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Why I Cannot Celebrate Women's History Month in 2002

Megan Falater

Women’s History Month will focus on a particular theme this year. The National Women’s History Project (NWHP) has decided that this year’s theme will be “Women Sustaining the American Spirity.” According to NWHP:

“The attack on our nation on September 11, 2001, has changed our world forever. This is a challenging time, but also a critical opportunity to recognize and celebrate the rich and dynamic work of women in creating and sustaining America’s democratic society. For this reason we have created a new theme for National Women’s History Month 2002… Our goal is to showcase the diverse and interlocking stories of women who have created and affirmed the American spirit. The new 2002 theme will help deliver the message of who American women are and what they have accomplished.” (“National Women’s History Month, 2002 Theme,” Accessed 21 January, 2002, <www.nwhp.org/whm/themes/themes.html>)

In my opinion, however, this is an unnecessarily exclusive theme. In light of the violence and exclusion of the past year, I would hope that this organization would have chosen a theme that might foster hope and inclusion rather than divisiveness. The simple notion that “America” is a democratic society belies the arrogant way in which the US has imposed its agenda upon other states in the American continents since its inception in the “New World.”

I feel compelled to question the definition of “the American spirit.” The concept of what is “American” is not static. Different generations have held vastly different ideas about who is “American,” or who creates and affirms the “American Spirit.” The definition of “the American spirit” might also vary by gender, race, class, sexuality, or political or economic preference. As a white, middle class, lesbian feminist with socialist tendencies, I probably have different ideas about what “the American spirit” is that most people do. Does that mean that my definition is less valid that that of another citizen? The theme for National Women’s History Month should acknowledge the plurality of American spirits.