On Whose Shoulders do you stand?

[Bad Wolf]

So today I was at a Martin Luther King Celebration that included a parade and a series of speakers, political and service org tables (along with everything else, I try to be active in my community) and this one speaker, a Dr. Todd, really got my attention. He spoke of how none of us got where we are by ourselves - we all stand on the shoulders of others.

Initially this rubbed my independent spirit the wrong way, but that was just my ego braying. He was of course, right. Especially those of us who have the independent/pioneer streak think we forge these paths on our own, but we truly do stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before us.

Whose shoulders do you stand on? I wasn't the first girl to ride a big motorcycle all by herself, but sometimes it felt that way, with the treatment I got from others, back in the 80's. People who didn't like me on that bike enjoyed messing with me (was it the mohawk? Or just because I wasn't perched on the bitchpad?) going so far as to try and run me off the road, or throw perfectly good beers at me. I wasn't the first woman to be a Teamster and load freight, but sometimes it felt like it, with the intimidation from my so-called brothers and the sexual harassment.

Some very brave women did this all before, and most certainly suffered more for it, right back to the women who were burned at the stake for stepping outside the defined roles made for them.

I often wish I had the opportunity to have gone to college and gotten a degree. Once, a woman couldn't pursue certain degrees, or if they even tried, there was a lot of interference by people who thought they shouldn't be doing that (even though it didn't threaten them in any way.) Now the opportunity to go for any degree you want is a given - no one questions the right.

I got to work all through my pregnancy. I needed the money. Once, that wouldn't have been allowed.

The first gym I ever worked out in had owners that joked about finally putting doors on the women's bathroom. I can't think of a single gym that is now men only (but there are some that are female only - double standard?)

I want to take a minute and reflect on those who have gone before me, who have gone before all of us and made the roads we travel a bit less rocky. Not just women, but men too; all of us who are part of a lifestyle that has been viewed with suspicion or disrespect at the very least, now find we can pursue our endeavors a bit more openly.

For those whose shoulders I stand on, I am most grateful.