they did.