They Tried. But Women Couldn’t Be Stopped This Summer.

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Last summer, women made moves that were overtly fun, feminine, and feminist. Everything was hot pink because we wanted everything hot pink. And that demand inadvertently saved the economy. We and the world (not an exaggeration) recognized the massive influence women have when we use our power.?

This year, summer has been defined by a color that’s less often associated with women or dolls. It’s not traditionally “pretty.” Of course, I’m talking about grimy, lime-y brat green. And, like Barbie pink before it, it marks a new era of women wielding power. To me, brat green is a signifier of women having the audacity to reject conventions in order to live freer, realer lives.

We saw this with Charli XCX herself, when she released a remix with musician Lorde that gracefully worked out insecurities about their friendship. They didn’t play into the drama.

We saw this at the Paris Olympics, where women, moms, and one mom-to-be (seven months pregnant!) dominated their sports and brought home medals. They didn’t stay home.?

We saw this in politics, where Vice President Kamala Harris turned what looked like a glass-cliff nomination into a buzzing, hopeful campaign. She didn’t lose sight of joy.

We saw this in Times Square, where cookbook author Molly Baz was offered new prime billboard space after her ad for lactation cookies was “f?l?a?g?g?e?d? ?f?o?r? ?r?e?v?i?e?w?” momwashed. She didn’t vanish.

We saw this in movies and novels, where women rejected the sullen midlife tropes of “the divorcée” (Anne Hathaway in The Idea of You) and of “the menopausal woman” (Miranda July’s All Fours), both of which —?shocker —?struck a cultural chord. The characters didn’t become less womanly or relevant.

We also saw this here at Ellevest, where we bluntly asked questions like “Why is ‘menopause’ a NSFW word?”, “Why does it feel like menopause doesn’t exist?”, and “Is your financial planner weird?” We didn’t bite our tongue. And neither did any of the women I mentioned above. Even though women know we get praise for staying in our prescribed lane and get chewed out for when we don’t.?

While words can do much more than sting, women didn’t think twice about using their power this summer. This seems to be signaling that the name-calling, the shaming, the patronizing aren’t enough to stop us anymore. I rather like this brat-green world.?

Where did you see women defy expectations this summer? Comment below.

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