THANK you SO much Marianne!!!! Your voice in the wilderness of screens, AI, lies from the top, and so much detachment from eye to eye, heart to heart communication!! I hope to soon try my hand at mobilizing local women in Sisterhood Circles dedicated to the Creative Core in each one of us! Your inspiration is so appreciated! Great that you have been around the world with the truth. <3
I hope your Wise Women's Retreat in NC draws many from South Carolina, where Dr. Annie Andrews is among the candidates for the Democratic nomination for United States Senator-in the race to replace Uber Patriarch Lindsey Graham. Godspeed to Dr.Andrews!
Well stated and your words are the best thing since sliced bread! We really need to rethink how to avoid the patriarchy as women! The women’s movement failed there immediately. Ask the women of color in coalition groups who were left on the side of the road, while corporations kept marginalizing women of color all along. I wondered why I ever supported the feminist movement, while women of color were being pushed aside to let the privileged upper white class to take over. Then it became apparent that the most important aspect of feminism kept abusing human and civil rights of women of color including Arab American Women, Black Women, Latino Women, and Asian Women. After the murder of thousands upon thousands of women and children in Gaza and now Iran, it seems fruitless. It’s really a class struggle, isn’t it?
As a boy growing up in the '70s I suffered a lot of shame and trauma from the messaging of second wave feminism. While you're doing an autopsy of the movement, I ask you to consider the isolation, the vacuum of support suffered by boys in our culture during the rise of the women's liberation movement. I've never voiced these ideas publicly and I expect some backlash but you seem like a person capable of holding this paradox.
WoW, I always loved women that introspect (that statement is not to be read in a patronizing way but with a true spiritual sense). I heard from Ma Prem Zareen once that women have the greatest survival instincts, otherwise how could men shape the world for so long for their own benefit? If they had felt that women are of no use, they could have wiped out all of the women off the face of the earth in blind rage only to realize there cannot be any more men to propel the world further after them. So, somewhere they became quite cunning either to subvert women or really be appreciative of their contributions by showing reverence (growing up India, the morning prayers in our schools started with paying obeisance to the Mother, then to the father and finally to the teacher.) I think that ought to tell us where the societies are going wrong if they don’t have such dispositions anymore culturally. India can lose its sheen but at the same time this beautiful arrangement shall take shape in some other parts of the world (why not USA?) for the humanity and civilization to flourish (not just the sheer number of humans with no relevance unless they can be put to produce more, consume even more and if nothing else just to fight in the name of God).
And to your point on how did this country come to this in terms of women’s movement and also how they are received and treated in corporate cultures, according to my observation, lies in the wrong assumptions by whoever is giving shape to this revival and upliftment of women, as they slowly veered off to either to pit themselves directly in competition with men or trying their hand at proving themselves as equals in a man’s world or have developed a grievance (not without a reason) to disown men with phrases like, “We don’t need men.” Only if they had the cunningness of men (to not disown women completely), and then start imparting the wisdom and nurturing capabilities to their own offspring, the next generations of men would obviously then look at women as a source of inspiration and not just as tools at the disposal of domineering men.
If my comments are triggering an outburst or anguish in anyone, I apologize and also clarify that it was not my intention to cause anyone such trouble but will not be subjected to shame or regret sharing my observations, unless the host kicks me out.🙏😀❤️
Let's all help eachother to all rise together. Such inspirational words. Thank you so much for sharing. Lots of love from Ireland. Hopefully, we'll be on your list when you visit Europe again.
What strikes me reading this is how clearly the story you’re telling is not only about patriarchy but about empire — about how systems of domination survive by absorbing the very people who seek to reform them.
Empires are not simply run by men, or by any single group. They are sustained by a logic: extraction over care, expansion over limits, profit over people, war over human flourishing. When women finally broke through the doors of institutions shaped by that logic, many were not invited to transform it — they were invited to help manage it more efficiently. Representation was permitted. Reorientation was not.
That is how empire works. It offers seats at the table while keeping the menu unchanged.
The tragedy you name — the loss of sisterhood, the self-censorship, the quiet internalization of the very values the movement once resisted — is also a classic imperial strategy: divide, reward compliance, isolate dissent. Those who challenge the system are marked as “unrealistic,” “difficult,” or politically radioactive. Others learn to survive by shrinking. Over time, reform movements risk becoming talent pipelines for the status quo.
