What are feminists thankful for this year, besides turkey, stuffing and fabulous shoes? A few friends and I got together and took stock of our cornucopia of blessings, thanks to the hard work of many who have come before us. Read as these fab feminists give thanks and take time to reflect on how you have benefited from feminism. Feel free to leave a comment!

The Undomestic Goddess:

In an imperfect world where there’s still much hate, and at a time in our nation where we’re very much divided, I can still be thankful for the overwhelming amount of people who do good, and who mobilize to protect the rights of other human beings. I’m also thankful for Twitter, for connecting me with some pretty fabulous feminists, and for teaching me that I’m not alone.

DancingGrapes (the consequences of a naked foot):

I’m thankful for strong women. Women that raised me, those I work with, women that inspire me every day. There’s something about the company of women that goes so beyond the pragmatic. I’m so thankful every time I’m in the presence of magnificent women.

Shelby Knox:

In 1972, Pat Schroeder was elected to Congress from a Denver district and given a coveted seat on the Armed Services Committee. This so peeved Chairman F. Edward Hébert, who was in his 31^st year in Congress and a vehement opponent of desegregation, that he ordered the freshman Congresswoman and a black second-term member to literally share a chair because each was worth half a “regular” member. In 2008, Senator Hillary Clinton logged those 16 million votes for the presidency and Barack Obama currently sits in the White House.

I’m grateful to the women and men who paved the way for young men of color and women of all hues to imagine ourselves as “Congressman” or “Governor” or “Madame President.” Victoria Woodhull.  Frederick Douglass. Jeannette Rankin. Shirley Chisholm.  Patsy Mink. Carol Moseley-Braun. Wilma Mankiller. (And many more whose names we’ve forgotten but on whose shoulders we stand.)

And yes, I’m even grateful this blessing extends to one rogue former Alaska governor. In the words of Bella Abzug, a woman to whom we all owe a debt of gratitude, “Women have been and are prejudiced, narrow-minded, reactionary, even violent. Some women. They, of course, have a right to vote and a right to run for office. I will defend that right, but I will not support them or vote for them.”

As for me….

I am thankful for all the women who paved the way for me to get a degree in computer science. I am thankful to Sally Ride and Christa McAuliffe for being two high profile female astronauts and scientists during my formative years.

I am thankful to Carly Fiorina and Meg Whitman for being CEOs at HP and eBay, respectively, while I was in college, proving that women can break the glass ceiling in the IT world. (Why do they have to be Republican? Argh.)

I am thankful to the AAUW for their work in increasing the number of women and girls in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

Most of all, I am thankful to Anita Borg, who started the Systers email list for women in computer science and technology. Without Systers and the knowledge that there were thousands of other smart, savvy technical women out there, I would never have made it through college.

Thank you!