Feminists: What Were They Thinking? -

For years, Elena had lived in a world of quiet expectations. She thought about the promotion at the bank she was denied because she might "get pregnant and quit." She thought about her husband’s signature, which was required for her to own a credit card. She thought about the exhaustion that went unnamed—the "problem with no name" that settled over her every evening like a heavy fog.

They weren't thinking about "hating men," despite what the morning headlines suggested. They were thinking about the radical notion that their lives belonged to them. They were thinking about autonomy—the right to control their bodies, their bank accounts, and their futures. Feminists: What Were They Thinking?

"I think," a young woman named Maya started, her voice trembling, "that I am more than a supporting character in someone else’s life." That was the spark. For years, Elena had lived in a world of quiet expectations