‘Women Powering Change’ Elicits Commentary

CAPE MAY – May 6 brought a throng of participants to the symposium “Women Powering Change” held at the Cape May-Lewes Ferry Terminal. 
“We conceived of this topic in October of last year when it looked so likely that we would have the first woman president in American history,” explained Ronnie Cohen, the program chair of the organizer, Cape May Forum. “As the election turned out, we realized that now more than ever we needed to proceed and we’re really pleased to see such a great turnout for the event.”
The opening speaker was Beth Levy, a leading gender studies expert, who spoke on the topic “We Will Meet Them at the Intersection of Opportunity and Persistence.”
Levy said she first wanted to clarify the term “feminism” which “is often mistakenly defined as preferential treatment of women over men. That is a wrong connotation of the word,” she said.
“One gender is not inherently better than the other. True feminism is the belief that the genders deserve equal treatment in every aspect of life. Male and female alike, need love, courage, support, opportunity and persistence to be productive, and to reach our full potential as human beings,” she said.
Levy explained the careers and impact of some of the giants of the feminist movement, including Gloria Steinem whom she quoted as saying, “The simple path to deep change is for the less powerful to speak as much as they listen and for the most powerful to listen as much as they speak.”
Levy described lesser-known champions of women’s equality including Brenda Chapman who, late in the 20th century, finally talked her way into an animator’s role at the Disney studios.
“She soon realized that all of the Disney princesses were weak because they were written by men. So, Chapman created Merida, in Disney’s movie ‘Brave.’
Merida was a strong, smart, and highly-spirited young woman who was fearless and didn’t need to be rescued nor was she involved with a male counterpart.
Chapman became the first woman to direct an animated feature for a major Hollywood studio. Her ‘The Prince of Egypt’ won the first Academy Award given to an animated feature.
She also won for co-directing “Brave.” How did she do it? According to former New Jersey Senator Bill Bradley, ‘Ambition is the path to success and persistence is the vehicle you arrive in.’ Brenda understood that full well.”
The second speaker was Dr. Marcia Fiedler, a professor of Jewish studies at Stockton University. She spoke on “Women in the Bible.” She stressed the point that “with the Bible, it is critical to compare and contrast various translations.”
Fiedler, who is proficient in Hebrew and English, noted that many times the nuance of a Biblical event or person can change when one understands the origin of the word or name.
“When God creates ‘man’ it is really ‘them’ in the Hebrew that He is creating rather than a male. The name ‘Eve’ in Hebrew can be thought of as a combination of letters that include ‘unity’ and ‘God’ so clearly. God did not want to exclude Eve from equality with Adam.”
Fiedler posed the rhetorical question, “Would slavery have occurred if Jesus were thought to be black?” Also, Jesus’ miracles can be thought of from a Jewish perspective as equal to those of the Hebraic tradition as well as from the fact that Jesus was Jewish.
Panel Discussions
Three panels rounded out the substance of the half-day conference. One addressed the issue of the importance of mentoring by speakers from the world of education.
The panel moderator, Lynda Anderson-Towns, a retired superintendent of the Woodbine public school, said, “We have to make the investment of our time and experience and share what has been given to us to succeed. We are all windows, rather than mirrors, to others and let’s meet people halfway to help all of us strive and achieve.”
The second panel was composed of women from religious walks of life, and each panelist talked about when they received the “call” from God to enter the ministry, emphasizing that it is not always easy, either in the beginning or well into that ministry, to heed the call.
Panel moderator, Pastor Jeffrey Elliott, Cape May Lutheran Church, described the backgrounds of each woman who spoke and their impressive commitment to supporting others through their lives of faith.
The conference concluded with a final panel on women in non-traditional careers with speakers from the Coast Guard; a licensed 100-ton master marine operator; a bomb detection dog handler; and an auto shop foreman.
That panel was moderated by Dr. Eleanor Bochenek, director of Fisheries Cooperative Center, Rutgers University. 
To contact Camille Sailer, email csailer@cmcherald.com.