The 2019 award season has been riddled with feminist power. From Alicia Keys’ powerful presentation as the host of this year’s Grammy Awards, to Glenn Close’s unstoppable Golden Globe acceptance speech.
There were so many notable badass moments for women this year, that it came as a bit of a surprise when there wasn’t much to tote about at last Sunday’s Oscars ceremony. In 2018 we saw women wearing black in support of #TimesUp and spoke out passionately during their speeches. This year, there was little mention of the distance we have come in the past 12 months, the changes that have been made, or the lack thereof.
That being said, what little moments of women empowerment we were able to bask in that evening were something to behold. And, because of this, here are our top three favorite feminist moments of the 2019 Oscars:
3. The Comedy Trio
At least the show’s producers understood the need to start the night out with a bang and exactly how to do so. The first thing we saw on the stage Sunday night was America’s favorite comedy trio: Maya Rudolph, Tina Fey, and Amy Poehler.
I mean, talk about a powerhouse of talent. These women were funny, fresh, and everything we needed to start the night off right. They proved that maybe the Oscars don’t need a host after all.
They provided a few light jokes about the lack of a host and even gave a slight dig at Trump’s border wall.
2. Hannah Beachler and Ruth E. Carter’s Wins
Hannah Beachler and Ruth E. Carter both took home Oscars for their work behind the scenes of the film Black Panther. Beachler won for production design, and Carter for costume design. Both women made history (or should we say, herstory) with their wins as the first African American women to, not only win, but even be nominated in these categories.
There were many powerful acceptance speeches from Sunday night, but Carter’s and Beacher’s were perhaps some of the most memorable and emotional of them all.
Carter stood powerfully on the stage, saying, “Marvel may have created the first black superhero, but through costume design, we turned him into an African king… It’s been my life’s honor to create costumes. Thank you to the academy. Thank you for honoring African royalty and the empowered way women can look and lead on screen.”
Beachler’s speech was just as striking. “I stand here stronger than I was yesterday,” said Beachler. “…I am stronger because of a woman who supported me every day that I wanted to give up. This is for you my friend, Carol Trevino, rest in power.”
She ended her speech with some beautiful words of advice: “I give the strength to all of those who come next, to keep going, to never give up. And when you think it’s impossible, just remember to say this piece of advice I got from a very wise woman: I did my best, and my best is good enough.”
And those are words to live by.
3. Period. End of Sentence
Watching the hoard of women filing onto the stage to accept the Oscar for best documentary short was something to behold.
Period. End of Sentence was directed by Rayka Zehtabchi and focuses on the inhumane traditions and sexist stigmas that are attached to menstruation in a small village in India.
This win comes after an anonymous academy member admitted to the Hollywood Reporter that “[I’m not going to vote for] Period. End of Sentence—it’s well done, but it’s about women getting their period, and I don’t think any man is voting for this film because it’s just icky for men.”
Thankfully, he was proven wrong.
During her acceptance speech Zehtabchi said possibly the best thing to ever be said on the Oscar stage: “I’m not crying because I’m on my period, or anything. I can’t believe a film about menstruation just won an Oscar!”
Did you have a favorite moment of the 2019 Oscars? Tell us in the comments below!
Featured Image by Gage Skidmore on Wikimedia
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