And the deeper indictment you make may be the most important: while symbolic victories multiplied, the material architecture of empire remained intact. Military budgets soared while healthcare stalled. Corporate power expanded while education and ecological stability faltered. Political institutions learned how to court women’s votes and labor without yielding structural change.
From an empire lens, the question is not simply whether women gain power, but what kind of power they are being asked to wield — and in service of what vision of the world.
If the future is to be different, the task is not only to raise voices or even to occupy offices. It is to challenge the underlying assumptions of a civilization organized around domination and endless growth. That requires solidarity broad enough to resist co-optation, moral imagination strong enough to redefine success, and courage deep enough to refuse participation in systems that burn the very future they claim to secure.
In that sense, the movement’s unfinished work is not just liberation from patriarchy.
Indeed! And that's just what Marianne can do. She has proven time and time again that she can definitely do all those tasks. ☑️ And there are lots of women out there with the same goals & skills. 😉 Awareness, community, & solidarity.
Thank you for a perceptive article. One thing I would like to add which I think is very important if you are engaging in a transformational process is that in the process of sitting at the table with men and compromising on our values and beliefs in order to be accepted, many women have internally become more like men. In the sense that they may only very rarely be in touch with the knowledge of their hearts these days, and be far more confident about the knowledge in their heads. In many respects we are “just as good as men” but now face a cultural and civilisational tragedy in the widespread loss of the true and wise feminine.
First, when I read your piece, I immediately fantasized what it would be like to travel with you to all these different places and hear your conversations. I can't think of anything more wondrous. Second, I've noticed over the years the way women tend to hide their feminine brilliance and try to morph into men, in the sense of fitting themselves/ourselves to their expectations, energy, etc. I do it with my brothers! It's almost a patting on the head by the mother, because we have an inner maturity that has to be hidden, or expressed tactfully, in droplets, lest we upset the patriarchy's apple cart and bring its scorn upon us.
Third, I appreciate the "scientific" approach you employ when taking inventory, and targeting where we went off track and how to reimagine the way forward.
A lovely piece. The only issue I have is at the very end, because it sounds like an ad for your retreat, or it might sound that way to some. (The damage done by advertisers in this country over the decades is, I believe, significant. But save that for another day.)
Lastly, I want you to know, Marianne Williamson, you caught my attention years ago when you spoke of what we owe the American Indians/Indigenous people of this country, and it still impresses me to think of. I send you love and support!
If I don't "advertise" a retreat, or a class, or a book, then how do people know it's available? Also, scholarships - and libraries - make all of them available.
I'm only thinking in terms of forwarding your writing to others. I don't mean to put any negativity on you. I understand what you say and it's certainly reasonable.
Love this so much Marianne. As usual, you bring all the insight right to the table. I've been reading your books and listening to your speeches since 1999. I really resonate with this post! Since about 2017, I've had a strong pull to connect & unite women. Empower us. Help us become one to rise higher, so to speak. Once I started a show to do this. Now I'm starting a movement. It's pretty small right now. 😜 I'd love to at least be a part of it. It's sorely needed in this world right now.
I'm not afraid to be brave and to be kind and clear. We are stronger rising together. Women have been isolated and pitted against each other long enough.
So proud of you Marianne! What you are doing in this lifetime is beautiful. You are the only president I truly voted for. To me, it was a no-brainer. But the world wasn't ready yet.
Women know that the common denominator to war planet abuse human abuse hunger and emotional sexual and physical abuse is men. They are the most dangerous species to us all human animal earth and to men. Men need to do the work to change radically. Perhaps Start by placing the power over that they hold down
Marianne, I am always awed by your writing! You have such ‘a way’ with words ~ which I feel are sourced in a ‘miraculous’ well ~
How true they are and how courageously truth full you are!
I feel indeed grateful to be a part of your world. Thank you so much for sharing YOUrself with us. May GoODness Prevail
~ from a girl in the city of angels
THANK you SO much Marianne!!!! Your voice in the wilderness of screens, AI, lies from the top, and so much detachment from eye to eye, heart to heart communication!! I hope to soon try my hand at mobilizing local women in Sisterhood Circles dedicated to the Creative Core in each one of us! Your inspiration is so appreciated! Great that you have been around the world with the truth. <3
I hope your Wise Women's Retreat in NC draws many from South Carolina, where Dr. Annie Andrews is among the candidates for the Democratic nomination for United States Senator-in the race to replace Uber Patriarch Lindsey Graham. Godspeed to Dr.Andrews!
