Dolly and Gloria: gone, but forever in our hearts — and our politics
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| Dolly Parton: 1946-2026 Gloria Steinem: 1934-2026 |
Some humans are larger than life due to talent, skill, hard work, and a bit of luck. They make headlines for good reason, and they draw paying crowds who want to experience them live and in person. We want these out-of-the-ordinary humans, these leaders and heroes, to give us something in that moment that we cannot experience through the page or screen or recording.
When I saw Dolly Parton in concert, I was somewhat disappointed because it seemed to me the whole performance was canned to within an inch of every rhinestoned costume change and every song sung — the same for us in Winnipeg as it had been yesterday in Toronto and would be tomorrow in Vancouver. Staged, not spontaneous and truly ‘live’ and responsive to the audience in the seats that night.
When I saw Gloria Steinem speak, she ceded some of her time to the floor, allowing attendees to speak to each other and to advertise their organizations and events to the crowd. I was more than a bit disappointed: I had come to hear pearls of wisdom and rousing inspiration from her. This was a once-in-a-lifetime chance for me to hear Gloria speak, and I felt a bit cheated.
However, any disappointment is my problem and mine alone. Maybe neither Dolly’s concert nor Gloria’s use of the time that evening entirely matched my expectations, but it is those very expectations that I must question. We lay a lot of responsibility on our leaders, heroes and stars, but at the end of the day, they are, as we are, mere flesh-and-blood humans putting their all into their work. Some days, they give us exactly what we want (and need); some days, they don’t. Yet, there I was on two separate evenings, decades apart, in the presence of an amazing woman, who wielded exceptional influence in the world with status she rightfully earned, and whose impact on me was not diminished for any disappointment I might have felt in the moment.
Beyond her music, the impact of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is felt by millions of children; she helped fund the first Moderna vaccine against Covid; and her philanthropy has helped thousands in their time of need. The impact of Gloria Steinem’s feminist politics and activism is felt by everyone across (at least) the Western world, whether or not they are aware of what “second-wave feminism” means.
Thank you, Dolly, for being a strong woman, a savvy businesswoman, and an independent spirit in every way that counts in my world. That you believed in your talent, even in those early days of blatant misogyny in the country music world, makes it easier for me to believe in mine today.
Thank you, Gloria, for so much, for everything, including for being upfront about never, “not for one millisecond”, regretting not having children. This makes it easier for me and every other woman who is childless by choice to live our life as we do.
Rest in power, both of you. May you organize and harmonize together, wherever you now are.
🎵 🌏 🎵 🌎 🎵 🌍 🎵
NOTE: I am hosting a public launch of my handbook How to be a Writer in Four Steps, in Winnipeg on Saturday, October 3rd. Exciting! Terrifying! Details here.
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Land acknowledgement: I respectfully recognize that I live on the original lands of Anishinaabe, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota and Dene peoples, and on the homeland of the Métis Nation.
Dolly: Kristopher Harris, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Gloria: Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
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