Welcome to The Vulvacano

In 1991, Anita Hill captivated the world with her personal — and very public — testimony of sexual harassment at the hands of then-Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas. Though Thomas was ultimately confirmed, Hill's story — and the tone-deaf response from the Senate Judiciary Committee — ushered in 1992 as the "Year of the Woman" wherein more women than ever won positions in the House and Senate, forever changing gendered power dynamics in politics. The Senate chambers even earned its first women's bathroom. Finally. And dozens of elected women stood ready to ensure that the mistakes made during Thomas' confirmation would not be made again.

In 2013, Michigan's then-Senator Gretchen Whitmer provided testimony against a bill requiring women to buy separate insurance policies for abortion coverage, terming the requirement "rape insurance." Mid-testimony, Whitmer literally dropped the script and began boldly speaking from the heart, sharing her personal story of being raped in college, transforming the political into the personal. Though the Republican-led legislature ultimately passed the bill, ten years later, as governor, Whitmer was able to rescind it in her efforts to make Michigan a haven for reproductive rights. Sometimes, stories need time to manifest their power.

Though Tarana Burke — a sexual assault survivor who sought to empower other survivors via empathy — first launched the #MeToo campaign in 2006, it took a tweet from Alyssa Milano in 2017 for the movement to take the world by storm. Suddenly, millions of women had a platform for their stories of harassment, assault and rape, forever changing both culture and politics. In the wake of a movement comprised entirely of stories, policies, laws and societal norms have shifted, making the world safer for women and giving them the necessary community support to understand that their experiences are valid.

Hadley Duvall, who was raped and impregnated by her stepfather at age 12, boldly strode into the limelight in Kentucky's gubernatorial race. Duvall shared her tragic story in an Andy Beshear campaign ad, calling his opponent to task for opposing abortion care for girls in similar situations. Her story had an impact. Beshear handily won the race as a pro-choice candidate in his conservative state, as Duvall's story echoed through voter's minds. Duvall has since spoken on the national stage of the harm that abortion bans generate.