I've offered to interview her and even speak for her down there, but I assume someone on her team doesn't want it. I definitely hope she wins!
Well stated and your words are the best thing since sliced bread! We really need to rethink how to avoid the patriarchy as women! The women’s movement failed there immediately. Ask the women of color in coalition groups who were left on the side of the road, while corporations kept marginalizing women of color all along. I wondered why I ever supported the feminist movement, while women of color were being pushed aside to let the privileged upper white class to take over. Then it became apparent that the most important aspect of feminism kept abusing human and civil rights of women of color including Arab American Women, Black Women, Latino Women, and Asian Women. After the murder of thousands upon thousands of women and children in Gaza and now Iran, it seems fruitless. It’s really a class struggle, isn’t it?
Judge Napolitano - Judging Freedom
Prof. Jeffrey Sachs : What Hath Trump Wrought?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRt9xR1df3I
Thank you for the link.
Hi Marianne
I love your work.
As a boy growing up in the '70s I suffered a lot of shame and trauma from the messaging of second wave feminism. While you're doing an autopsy of the movement, I ask you to consider the isolation, the vacuum of support suffered by boys in our culture during the rise of the women's liberation movement. I've never voiced these ideas publicly and I expect some backlash but you seem like a person capable of holding this paradox.
WoW, I always loved women that introspect (that statement is not to be read in a patronizing way but with a true spiritual sense). I heard from Ma Prem Zareen once that women have the greatest survival instincts, otherwise how could men shape the world for so long for their own benefit? If they had felt that women are of no use, they could have wiped out all of the women off the face of the earth in blind rage only to realize there cannot be any more men to propel the world further after them. So, somewhere they became quite cunning either to subvert women or really be appreciative of their contributions by showing reverence (growing up India, the morning prayers in our schools started with paying obeisance to the Mother, then to the father and finally to the teacher.) I think that ought to tell us where the societies are going wrong if they don’t have such dispositions anymore culturally. India can lose its sheen but at the same time this beautiful arrangement shall take shape in some other parts of the world (why not USA?) for the humanity and civilization to flourish (not just the sheer number of humans with no relevance unless they can be put to produce more, consume even more and if nothing else just to fight in the name of God).
And to your point on how did this country come to this in terms of women’s movement and also how they are received and treated in corporate cultures, according to my observation, lies in the wrong assumptions by whoever is giving shape to this revival and upliftment of women, as they slowly veered off to either to pit themselves directly in competition with men or trying their hand at proving themselves as equals in a man’s world or have developed a grievance (not without a reason) to disown men with phrases like, “We don’t need men.” Only if they had the cunningness of men (to not disown women completely), and then start imparting the wisdom and nurturing capabilities to their own offspring, the next generations of men would obviously then look at women as a source of inspiration and not just as tools at the disposal of domineering men.
If my comments are triggering an outburst or anguish in anyone, I apologize and also clarify that it was not my intention to cause anyone such trouble but will not be subjected to shame or regret sharing my observations, unless the host kicks me out.🙏😀❤️
Let's all help eachother to all rise together. Such inspirational words. Thank you so much for sharing. Lots of love from Ireland. Hopefully, we'll be on your list when you visit Europe again.
What strikes me reading this is how clearly the story you’re telling is not only about patriarchy but about empire — about how systems of domination survive by absorbing the very people who seek to reform them.
Empires are not simply run by men, or by any single group. They are sustained by a logic: extraction over care, expansion over limits, profit over people, war over human flourishing. When women finally broke through the doors of institutions shaped by that logic, many were not invited to transform it — they were invited to help manage it more efficiently. Representation was permitted. Reorientation was not.
That is how empire works. It offers seats at the table while keeping the menu unchanged.
