“Women should be running things.” Amen, Shonda Rhimes. The mogul took the stage last night to accept the Champion of Change Award from Planned Parenthood, which still exists despite the best efforts of the old white men we keep electing. Per Variety, the “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Scandal” creator shared some thoughts on the state of women’s rights — reproductive and otherwise — and how female autonomy has strengthened her hit network series.
“I am attempting to reflect the world that I live in,” Rhimes said of her work as a writer and TV exec. “Attempting to reflect the medical world that doctors exist in. Attempting to write women as they actually exist.”
Referencing the abortions Olivia Pope of “Scandal” and Cristina Yang of “Grey’s” decided to obtain as well as Mellie’s filibuster for Planned Parenthood on “Scandal,” Rhimes shared a few tenets that guide her when she develops stories about women’s medical decisions.
“Fact 1: I just can’t get over the fact that a room full of straight white men who couldn’t find a vulva with two hands and a flashlight are insistent on telling me and all my friends what to do with the vagina we have been driving around America for our entire lives,” she stated, verbalizing what many U.S. women are thinking.
“Fact 2: When women’s health needs are taken care of, when women have the right to determine their reproductive future, to screen and treat STDs, to get life-saving pap smears, their families are stronger, their work lives are more productive, their self-esteem rises, and they feel empowered,” she continued.
Effectively dropping the mic on those waging war against women, Rhimes emphasized, “Fact 3: I am very confused by the concept that anyone can feel that the health needs of women are optional but erectile dysfunction medication must be covered by insurance.”
Again, Ms. Rhimes, we must thank you.
Ending her speech with a promise, she vowed “I will do my part. I will do champion-y things. As hard as I can. I will consciously make an effort to do champion-y things. Because what I did before, that was me at half-speed. Me at full speed? Get out of the way, please.”
Meryl Streep presented the Champion of Change award to Rhimes at Planned Parenthood’s 100th-anniversary gala. The ceremony’s attendees included Hillary Clinton, Julianne Moore, Scarlett Johansson, Chelsea Handler, and Planned Parenthood prez Cecile Richards.
As she accepted the Champion of the Century Award, Clinton referenced “The Handmaid’s Tale” and the relevance of its themes. “I’m not suggesting this dystopian future is around the corner, but this show has prompted important conversations about women’s rights and autonomy,” Clinton explained, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “It is not too late for us, but we have to encourage the millions of women and men who support Planned Parenthood’s mission to keep fighting. To paraphrase Margaret Atwood, we can never let them grind us down.”
Both Atwood’s book and the Hulu series are set in Gilead, a totalitarian society in what was formerly part of the U.S. Ruled by a fundamentalist regime, women have been stripped of their reproductive and economic rights and are treated like property of the state.
Rhimes joined the Planned Parenthood board in April. Her newest series, “Still Star Crossed,” premieres May 29 on ABC. The Emmy winner’s upcoming projects include a cable comedy series based on Luvvie Ajayi’s first book, “I’m Judging You: The Do Better Manual,” and legal drama “Black’s Law” for ABC.
“Grey’s Anatomy” and “Scandal” as well as the Shondaland shows “How to Get Away with Murder” and “The Catch” air Thursdays on ABC.
Head over to Variety to read Rhimes’ entire speech.