The tragedy you name — the loss of sisterhood, the self-censorship, the quiet internalization of the very values the movement once resisted — is also a classic imperial strategy: divide, reward compliance, isolate dissent. Those who challenge the system are marked as “unrealistic,” “difficult,” or politically radioactive. Others learn to survive by shrinking. Over time, reform movements risk becoming talent pipelines for the status quo.
And the deeper indictment you make may be the most important: while symbolic victories multiplied, the material architecture of empire remained intact. Military budgets soared while healthcare stalled. Corporate power expanded while education and ecological stability faltered. Political institutions learned how to court women’s votes and labor without yielding structural change.
From an empire lens, the question is not simply whether women gain power, but what kind of power they are being asked to wield — and in service of what vision of the world.
If the future is to be different, the task is not only to raise voices or even to occupy offices. It is to challenge the underlying assumptions of a civilization organized around domination and endless growth. That requires solidarity broad enough to resist co-optation, moral imagination strong enough to redefine success, and courage deep enough to refuse participation in systems that burn the very future they claim to secure.
In that sense, the movement’s unfinished work is not just liberation from patriarchy.
It is liberation from empire itself.
Thanks for your writing!
Indeed! And that's just what Marianne can do. She has proven time and time again that she can definitely do all those tasks. ☑️ And there are lots of women out there with the same goals & skills. 😉 Awareness, community, & solidarity.
Thank you for a perceptive article. One thing I would like to add which I think is very important if you are engaging in a transformational process is that in the process of sitting at the table with men and compromising on our values and beliefs in order to be accepted, many women have internally become more like men. In the sense that they may only very rarely be in touch with the knowledge of their hearts these days, and be far more confident about the knowledge in their heads. In many respects we are “just as good as men” but now face a cultural and civilisational tragedy in the widespread loss of the true and wise feminine.
Thank you in abundance for sharing your experiences, related to some with ease.
My hat off to you for your ongoing guidance.
Heartfelt. Am 84 from Across the Miles.
Love and Gratitude 🙏
First, when I read your piece, I immediately fantasized what it would be like to travel with you to all these different places and hear your conversations. I can't think of anything more wondrous. Second, I've noticed over the years the way women tend to hide their feminine brilliance and try to morph into men, in the sense of fitting themselves/ourselves to their expectations, energy, etc. I do it with my brothers! It's almost a patting on the head by the mother, because we have an inner maturity that has to be hidden, or expressed tactfully, in droplets, lest we upset the patriarchy's apple cart and bring its scorn upon us.
Third, I appreciate the "scientific" approach you employ when taking inventory, and targeting where we went off track and how to reimagine the way forward.
A lovely piece. The only issue I have is at the very end, because it sounds like an ad for your retreat, or it might sound that way to some. (The damage done by advertisers in this country over the decades is, I believe, significant. But save that for another day.)
Lastly, I want you to know, Marianne Williamson, you caught my attention years ago when you spoke of what we owe the American Indians/Indigenous people of this country, and it still impresses me to think of. I send you love and support!
If I don't "advertise" a retreat, or a class, or a book, then how do people know it's available? Also, scholarships - and libraries - make all of them available.
I'm only thinking in terms of forwarding your writing to others. I don't mean to put any negativity on you. I understand what you say and it's certainly reasonable.
Sad to say that protecting men like Deepak Chopra has co opted our solidarity and progress. Interesting you did not mention the Epstein files at all
I always love and appreciate your wisdom! I’d love to have you back on the healing power of your dreams on UK Health Radio!
Love this so much Marianne. As usual, you bring all the insight right to the table. I've been reading your books and listening to your speeches since 1999. I really resonate with this post! Since about 2017, I've had a strong pull to connect & unite women. Empower us. Help us become one to rise higher, so to speak. Once I started a show to do this. Now I'm starting a movement. It's pretty small right now. 😜 I'd love to at least be a part of it. It's sorely needed in this world right now.
I'm not afraid to be brave and to be kind and clear. We are stronger rising together. Women have been isolated and pitted against each other long enough.
So proud of you Marianne! What you are doing in this lifetime is beautiful. You are the only president I truly voted for. To me, it was a no-brainer. But the world wasn't ready yet.
Women know that the common denominator to war planet abuse human abuse hunger and emotional sexual and physical abuse is men. They are the most dangerous species to us all human animal earth and to men. Men need to do the work to change radically. Perhaps Start by placing the power over that they hold down